Demographics

As of , the municipality has a population of

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| data_type = Population

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| label3 = 1990

| label4 = 1995

| label5 = 2000

| label6 = 2005

| label7 = 2010

| label8 = 2015

| label9 = 2020

| label10 = 2025

| data_max = 42000

| data3 = 39577

| data4 = 39827

| data5 = 38912

| data6 = 38217

| data7 = 38157

| data8 = 37622

| data9 = 36567

| data10 = 36370

Government

The Kajaani City Council consists of 51 members and following the 2021 municipal elections the seats are divided for the Centre Party (12), the Finns Party (11), the Left Alliance (9), the National Coalition Party (8), the Social Democratic Party (6), the Green League (4) and the Christian Democrats (1). The chairperson of the City Council is Eila Aavakare from the Finns Party. The 11-member City Government is headed by Teuvo Hatva. The Mayor, whose duty is that of a civil servant independent of the city council, is Jari Tolonen.

Economy

thumb|left|The corner of Kauppakatu and Kirkkokatu

The budgeted income of Kajaani was FIM 930 million in 1996. In its earlier history, Kajaani was a thriving center of the tar industry. A channel built in 1846 especially for the transportation of tar out of the town still exists today. Kajaani Oy was eventually acquired by Valmet in 1983, and the subsidiary Kajaani Electronics was formed. When the paper mill was acquired by UPM Kymmene in 1989 it became the third-largest paper company in Finland. It closed in 2008 due to lack of profitability and high energy costs, but has since continued its operations, and was sold to Pölkky Oy in 2012.

thumb|right|Ämmäkoski power plant on the river

In the early 1970s an electronics manufacturing plant was built in Kajaani, and the firm Kajaani Automation was established in 1980. As of 1999 the peat industry in Kajaani earned FIM 0.5 million annually. The Sirius restaurant serves Finnish cuisine and is housed in a former government building which hosted conferences between Leonid Brezhnev and Urho Kekkonen. Also of note is the Chinese restaurant Golden Dragon, the Torero which serves Spanish cuisine, Hospoda Kourna and Pikantti. The Central Hospital of Kainuu, which serves the wider region, is situated in Kajaani. Opened in 1968, it has a number of specialist medical departments andworks in cooperation with the Oulu University Hospital. The town also has an eye clinic.

Kainuu Brigade, a unit of the Finnish Army established in 1966, is the third biggest employer in the city. The brigade trains around 4,000 conscripts each year and employs 500 military personnel and 100 civilians.

In January 2025, it was announced that XTX Markets would be investing over $1 billion in development of a data-centre complex in Kajaani.

Landmarks

thumb|The ruins of Kajaani Castle

thumb|Church of Kajaani

Kajaani Castle, located on an island on the Kajaani river in the centre of the city, was originally built in 1604 and was commissioned by Charles IX of Sweden. The castle served as an administrative centre, prison, military base and a refuge for the citizens. It is decorated with English Gothic style carvings.

Kajaani Orthodox Church (Kajaanin ortodoksinen seurakunta), which has a regional membership of about 1880 members is centred at Christ Church of the Transfiguration in Kajaani. The church was completed in 1959 to designs by Ilmari Ahonen. It contains murals painted by Petros Sasaki and Alkiviadis Kepolas. In the suburb of Paltaniemi is a church, originally built in 1599, and considered to be the regional centre for the Lutheran Church. Eino Leno House, containing a cafe, was built in 1978 to commemorate famous poet Eino Leino, a native of the town. Keisarintalli, a wooden stable, was used as a boarding house for Tsar Alexander I of Russia during his tour of Finland in 1819.

Culture

The Kajaani Town Theatre, established in 1969, puts on plays and concerts, typically seen by around 200 people. The Art Museum of Kajaani ('), located in a building that was a police station, which is connected to Kajaani's former city hall. was founded in 1993 and centers on Finnish modern art. Kainuu Museum (') displays information related to the tar industry, the Kalevala (the national epic of Finland) and author Elias Lönnrot and others on the ground floor, and regularly hosts temporary exhibitions upstairs. originally known as Sana ja Sävel, and Kainuun JazzKevät (The Kainuu Jazz Spring). Kajaani Orchestra began in the 1950s, and was expanded when the Kuopio garrison band moved to Kajaani in 1963.

Radio Kajaus, one of Finland's oldest local radios, began operations in Kajaani in 1989, and remains one of the few completely independent radio stations in Finland. Kainuu Radio, which belongs to the Yle, broadcasts Monday to Friday from 6.30 to 17.00.

Education

thumb|left|Kajaani mobile library

The town is served by the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, a small university of applied sciences which was established in 1992. It provides courses in Activity Tourism, Information Systems, Nursing and Healthcare, Mechanical and Mining Engineering and Business and Innovations, and offers 8 Bachelor's degree programmes and 5 Master programmes delivered in Finnish. The Research Center for Developmental Teaching and Learning at Kajaani University Consortium is associated with the University of Oulu. There is also a polytechnical institute in Kajaani, which had an enrollment of 653 students in the mid 1990s. In 2022, the 550 PetaFLOP LUMI (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure) supercomputer began operation at the CSC data center in the town, where it has been confirmed as the fastest supercomputer in Europe and among the top five in the world.

The government-run Kainuu Music Institute was founded in 1957, and is part of the Kaukametsä Congress and Culture Centre. It is one of the largest musical institutes in Finland, with an enrollment of about 900 from the wider Kainuu region. Kainuu Music dance department Ballet Kaukametsä teaches dance to dancers of different ages. The public library of Kajaani is situated on Kauppakatu street and has free Internet access,

Sports

Kajaani has two football clubs, AC Kajaani and Kajaanin Haka. AC Kajaani was formed in 2006 after the merger of FC Tarmo and Kajaanin Palloilijat (KaPa), and plays their home games at the Kajaanin Liikuntapuisto. The men's football first team currently plays in the Kakkonen (Division 2). Kajaanin Haka was formed in 1953 and plays at the Kajaanin liikuntapuisto stadium. The men's football first team currently plays in the Kolmonen (Division 3). The local ice hockey team, Hokki, plays in the Mestis league.

Kajaani ice rink (Kajaanin jäähalli) was inaugurated in 1989 and accommodates for 2372 spectators, 781 in seating and 1591 in standing. There is a race course (Kajaanin ravirata) about to the north of the centre of Kajaani in Kuluntalahden, which hosts competitions only during the summer season. The track was completed in 2008 with a new café-restaurant.

Kajaani has hiking paths, skiing tracks, gyms, and sports grounds within the municipality. Pöllyvaara and the Vimpeli Hills are notable local ski areas, frequented by tourists during the winter months. Fishing is popular along the banks of the river. Kajaani also has a golf course, and there are also several dancing pavilions in the town. There is a daily bus service operating between Kajaani, Oulu, Kemijärvi and Rukatunturi, The Kajaani station trackyard underwent significant upgrading and repair work in 2005, when the railway from Iisalmi to Kontiomäki was electrified. Four trains arrive daily from Helsinki via Kouvola and Kuopio, with the journey taking 7–10 hours to Helsinki depending on the train.

thumb|right|Kajaani Airport

Kajaani Airport, approximately northwest of Kajaani in the Paltaniemi area, is the main local airport. It is operated by Finavia, and also serves needs of non-commercial general aviation. Construction of the airport began in 1939 with the runway being completed in the autumn, but due to World War it was not fully opened until 22 June 1956. Aegean Airlines and Flybe Nordic provides flights to Chania and Helsinki. The Finnair connection to Helsinki operates during the summer twice daily and three times a day during the winter schedule period. In 2013 the airport served 74,558 passengers.

Notable people

  • Antti Halonen, ice hockey player
  • Eino Leino, poet and journalist
  • Elias Lönnrot, philologist and poetry collector; compiler of The Kalevala
  • Henrik Flöjt, biathlon athlete
  • Janari Jõesaar, Estonian men's national basketball team player
  • Jorma Korhonen, judoka
  • Jouko Karjalainen, skier
  • Marko Kemppainen, skeet shooter
  • Matti Heikkinen, skier
  • Mika Lavento, professor of archaeology
  • Olli Malmivaara, ice hockey player
  • Pekka Suorsa, ski jumper
  • Riku Nieminen, actor and dancer
  • Sakari Kukko, musician
  • Tommi Leinonen, ice hockey player
  • Urho Kekkonen, 8th President of Finland
  • Kasperi Heikkinen, Guitar player

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kajaani is twinned with:

{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="background:white;"

|-

! City

! Country

! Year

! Ref

|-

| Östersund

| Sweden

| 1943

|

|-

| Rostov-on-Don

| Russia

| 1956−2022

|

|-

| Schwalm-Eder-Kreis

| Germany

| 1973

|

|}

See also

  • Kuusamo
  • Oulu
  • Sotkamo
  • Vuolijoki

References

  • Town of Kajaani – Official website