Kemi Information & Kemi Links at HealthHaven.com

Kemi
Kemi
	— Town —
Kemin kaupunki
	Kemi in July 2007
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Location of Kemi in Finland
	Coordinates: 65°44′N 024°34′E / 65.733°N 24.567°ECoordinates: 65°44′N 024°34′E / 65.733°N 24.567°E
Country	Finland
Province	Lapland
Region	Lapland
Sub-region	Kemi–Tornio sub-region
Charter	1869
	Government
- Town manager	Ossi Repo
	Area (2009-01-01)
- Total	747.44 km2 (288.6 sq mi)
- Land	95.27 km2 (36.8 sq mi)
- Water	652.17 km2 (251.8 sq mi)
Area rank	161st largest in Finland
	Population (2009-06-30)
- Total	22,561
- Density	236.81/km2 (613.3/sq mi)
Population rank	45th largest in Finland
	Population by native language
- Finnish	98% (official)
- Swedish	0.1%
- Others	1.9%
	Population by age
- 0 to 14	14.2%
- 15 to 64	66.5%
- 65 or older	19.3%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate	20.75%
Website	www.kemi.fi

Kemi (Northern Sami: Giepma) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near of the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour.

Kemi is located in the province of Lapland. The town has a population of 22,561 (30 June 2009)^[2] and covers an area of 747.44 square kilometres (288.59 sq mi) of which 652.17 km² (251.80 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 236.81 inhabitants per square kilometre (613.3 /sq mi).

The main economic activity in Kemi is centred on two large paper and woodpulp mills and on the only chromium mine in Europe (which supplies the Outokumpu ferrochrome plant in Tornio). A polytechnic university is also situated in Kemi.

Kemi also has a claim to fame as the home of the world's largest snow castle (reconstructed every year with a different architecture). The snowcastle is usually located at the inner harbour of Kemi.

The Crown of Finland (made for Finland's king but then never used) is kept in a museum in Kemi.

It's also the homeland of the Power Metal band Sonata Arctica.

[edit] WWII Hostage Crisis

During the Second World War, after Finland signed the Moscow Armistice and found itself involved in the Lapland War with its former German ally, German forces in the beginning of October 1944 captured 132 Finnish civilian hostages from Kemi (as well as 130 from Rovaniemi) and threatened to kill them unless the Finnish army released Germans captured at the Battle of Tornio. However, the Finns refused to comply and threatened to retaliate by killing the German POWs. The hostages were released unharmed on October 11, 1944, near Rovaniemi.

[edit] Sights

Kemi church
The SnowCastle of Kemi
Gemstone gallery
Icebreaker Sampo
The sailship Jähti

[edit] Economics

In April 2007, the city of Kemi laid off all of its municipal workers for 2 weeks due to the failing economy of the city. Spiraling specialist health care costs and a fleeting industry tax base are stated as the cause for the vote.^[6] These are the most drastic temporary dismissals to take place in Finland since 2000.

[edit] Transportation

Kemi railway station is an intermediate station on the railway between Lapland and Helsinki. It is operated by VR. The junction of the Kolari and Rovaniemi lines lies to the north of Kemi station.

Finnish national road 4 and European routes E8 and E75 run through the town.

Kemi-Tornio Airport is located 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) north of Kemi city centre.