Our Story
First a little history
Seppo's forefathers have roamed Lapland's wilderness for uncountable generations over many centuries, establishing winter bases and then moving aound during the summers. They were the first to finally settle in this particular part of Lapland in 1733 when they found a suitable spot to build a permanant home on the northern shore of the upper Nampa lake. They used the rivers to travel around and this place was some 70 kms up-stream from the trading post at Rovaniemi. In those days Rovaniemi consisted of around 50 houses and a church. These were built on a small peninsula near the confluence of the Ounasjoki river with the Kemijoki, Finland's longest river. Because of it's favourable position it had been a popular place to live since the stone age, and by the mid-1500's a small population of about 200 lived there, made up of people from different indigenous Finnic tribes. From Rovaniemi, the Kemijoki continues another 120 kms down to the town of Kemi on the Gulf of Bothnia, which had already established itself as a settlement in the 1200's.
By 1839, a road weaving inland from Kemi along the Kemijoki river and up to Rovaniemi was completed, and as a result, trading in furs, timber and salmon increased greatly. Kemi's town had prospered since the early Middle Ages because of it's position on the coastal road around the Gulf of Bothnia, which was an important trading route. Now it was Rovaniemi's turn to prosper. Since there were no actual shops in Rovaniemi yet, trading was mainly carried out by merchants and peddlers from Kemi or Oulu and beyond. Ten years on and encouraged by the trade and the abundant natural resources further north, the road building continued upwards from Rovaniemi. First it made its way north-east to Vikajärvi, then turned northwards and eventually caught up with Seppo's ancestors. From here the road continued slowly onwards to another ancient settlement called Sodankylä, closely following the rivers that cut through the wilderness. This 130 km stretch of road took over 50 years to build. After Sodankylä, it continued north and eventually reached the abundant natural resources and the Arctic Ocean in the 1920's. It now became known as the Arctic Ocean Passage.
Korvala's homestead was established in 1889, 12 km north of Yli-Nampa and near Käyrästunturi fell. The location was ideal: next to the new, northbound road and on a small hill between the shores of Korvalampi lake and the Raudanjoki river, another of Kemijoki's tributaries. It soon became an inn, known as a 'kestikievari' in Finnish, accommodating intrepid voyagers alongside lumberjacks and travelling government officials. In those days, inns were located approximately 10 kms apart, and travellers walked, skied or rode in horse-drawn sleighs and carts, often driven by the owners of each inn along the way. Korvalan Kestikievari is the only inn in the region to have stayed in operation since those early days, so has been welcoming guests for over a hundred years, offering food and a place to sleep for those on their travels. Seppo recalls how his grandmother used to sit on her porch steps, smoking her pipe and watching their horses work down in the fields alongside the latest acquisition - a Fordson Super Major tractor. She would reminisce about those early days before the modern world caught up with the people living in this remote corner of Europe.
Nowadays...
...our accommodation is in cosy, self-catering log cabins. There are also many outdoor activities and tours available for travellers to fill their days in winter: for example, cross-country skiing, snowshoe hiking and ice-fishing, finishing off with a sauna and swim in the lake. Don't forget to look out for those northern lights too! For the more adventurous there are husky-sledding tours available on site as well. More details can be found on our winter activity pages.
