Muonio
| coat of arms | map |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| State : |
 Finland
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| Landscape : | Lapland |
| Administrative community : | Fjell Lapland |
| Geographical location | 67 ° 57 ' N , 23 ° 41' E |
| Surface: | 2,037.91 km² |
| of which land area: | 1,903.87 km² |
| of which inland waterways: | 134.04 km² |
| Residents : | 2,299 (Dec. 31, 2018) |
| Population density : | 1.2 inhabitants / km² |
| Municipality number : | 498 |
| Language (s) : | Finnish |
| Website : | muonio.fi |
Muonio [ ˈmuɔniɔ ] is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland . It is located around 200 km north of the Arctic Circle .
geography
Geographically, Muonio is part of Fjäll Lapland. Muonio has an area of 2038 km² , 134 km² of which are inland waterways . The population density is 1.21 inhabitants per square kilometer of land.
The most important natural sights in the area are the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park and the Muonionjoki, which is also the border river with Sweden. The Pallas Yllästunturi National Park also belongs in part to the Enontekiö municipalities . The area of the national park, which previously belonged to the municipality of Kittilä , was added to the Muonios district in 2006, increasing the total area of the municipality by around 7.5%.
In Muonio, the polar night lasts from the beginning of December to almost mid-January (around January 13th), while the polar day lasts from the beginning of June to the beginning of August.
politics
In Muonio, the three Finnish people's parties dominate the political scene. As is generally the case in the rural areas of Northern Finland, the Center Party is the strongest political force here. In the 2008 local elections, it received 35.2% of the vote and 8 out of 21 seats on the local council, the highest decision-making body on local matters. The Social Democrats and the conservative National Assembly Party were almost on par with 28% and each have 6 MPs. The left-wing alliance , which is otherwise very strong in the rest of Lapland, hardly plays a role in Muonio with a single-digit election result and only one mandate in the local council.
| Political party | 2008 election results | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Center Party | 35.2% | 8th |
| Social democrats | 28.5% | 6th |
| National rally party | 27.6% | 6th |
| Left alliance | 8.8% | 1 |
coat of arms
Description: A silver angle shield base in red with a six-pointed silver star hovering over it.
economy
The unemployment in Muonio is lower than in the other communities in Northern Lapland. The reason for this are the test tracks of the European car and tire manufacturers, which are located here (in largely secret locations), and which have become the largest employers in the region in recent years.
For years, the “Audi driving experience” has been holding driver training courses for customers and driving enthusiasts on several lakes in winter. In the meantime, the former insider tip has blossomed into the largest winter sports event of all automobile manufacturers worldwide.
Sports
Due to the quasi subarctic location, the winter sports season in Muonio starts very early. The first international competitions take place every year towards the end of November in the biathlon on Olostunturi . The most important sporting event in Muonio is the "Laponia" cross-country skiing, which goes through the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park every year in March.
The German national biathlon team used Muonio for many years as the last training camp to prepare for the World Cup winter. Traditionally, the last little things were worked on there in November, a few weeks before the first competitions and in the almost complete darkness of the Finnish winter. After training with almost no daylight was not very popular with several athletes, Magdalena Neuner blamed the time in Finland for the start of the season that was botched due to illness and did not even travel to the last training camp of her career, the DSV has since preparing for the 2014/15 World Cup the training camp moved to Sjusjøen in Norway, much further south .
Picture gallery
Church (2005)
Bridge over the Muonio älv (2013)
Memorial and military cemetery (2005)
Runestone (2009)
Landscape near Muonio (2013)
