The dark history of Father Christmas’ Lapland that was burned to the ground by Nazis, has 2,500 bodies in a mass grave and ghosts of children haunting the skies
Sun Online reveals that before it became a grotto, the area was burned to the ground by Nazi soldiers, bloody battles claimed the lives of more than 270 locals and another 200 were blown up by mines
WITH its snow-capped trees, twinkling lights and sleighs pulled by real reindeer, Lapland is one of the most magical places in the world.
But go back 70 years, the town of Rovaniemi, where tourists flock to see Santa's grotto, was burned town by Nazis in Wold War Two.
The small town had been locked in a territory war between Russia and Germany at the start of World War Two - resulting in bloody battles on the white snow and the native tribe's reindeer herds being eaten by Nazi soldiers for food.
More than 270 locals were killed as they fled the soldiers who had overtaken their town as a military base and, when the troops were finally told to leave in 1944, they set it on fire.
A further 200 people died when they were blown up by mines the Germans had left behind.
Here, Sun Online delves into the murky history the before architect Alvar Alto built the official hometown of Santa Claus we know and love today.
Nazis slept in Santa's grotto and ate reindeer
As WW2 approached, Finland's location, around 32km from the Russian border, meant that Roviniemi was caught in a battle between Nazi Germany and Russia.
Leningrad was Russia's cultural centre became a prime target for the Nazis.
Knowing this, Russia wanted to invade parts of Finland where they thought the Germans may cross at borders and Roviniemi was close to the coast.
The Finns, dressed head to foot in white camouflage to blend in with the landscape, managed to fend off their enemies because they were experts in the snow and cold-weather conditions, but eventually lost 10 per cent of their land in 1940.
The biggest blow was yet to come.
After the Russians changed tactics signed a secret no-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany to protect their land, the two countries split several areas into Soviet or Germany military property.
Rovaniemi fell under German power and the Nazis moved in.
What is now Santa's airport became a military base and where the grotto now is, the soldiers once slept.
Even the centuries-old tribes based across Finland were pulled into the warfare. The 'Sami' tribe were used for long-distance patrol and navigation because of their innate sense of direction and expert skiing skills.
In the cold winters, there was a lack of food, so the Nazis ate the tribe's reindeer herds.
Houses burned to the ground and locals blown up
The tale of territory then took another devastating twist when, as German's grip began to loosen close to the end of WW2, the Russians ordered Finland to kick out the German troops.
Nazis ate the tribe's reindeer for food. There were 6,000 German soldiers stationed in Rovaniemi.
When they set fire to the town, 90 per cent of it was burned to the ground, leaving just the chimney breasts standing.
During the German occupancy, 279 died in the town and another 200 were killed by hidden mines when they returned to their homes.
The German Soldiers' Graveyard, just outside of the town, holds the remains of 2,500 German soldiers who died in Lapland during the war.
Northern lights are souls of dead children
One of the huge attractions of Lapland is the Northern Lights - otherwise known as Aurora Borealis.
While the greenish and red hues are a sight to behold, the mysterious lights are shrouded with years of terrifying myths.
Tribes in Greenland believe the fleeting and playful nature of the lights - which appear at different times throughout the year - symbolise the spirits of dead children.
The Sami believe the red lights symbol the ghosts of the murdered, who have continued to bleed in the afterlife, or are cutting themselves in the spirit world.
Similarly in Siberia, the tribes believed the people who had died were still continuing to live in the skies and that the occasional red lights meant their had been an other-worldly battle and blood shed.
Risen from the ashes - how Lapland became Santa's home
It wasn't long until the people of Finland wanted to rebuild their capital, so architect Alvar Aalto was commissioned with the task.
The famous Finnish architect had been responsible for some of Finland's finest buildings but Rovaniemi was a huge challenge.
The town contained so much rubble that some locals still find remnants today.
Championing the reindeer, which have become as much a part of Christmas tales as Santa himself, Alvar even designed the town around the sketch of a reindeer's head.
The streets and roads made the reindeer's antlers, and the football stadium became an eye.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was invited to see the reconstruction and a cabin was built for her arrival.
The cabin became a tourist attraction and shortly after the area expanded, becoming Santa Claus Village.
Stalls, reindeer rides and Santa sprang up before the first official Lapland flight landed 100 British tourists in 1984.
The post box that was built then still stands, and receives nearly a million letters a year from children worldwide.
Father Christmas has been calling Lapland home since 1927, when the host of a Finnish children's radio programme claimed he was a friend of Santa, and said his home was on a hill shaped like an ear 200km outside of Rovaniemi.
Legend has it that he can hear all children's secrets.
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Now, the town makes it's entire livelihood from Christmas - even banks have been transformed into magical Christmas palaces, and the airport is rarely accessible outside of Christmas time.
The Christmas magic is honed to a fine art, with reindeer safaris, elves and even Santas being flown specifically from the UK so they're knowledgeable on new toy trends on the wish lists.
And for the people of Lapland, while their past may be haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, the future looks much more magical.