Kajaani in the context of Kajaani Church

Iisalmi (Finnish: [ˈiːsɑlmi]; Swedish: Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of North Savo in Finland. It is located 87 kilometres (54 mi) north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of 20,330 (30 June 2025), which makes it the second largest of the five towns in North Savo in population, only Kuopio being larger. It covers an area of 872.20 square kilometres (336.76 sq mi) of which 109.22 km (42.17 sq mi) is water. The population density is 26.65 inhabitants per square kilometre (69.0/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

In the 2010s, Iisalmi is known as an export industry town, as well as a significant study town in the region.

Suomussalmi (Finnish: [ˈsuo̯musˌsɑlmi]) is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region about 90 kilometres (56 mi) northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of 7,001(30 June 2025) and covers an area of 5,857.60 square kilometres (2,261.63 sq mi) of which 587.03 km (226.65 sq mi) is water. The population density is 1.33 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.4/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ämmänsaari is the biggest built-up area in the municipality.

Suomussalmi is the second southernmost part of the reindeer-herding area in Finland.

The Finnish national road 9 (Finnish: Valtatie 9, Swedish: Riksväg 9) is a main route. It runs from Turku through Loimaa, Tampere, Jämsä, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Outokumpu and Joensuu to the Niirala border guard station in Tohmajärvi, right next to the Russian border. The length of the road is 663 kilometres (412 mi).

Apart from the short section right near the center of Turku, highway 9 from Turku to Vuorela of Siilinjärvi is also part of the European route E63, which continues from Kuopio via Kajaani and Kuusamo to Sodankylä. In the case of Jyväskylä, the highway is known as the four-lane Vaajakoski Motorway (Finnish: Vaajakosken moottoritie). The road belongs to the main roads defined by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and to the Trans-European road network.

The European route E 63 is a European route that goes from Sodankylä, Finland to Turku, Finland. The length of the route is 1,126 kilometres (700 mi).

• E 63: Sodankylä – Pelkosenniemi – Kemijärvi – Isokylä – Kuusamo – Suomussalmi – Kajaani – Iisalmi – Kuopio – Vehmasmäki – Suonenjoki – Laukaa – Jyväskylä – Jämsä – Orivesi – Tampere – Akaa – Loimaa – Turku

The E63 is the only European route that runs entirely in Finland. It follows Finnish national highway 5 between Sodankylä and Kuopio and highway 9 between Kuopio and Turku.

A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations. Public buildings including town halls, museums and libraries are often found in town centres.

Town centres are symbolic to settlements as a whole and often contain the best examples of architecture, main landmark buildings, statues and public spaces associated with a place.