Arctic Ocean Highway

Arctic Ocean Highway (Finnish: Jäämerentie, Swedish: Ishavsvägen, German: Eismeerstraße) was a 531 kilometre-long highway in Lapland, Finland connecting the town of Rovaniemi to the port of Liinakhamari by the Pechenga Bay of the Barents Sea. It was opened in 1931 as the first highway in the world reaching the Arctic Ocean.

Arctic Ocean Highway and the Liinakhamari port became vital during the World War II in 1940–1941 as the only export route for Finland and Sweden not controlled by Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. After the war, Finland ceded the area of the former Petsamo Province to the Soviet Union and thereby lost its connection to the Arctic Ocean. The highway was rerouted and today it is a part of the Finnish national road 4 leading to Norway.

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