Kemi

Kemi is a town in Finnish Lapland, at the northernmost tip of the Gulf of Bothnia. Most tourists are drawn by two wintry sights: its world famous Lumilinna Snow Castle & Hotel and the unusual chance to have an icebreaker cruise. The city also boasts an array of shops, restaurants and bars. In its character, rather than having a Lappish ambiance, it strongly resembles an ordinary Finnish town.

The surrounding countryside is a separate municipality, Keminmaa.

Understand
Kemi is an industrial town dominated by a Metsä Group and Veitsiluoto. The in Keminmaa is the only chromium mine in Europe. The chromium is used in Tornio's stainless steel mill, which was established for this particular reason, 30 km away.

The area surrounding the mouth of the river Kemi (Finnish: Kemijoki) has been subject to agriculture at least since the 13th century. The Kemi parish was mentioned in 1329, but it was only in 1856 that Emperor Alexander II of Russia established the town. It was built according to a strict grid plan, which still makes finding places in downtown Kemi fairly simple.

A sawmill on the Laitakari island began operating in 1863; the economy of the reborn Kemi was heavily based on logging. The railway connected the town to southern Finland in 1903, and in 1939 the harbor moved from downtown to Ajos, about 10 km off-town. Today Kemi has one of the few deep-water harbours in Finland. During the World War II aftermath known as the Lapland War, retreating German troops devastated public buildings, and all the bridges over the Kemijoki river, but left private houses untouched.

In July 1949 the government wanted to cut the wages of lumber workers, who went into a strike against the plans. In August 18th 1949 the strike ended up into a bloody conflict between the police and over 3,000 lumber workers and harbour dockers. This "Bloody Thursday" is so far the last fatal political protest in Finland.

Due to its labour activist past Kemi has got fame as a "red town". The Left Alliance and the Social Democratic Party still have more than half of the city council seats, making Kemi a political curiosity in Finland.

Modern-day Kemi has slightly over 20,000 inhabitants. The population trend is declining.

By train
There are no passenger services across from Sweden, as the rail gauge is different. Within Finland, trains from Rovaniemi take about 1½ hours, while a trip all the way from Helsinki, fairly comfortable if done in a sleeper overnight, is 9 hours.

By bus
Buses head over the Swedish border at Tornio/Haparanda (30 min), coming from Luleå (2½ hr), to where there are trains from the south (and from Narvik in Norway). Buses from Luleå are free with most rail passes. A direct bus connection to Kemi is available from Helsinki, Oulu and Rovaniemi.

By car
Kemi is a little north of the mid-point of highway 4 (part of E75) connecting Helsinki to Utsjoki (near Nuorgam at the northernmost point of the country); from either of these it's about 9 hours of driving depending on the road conditions. Oulu and Rovaniemi are both a little over an hour away along the same highway.

E8 along the coast as highway 8 joins highway 4 south of Oulu and continues as highway 21 via Tornio (with road connections from Sweden by E4) towards Kilpisjärvi and Tromsø.

Get around
Easily by walking. Kemin Taksipalvelu Oy operates local bus lines in Kemi with just a few departures a day. There is a route planner for local transport trips. Matkahuolto Routes and Tickets app is able to first plan the route and after it sell the right ticket for it. Aside from these your options for getting around without walking (or biking) are driving or taking a taxi.

By taxi

 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi

See




Do




Buy
Reindeer skin rugs are available year round in speciality stores from around €60.

The city centre has a number of shops, including supermarkets, clothes, sports and photography shops.

Eat
In the city centre of Kemi within 5 minutes walk from the railway station and all hotels:

Drink
Kemi has a varied selection of bars, pubs and nightclubs with students often filling them midweek, and locals each weekend.

The most popular bars in Kemi include:



Nightclub choice is reasonably good:



Connect
As of Nov 2023, Kemi and its approach roads have 4G from Telia and 5G from DNA and Elisa.

Go next

 * Rovaniemi, the regional centre of Finnish Lapland. Its world-famous Santa Claus Village is a 80 minutes drive north of Kemi, using Highway 4.
 * Tornio, a nearby city in the same region, near the border with Sweden
 * Tornio-Haparanda Golf Club is an internationally-known course, which has holes starting and finishing in Finland and Sweden. The course is approximately 20 minutes drive north in the city of Tornio. A round costs €30 in summer, while snow golf is also available in winter.
 * Bothnian Bay National Park is a maritime national park out to sea. It is accessible only by boat.