Live cameras in Kajaani, Finland

Kajaani is the regional capital of Kainuu, a sparsely populated forest and lake region in the middle of Finland. About 36,000 people live in the town, which lies southeast of the large lake Oulujärvi, along the Kajaaninjoki river that drains toward it. Kajaani was founded in the 17th century around a castle built in 1604; the castle was blown up by Russian forces in 1716, and its ruins still stand on a river island in the center. Elias Lönnrot, who compiled the national epic Kalevala, worked here as district doctor, and Urho Kekkonen, Finland's longest-serving president, went to school here. The neo-Gothic wooden Kajaani Church dates from 1896.

Kajaani hosts the Kajaani Poetry Week (Runoviikko) and the Kainuu Jazz Spring festival, and the ski and spa resort of Vuokatti is a short drive to the east.

What these views cover

The pictures here are taken by weather stations beside the main roads of Kainuu, run by Fintraffic and opened to everyone via Digitraffic. Three major routes meet at Kajaani: national road 5 (E63) from Kuopio and Iisalmi toward Kuusamo, national road 22 from Oulu, and national road 6, the long road from the south. The cameras exist so road crews can see snow, ice and visibility, which means wide views down the lanes rather than city scenery. A new still image arrives every few minutes.

Kajaani sets its clocks to Finnish time, UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 during summer time. At about 64 degrees north, it has bright summer nights: around the June solstice the sun rises at about half past two and sets near a quarter to midnight. In late December the day lasts only about four hours, from around ten in the morning to just after two in the afternoon. Winters are long and cold, with snow often lasting from November well into April.

Nearby, Paltaniemi on the shore of Oulujärvi has a painted 18th-century wooden church, and Vuokatti's hills and the lakes of Sotkamo lie about 30 km east.

Sources: Kajaani - Wikipedia · Digitraffic road traffic data (Fintraffic).