Santa Park
.jpg) Entrance to Santa Park in December 2010 | |
| Location | Rovaniemi, Finland |
|---|---|
| Opened | 28 November 1998 |
SantaPark is a Christmas theme park and visitor attraction in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland.
Theme
The park is designed to emulate the cavern residence of Santa Claus on the Arctic circle. Popular culture often depicts Santa Claus (or joulupukki in Finnish) coming from Lapland. Therefore, tourists come every year to Rovaniemi to meet Santa Claus.
History and the business concept
SantaPark was opened on 28 November 1998 as an amusement park.[1] The concept was created by Santaworld Ltd. (UK) and the cost of construction was 6.7 million Euros. The ownership consisted of Finnish companies such as Finnair, MTV, Sampo, Lasten Päivän Säätiö, Posti. Ministry of Trade and Industry was also involved. As an amusement park Santa Park did not reach its economical goals. Renewal of the concept was attempted in 2002 with a new ownership structure where the municipality of Rovaniemi was involved. The new concept featured Santa Claus, Christmas and Lappish culture and nature. On 24 March 2009 ownership was transferred to Santa's Holding Ltd. where the majority is held by Mr. Ilkka Länkinen and Mrs. Katja Ikäheimo-Länkinen.[2]
Attractions
The attractions of SantaPark include
- Christmas Magic Show
- Santa's Office
- Post Office
- Mrs. Gingerbread Bakery
- Magic Train
- Elf School
- Elf Workshop
- Post Office
- Ice Gallery
- Undercrossing of the Arctic Circle
Toy Factory Shopping Area and Kota Hut Cafe also serve customers.
Architecture
The themepark is located in a cavern inside bedrock where visitors descend via a large portal. The space was originally designed as air-raid shelter.
Location and transportation
SantaPark can be reached by car along the national highway 4. It is located about 9 km northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 km from Rovaniemi Airport. Frequent flights from Helsinki and other cities to Rovaniemi are offered throughout the year. The majority of international tourists switch their plane at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Also in the Christmas time there are many charter flights from Sweden, the United Kingdom and other countries that fly directly to Rovaniemi. Additionally there are Ryanair flights to Tampere which has regular connection to Rovaniemi as well. Finally there are regular bus and train connections to most major cities in Finland. Local transportation is provided by Santa's Express (bus line number 8) from the centre of Rovaniemi to SantaPark and Santa Claus Village. The bus trip to SantaPark takes about 15 minutes.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "Santa Claus' Village". Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ "Santa Park myytiin yrittäjäpariskunnalle = Santa Park was sold to entrepreneur couple", YLE news