Kajaani Castle

The Kajaani castle (Finnish: "Kajaanin linna", Swedish: "Kajaneborg", "Kajaneborgs slott", or with older spelling "Cajanaborg") was built on the Ämmäkoski island of the Kajaani river in the centre of Kajaani, Finland, in the 17th century.

The castle functioned as a governing centre, a prison, and a refuge for residents during times of persecution. The most famous prisoner in the castle was the historian Johannes Messenius, who was forced to live in the poor conditions of the castle from 1616 to 1635.

Construction of the Kajaani castle began in 1604 and was completed in 1619. At first the castle only consisted of a stone wall, two round towers, and wooden buildings at the yard inside the castle.

Count Peter Brahe ordered a second construction stage of the castle, which was started in the 1650s and completed in 1666. During this construction stage, many wooden structures of the castle were replaced with stone structures to form a fortress.

During the Great Northern War (also known as the "Greater Wrath"), Russian forces sieged 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 exploded the castle and its inhabitants were transported to Russia to be imprisoned.

In 1917 a hydro-electric plant was built at Ämmäkoski, including a dam that raised the water-level around the castle-ruin by some 5 meters - covering the basement and the first floor of the ruin.

By 1937 the flooded castle-island became a fundament for a new road-bridge. Before the completion of this bridge the old ruin was covered in sand and a new "ruin" was constructed on top of the old one.

Today, this reconstructed ruin is the only visible remain of the old castle. The bridge called "Linnansilta" ("castle bridge") was originally the only bridge across the Kajaani river. After the construction of later bridges, the traffic on "Linnansilta" has reduced and the authorities have drafted plans to take down the bridge and give this national monument a due and proper restoration.

Trivia

* The Kajaani castle is considered to be the smallest stone-castle in Europe and the northernmost castle in the world.Fact|date=February 2007
* [http://www.kajaneborg.com/Kajaani1Edit(2)-1-Dateien/image002.gifDrawing of Kajaani Castle, made 1732]

References

* [http://www.fort.fi/english/kohteet_kajaaninlinna.html Castles and Fortifications in Finland]
* [http://213.143.184.82/kainuunmuseo/sivut/linna.htm Kajaani Castle by the Kainuu Museum]
* [http://www.kajaani.fi/modules/page/show_page~id~7167BE43630A4726BBF360D9DE5CCB7E~itemtype~00308B787886459385F296A5AFD4FA74~tabletarget~data_1~pid~7DD3DDC70FE645B38758D4F504AC416D~layout~kajaani06.asp Kajaani Castle by the City of Kajaani]
* [http://www.kajaaninyliopistokeskus.oulu.fi/omasto/rheikkin/Kajaanin_linna29112006.htm Kajaani Castle by the University of Oulu]

External links

* [http://www.kajaanicastle.com Kajaani Castle Friendship Society]
* [http://www.kvenland.com/ Kvenland Kings]