The Järämä fortifications

The Jämärä fortifications are an interesting relic of the complexities of the Lapland War. The site has several restored dugouts and trenches as well as a museum and café. The museum is dedicated to the Lapland War in Fell Lapland.

Linked fortifications were built across the Käsivarsi region, from Könkämäeno to Norway. There were tens of kilometres of trenches while the dugouts and stations for anti-tank artillery, rocket launchers and machine guns were numbered in the hundreds. The Germans also built roads.

As Finland called a truce with the Soviets in 1944, the Lapland War began as an effort to drive out the Germans. At the most, 12 000 German soldiers were stationed in Jämärä. The Finnish Army followed the retreating German troops and arrived at Järämä in November 1944. The Finnish troops were set up in the village of Markkina, 8 kilometres from the Germans. Aside from a few clashes, no actual battles were fought