| Paltaniemi | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Finland |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Finland |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Finland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kainuu |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kajaani |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 2.55 |
| Population Total: | 291 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 114,1 |
| Timezone1: | EET |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +3 |
Paltaniemi is a village on the shores of Lake Oulujärvi, about north of the Kajaani's town center in Kainuu, Finland. It has a population of 291 inhabitants (in December 2020).[1] The Kajaani Airport is located in the eastern side of the village.
From the 17th century until the end of the 19th century, Paltaniemi was the spiritual center of Kainuu, where the most important priests and officials of the parish lived. Paltaniemi's current wooden church, completed in 1726, is the village's third; the first church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1626 and the second church was burned by the Russians during the Great Wrath in 1716. Paltaniemi belonged to Paltamo municipality until 1954, before the village was incorporated into Kajaanin maalaiskunta.[2]
Paltaniemi is especially known as the birthplace of the Finnish poet Eino Leino,[3] and the Eino Leino House museum is located on the site of his former birthplace.[4] Elias Lönnrot, known as the compiler of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, also lived in the village while working as a doctor in Kajaani.[2] [5] The German zoologist, who also worked as a Gestapo spy, maintained a zoological station in Paltaniemi between 1928 and 1939.[2]