Kemi (Northern Sami: Giepma) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near of the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour. Kemi is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of 23,424 and covers an area of 91.96 km² of which 1.25 km² is water. The population density is 256.2 inhabitants per km². The main economic activity in Kemi is centred on two large paper and woodpulp mills and on the only chromium mine in Europe (which supplies the Outokumpu ferrochrome plant in Tornio). A polytechnic university is also situated in Kemi. Kemi also has a claim to fame as the home of the world's largest snow castle (reconstructed every year with a different architecture). The snowcastle is usually located at the inner harbour of Kemi.