Kajaani

Introducing Kajaani

The further north you get, the smaller the 'major' towns. Kajaani is the centre of the Kainuu region, and although a pleasant enough riverside town, it's no metropolis, being mainly a transport changeover and stopover between the Lakeland and the north. What little there is to see is related to Kajaani's long position as an important station on the Kainuu tar transportation route - until the 19th century this region produced more tar than anywhere else in the world.

One of Kajaani's claims to fame is that Elias Lönnrot, creator of Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, worked here for a period in the 19th century, using it as a base for his travels. The long-reigning president Urho Kekkonen also lived here as a student (his house stills stands at Kalliokatu 7). More disturbing, though, has been a publicized trend of racist violence, with Kajaani named the most racist city in Finland by the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper according to statistics on racially-motivated crime.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009