The Legendary Gold Fields of Lapland

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the legendary gold fields of lapland

The Legendary Gold Fields of Lapland

Finnish Lapland is the land of myths, legends and dreams. Many are centered on Lapland’s gold fields and those people who, even today, are chasing after the world’s purest gold – the one found in and around the Lemmenjoki and Ivalojoki rivers.

Every year, the gold fever infects adventurers and tourists from near and far, too. Rising and falling for almost 150 years, the gold fever, with all its human drama of heroes and villains, has helped shape the cultural history of Northern Lapland. Kai. J. Rantanen, born in Southern Finland, was lured by gold as a young man while hitchhiking to Norway. He stopped in the Lemmenjoki area and never left.

“It’s the thrill of adventure, the dream of getting rich, but most of all it is hard work, and the exhilaration at finding a gold nugget, he says. “Of course, there is also the landscape of vast fells, animals, birds and the peace that prevails here, whether in summer or in winter.”

Thousands of kilograms of gold have been wrested from the rock and water over time; no one knows how many exactly, since gold prospectors are by nature secretive. If you want to boost your luck, go to the Tankavaara Gold Village – there, everyone strikes gold.

Lapland

In Lapland, swapping the hustle and bustle of ski resorts and cities to the peace and quiet of the wilderness takes mere minutes.

Lapland

Ivalojoki River

The Ivalojoki — 180 km long and flowing into Lake Inari — is the most legendary river of Lapland. This is where the gold rush began in the 1870s. The largest nuggets have been found in its vicinity. At its shores lies Kultala, the “Golden Village,” which, under the Russian Tsar in 1870, was the headquarter of officials governing gold prospecting. Now an open-air museum, several trails lead to it through the Hammastunturi wilderness, among them the 7.6 km long “Golden Trail”. It runs along old gold mines and claims, yielding insights into the gold mining history.

Lemmenjoki River

With its many tributaries, the Lemmenjoki river, in the municipality of Inari, snakes its way for 70 km through the Lemmenjoki National Park — one of the largest wildernesses in Europe. There you still find gold diggers, whose way of life is close to what it was in old times. Nowadays, however, their means of transportation in the summer months is quads and boats, and in the winter, snowmobiles.

The closest inhabited place, the Sami village Njurgalahti in Inari, is about 30 km from the gold fields. From there, tourists are taken to the gold panning areas in the summer months. Maybe it is you who finds the gold treasure Jaakko Isola’s is said to have buried there!

Tankavaara gold mining village

Every summer, international championships in gold panning are held in Tankavaara, which lies near the Urho Kekkonen National Park and Saariselkä — a popular tourist destination. Today, Tankavaara is the only authentic European gold mining village. You can learn gold prospecting there not only outdoors in summer, but also indoors in winter. And the found gold and precious stones are yours to keep.

In this Klondike atmosphere maybe you strike gold like Aslak Peltovuoma did, to whom the gold of Tankavaara appeared in a dream. For your drive to Tankavaara, take road number 4 near Vuotso, Lapland’s most southern Sami village at Sodankylä. The Golden Road really does contain gold deposits, as was discovered.

Tankavaara Gold Museum

The Gold Museum — probably the only museum that vividly traces the past and present history of Finnish and international gold prospecting — is in Tankavaara, a picture book gold mining town like out of the 19th century, with restaurants, year-round accommodation and even a western saloon. The museum’s goal nowadays is to get the Ivalojoki river on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Nuggets of gold

The largest gold nugget was found in 1930 at the Ivalojoki river and weighed 390.9 grams. A gold prospector who in 2008 found a nugget weighing 113 grams observes that a lump of gold imparts a sense of power and wealth when you hold it in your hand. The world market price for Lappish gold is always slightly above average due its 95 percent degree of purity. With luck, patience and the right guide, it is possible for the uninitiated to find at least gold dust or maybe even a small nugget. With the largest a young visitor found in Tankavaara , weighing 39 grams, he was able to buy a moped.

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