Korvatunturi

 

 

Korvatunturi
Korvatunturi Location within Finland
Elevation	486 m (1,594 ft)
Prominence	210 m (689 ft)
Location
Location	Savukoski, Lapland, Finland
Coordinates	68°04′25″N 29°18′55″E

Korvatunturi is a fell in Lapland. It is located within Urho Kekkonen National Park in the municipality of Savukoski. The Finnish name translates to "Ear Fell".

Korvatunturi is a sharp-shaped fell and its height is 486 metres (roughly 1594 feet) from sea level. The surrounding forest consists mainly of European spruce but the top of the fell is clearly above tree limit. Korvatunturi has three peaks and the border between Finland and Russia runs through the middle one. There is no road to the fell but a track in the national park starts at a former border guard station at Kemihaara, 18 kilometers away. As Korvatunturi is located within the border zone, visiting it requires written permission from the Finnish Border Guard.

Home of the Father Christmas

Korvatunturi is the place where Father Christmas (or Joulupukki in Finnish) lives. This legend comes from a children's radio show called Markus-sedän lastentunti ("Children's hour with Uncle Markus") hosted by Markus Rautio and broadcast by the Finnish Broadcasting Company between years 1927 and 1956. Uncle Markus told children that from this "Ear Fell" Father Christmas can hear what all the children are saying so he can find out if the children behave and obey their parents (and therefore may receive gifts next Christmas). This legend is an important plot point in the 2010 film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

For mail to Father Christmas Korvatunturi has postal code 99999 Korvatunturi, even though all mail sent to this address will actually be carried to Santa Claus Village at Rovaniemi.

A 360 degree panorama from Korvatunturi. The building is a watchtower of Border Guard.

See also

• Christmas in Finland
• Santa Claus Village

External links

• Korvatunturi
• Site with photograph