- Neiden, Finnmark
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Neiden
Njauddâm— Village — 
Location in Norway
NeidenCoordinates: 69°42′N 29°23′E / 69.7°N 29.383°E Country Norway Region Northern Norway County Finnmark Municipality Sør-Varanger Time zone CET (UTC+01) – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02) Neiden (Skolt Sami: Njauddâm, Northern Sami: Njávdán, Inari Sami: Njiävđám, and Finnish: Näätämö, previously also Näytämö) is a settlement in Lapland with approx. 250 inhabitants. Neiden, situated at the Neiden River, actually consists of two villages separated by the border between Norway and Finland, one side in the municipality of Sør-Varanger of Finnmark county in Norway and the other side in the municipality of Inari of Lapland in Finland. Neiden is the official name in Norway and Näätämö in Finland.
Contents
History
Neiden became the main settlement of the westernmost Njauddâm sijdd (Northern Sami: siida, i.e. the fundamental unit of the old Sami society, indicating both the area and the family group(s) exploiting it) of the Skolts and has remained relatively unchanged, leaving numerous traces of earlier use of the area intact.
Neiden was governmentally divided officially in 1852. The reason for that separation was the remarcation treaty between Sweden-Norway and Grand Duchy of Finland, which prohibited nomadic reindeer herding and moving of fishermen over the border. That caused much harm to reindeer husbandry for a long time.
People
Most inhabitants of Neiden are Sami, Kveni and Norwegians.
Skolt Sami
The Skolts form a minority group among the Sami and are distinct from other groups in a number of ways. The Russian culture has had a strong influence on the Skolts, who adopted Christianity in its Eastern Orthodox form in the 16th century. The Skolt Sami language is highly endangered and not spoken actively in Neiden today. Almost all speakers live in Finland. Østsamisk museum, situated in Neiden, is a Skolt Sami museum. A Skolt Sami tradition maintained until today is the so-called Käpälä-fishing of salmon with a cast net.
Protected area
The protected area in Skoltebyen includes a number of different monuments, some of which are old enough (i.e. more than 100 years) to be automatically protected under the Cultural Heritage Act. These include a Russian Orthodox graveyard, the ruins of a smoke sauna, sixteen sites of traditional turf huts known as gammer and a tiny (only 13 m²) Russian Orthodox chapel, St. Georg's Chapel, build 1565 by Tryphon of Pechenga. In addition, many of the natural features of the area have been and are being used in religious ceremonies, such as baptism.
The formal protection (scheduling) of the settlement was carried out in order to safeguard its historical and religious importance as well as the integrity of the landscape. This is the most important cultural heritage site for the Skolts and their surviving culture in Norway. The protection order was issued to prevent the area from being developed in a way that would reduce its significance and cultural value, while at the same time encouraging use that will communicate, maintain and develop the Skolt culture. The protection order does not affect the commercial salmon fishing in the Neiden River nor other commercial activities in the area.
Coordinates: 69°42′N 29°23′E / 69.7°N 29.383°E
External links
Categories:- Villages in Inari
- Populated places of Arctic Norway
- Populated places of Arctic Finland
- Villages in Finnmark
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