Kajaani Castle (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: ''Kajaanin linna'',

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Kajaneborg'', ''Kajaneborgs slott'', older spelling ''Cajanaborg'') was built on the Ämmäkoski

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

of the Kajaani River in the centre of

Kajaani Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, in the 17th century. Today, only roofless ruins remain of the castle. The castle functioned as an administrative centre,

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

, and military strongpoint. The most famous prisoner was the historian

Johannes Messenius Johannes Messenius (1579–1636) was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland. Childhood He was the son of a mil ...

, who was forced to live in the poor conditions of the castle from 1616 to 1635. Construction of Kajaani Castle began in 1604 and was completed in 1619. At first, the castle only consisted of a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

wall, two round towers, and

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

en buildings in the yard inside the castle. Count

Peter Brahe Count Per Brahe the Younger (18 February 1602 – 12 September 1680) was a Swedish soldier, statesman, and author. He served as Privy Councillor from 1630, Lord High Steward from 1640, as well as Governor-General of Finland in 1637–1640 and 1 ...

ordered major additional construction of the castle in the 1650s, which was completed in 1666. During this construction, many wooden structures of the castle were replaced with stone structures to form a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. During the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

(also known as the "Greater Wrath"),

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n forces besieged the castle for several months until it was finally forced to surrender because of lack of food, firewood, and ammunition. Shortly after this, the Russians blasted the castle, and its inhabitants were deported to Russia and imprisoned there. In 1917 a hydro-electric plant was built at Ämmäkoski. The first wooden bridge on top of the ruins was built in 1845. By 1937 the castle island became the foundation for a new road bridge made of concrete. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

, called ''Linnansilta'' ("castle bridge"), was originally the only bridge across the Kajaani River. After the construction of later bridges, traffic across ''Linnansilta'' decreased, and there are plans to take down the bridge and give this national monument a due and proper restoration.

References

Kajaaninlinna Yhdistys

Blog

Kajaani Castle by the City of Kajaani

The National Board of Antiquities
* Geo-radar Surve

External links

* {{coord, 64, 13, 45, N, 027, 43, 58, E, region:FI-05_type:landmark, display=title Castles in Finland

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Ruins in Finland Buildings and structures in Kainuu History of Kainuu