Kolari today: weather now, the railway station and night train, the bridge to Sweden, the old church on Kolarinsaari, where to eat today and aurora chance.
Kolari railway station and the night train: Kolari railway station is 3.8 km north of the village centre by road. VR’s night trains run to Rovaniemi, Kolari and Kemijärvi, and you can take your own car with you on the car-carrier train. Helsinki–Kolari is VR’s second most travelled car-carrier route, after Helsinki–Rovaniemi. On the busiest evenings of the ski season up to five night trains leave Helsinki, two of them for Kolari. The line from Kemi to Kolari is not electrified, so during a longer stop on the way the electric locomotive is changed for a diesel. The waiting room at the station is open on days when trains run: it opens when the first night train of the day arrives and closes in the evening after the last one has left. The ticket machine is inside. VR gives the distance from the station as 35 km to Ylläs and 80 km to Levi, both served by connecting buses. Check the timetables in VR’s journey planner.
Kolarinsaari Old Church: The wooden church on Kolarinsaari island was completed in 1818 to standard plans from Engel’s architectural office. It is square in plan, with a separate bell tower, and is protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency. It was restored in 1976, and its altarpiece was painted by J. Hedman in 1832. The church has no lighting and no heating. It is still in use: in summer it hosts concerts, events and weddings, and on Christmas Eve there are services by candlelight. It has no regular opening hours.
Kolari Church: Kolari’s newer church was built in 1965 in the village centre, on a field belonging to the Jokijala vicarage. The architect Veikko Larkas designed it in the shape of a kota, a traditional Lapland hut, with a warm, homely interior. It seats about 400 people. Access is step-free, and there is an induction loop.
Bridge to Sweden: Tullintie (road 403) crosses the Muonionjoki to Sweden on the Kolari–Pajala bridge, 3.3 km from the village. Finland and Sweden agreed on the bridge in an exchange of notes in 1980. The border follows the river, which locals call Väylä, the waterway. On the Swedish side the centre of Pajala is about 28 km away. Take ID with you when you cross, and remember that in Sweden the clocks are one hour behind Finland.
Where the rivers meet at Lappea: At Lappea in Kolari the two great rivers of the valley, the Tornionjoki and the Muonionjoki, meet. You can see the confluence from a sand ridge beside Lappeantie, a little over 20 km south of the village along that road, just before Lappea village itself. The place was long an important crossroads of travel routes: in the 1650s Arendt Grape, owner of the Kengis ironworks, proposed founding a new town at Lappea, but the plan was turned down.
Kolari local history museum at Sieppijärvi: The Kolari local history museum is on the Rova farm at Sieppijärvi, about 22 km from the village by road. It has seven historic wooden buildings, collections and a heritage trail of 300 m. The main building, Pääkkölä, was completed around 1889 and escaped being burned in the Lapland War of 1944–1945. The museum is open in summer; check the opening days on the municipality’s website before you go.
Jaskan Lounas-Kahvila: Weekday lunch buffet and café counter in the municipal building.
Ravintola Meän Paikka: Restaurant at Hotelli Kolari serving breakfast and warm meals.
Pub 65: Village pub in the centre of Kolari, pouring since 2011.