Kilpisjärvi

Kilpisjärvi (Finnish)
Gilbbesjávri (Northern Sami)
Village
Kilpisjärvi village seen from Saana fell.
Kilpisjärvi (Finnish)
Gilbbesjávri (Northern Sami)
Location in Finland
Coordinates: 69°02′50″N 20°47′50″E / 69.04722°N 20.79722°E / 69.04722; 20.79722
CountryFinland
RegionLapland
MunicipalityEnontekiö
Population
 (2000)
  Total
114
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Kilpisjärvi (Finnish: [ˈkilpisjærʋi]; Northern Sami: Gilbbesjávri [ˈkilːppesˌjaːvːriː]) is a village in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland, Finland. It is located in Finland's northwestern "arm" near the northwesternmost point of the country.

Although Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest villages in Enontekiö, it is still quite small. In 2000 its population was recorded as 114. Like most Sami villages, Kilpisjärvi is built mainly around one major road, Käsivarrentie, or the "Arm Road" and Neljäntuulentie, or the "Four Winds' Road" — also known as E8. Near Kilpisjärvi is the highest point of Finnish road network, at an elevation of 565.8 m.

Kilpisjärvi has its own school and a hotel, and the northernmost research station of the University of Helsinki is situated there, as well as the KAIRA research facility. The best-known tourist attractions in Kilpisjärvi are the Saana fell and the "three-country border point", a monument at the common border point of Finland, Sweden and Norway, located at approximately 69°03′36″N 20°32′56″E / 69.06000°N 20.54889°E / 69.06000; 20.54889, roughly 2.5 km northwest from the end of Lake Kilpisjärvi. Over the lake, Sweden is within viewing distance of the village, and by road, Norway is less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the north. During the winter, there are about four times more Norwegian tourists living in Kilpisjärvi than Finnish permanent residents, as Norwegians are attracted by the lower prices and more relaxed rules for snowmobiling, which is generally prohibited in Northern Norway.

In the music video for Röyksopp's Poor Leno, Leno's place of origin is listed as Kilpisjärvi.