Mindful enjoyment of Arctic nature

Less than an hour away from Rovaniemi’s popular tourist trail lies a true oasis of calm. Lapland Deluxe is a peaceful countryside getaway that provides an escape from the daily grind and busy schedules of urban life.

By Ndéla Faye

In 2017, Merja and Jari Paksuniemi became the owners of Merja’s family estate in Vanttausjärvi, a tiny village an hour’s drive from Rovaniemi, Finland. The estate was in a state of disrepair and had been vacant for nearly two decades. What ensued was a community effort to breathe new life into the old log house and the adjacent buildings, some of which are more than 150 years old. “We wanted to keep the spirit of the old estate alive, so the renovations have been made using traditional methods,” Merja explains.

Guests have the option to stay in two lakeside holiday homes – Ainola Holiday Home and Aurora Cottage Onnela – at opposite ends of a private peninsula, each of which enjoys complete privacy.

Feel, see, taste, experience

In the summertime, guests can experience the ‘nightless nights’, when the sun doesn’t set below the horizon. Summer activities range from fishing, swimming and rowing on Lake Vanttausjärvi, to berry-picking and just relaxing. Jari and Merja also keep domesticated sheep. “They are an integral part of our family, and talking to them and hugging them has therapeutic qualities,” Jari says. www.laplanddeluxe.fi

In the winter, guests can head out on the frozen lake for a snowshoe walk, and the Northern Lights can be spotted when the atmospheric conditions are right. The pace of the excursions is slow to allow for mindful wandering, or for admiring the starry Arctic sky while enjoying food around a campfire.

“We are involved as little or as much in the activities as our guests want. We can serve them a private dinner at our own historical log house and guide them on excursions, or they might prefer to have meals in their own cabin and explore the surrounding nature on their own.

We have plenty of tips on local activities, and we can tailor guests’ holidays to suit their needs,” Merja explains.

“Here, you can sample the clean local cuisine, and explore the surrounding nature. This place is a labour of love and a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. We want to share our way of life with our guests and to show them an authentic Lapland experience,” she concludes.

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Sweden’s commitment to artistic freedom

By Lena Hunter

In this Swedish culture special, we’ve profiled 13 of the country’s forerunning institutions whose unmissable programmes for 2023 will enthral tourists and locals alike. Spanning the Vikings, naval history, heritage textiles, modernist furniture, mind-bending paradoxes and far more, the events and exhibitions slated to launch this year have cemented Sweden as one of the most exciting countries in Europe in which to immerse yourself in the arts. Both Sweden’s capital and its second city are celebrating big birthdays this year. Gothenburg is turning 400 years old and will recognise it with a culture festival in June, while the renowned Nordiska Museet in Stockholm is turning 150, and putting on a smorgasbord of arts events in the coming months. This backdrop of cultural jubi- lees also provides a fantastic opportunity to discover the smaller – but no less pioneering – museums and galleries around the country. In these interviews with curators, founders and historical experts from institutions large and small, we take you behind the curtain of Sweden’s exhilarating cultural sector. www.visitsweden.com

In 2023, the Swedish Arts Council will host the ninth World Summit on Arts and Culture together with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). This much-anticipated latest edition of the renowned event will see government representatives, cultural policymakers, researchers and artists come together to discuss how to safeguard artistic freedom.

The term may sound nebulous, but artistic freedom entails concrete rights recog- nised and protected under international law. UNESCO defines it as ‘the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressure of non-state actors’.

That the Swedish Arts Council is co-producing the summit this year is a significant accolade, and the IFACCA praised the Swedish Arts Council for its “longstanding commitment to artistic freedom”. It’s praise, not only for the organ- isation, but for the entire country whose national drive to support the cultural sphere, at home and abroad, has made it a leader in the global fight for artistic freedom.

The World Summit on Arts and Culture will take place in Stockholm, from 3-5 May 2023.

Learn more about the Swedish Arts Council’s work: www.kulturradet.se