city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
,
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of
North Ostrobothnia
North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. T ...
,
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 B ...
. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after:
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Vantaa
Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
. Oulu's neighbouring municipalities are:
Hailuoto
Hailuoto (; sv, Karlö) is a Finnish island in the northern Baltic Sea and a municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Hailuoto is (), which make it the smallest municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia and the former Oulu Pr ...
Kempele
Kempele is a municipality south of the city of Oulu and south of the Oulu Airport in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the province of Oulu, but today it is in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. The population of Kempele is () and the m ...
,
Liminka
Liminka ( sv, Limingo) is a municipality in the Northern Ostrobothnia region in Finland. Liminka is located about south of Oulu.
The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The n ...
,
Lumijoki
Lumijoki is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
Neighbouring municipalities are Hailuoto, L ...
,
Muhos
Muhos is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Oulu half an hour's drive (35 km) on route 22 from the city of Oulu, the capital of Northern Finland, and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a ...
,
Pudasjärvi
Pudasjärvi () is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region, northeast of the city of Oulu and southwest of the town of Kuusamo. The town has a population of () an ...
,
Tyrnävä
Tyrnävä () is a municipality in the North Ostrobothnia region of Finland with a population of
(). It covers an area of , of
which
is water. The population density is
. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The city of Oulu is located about ...
and
Utajärvi
Utajärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region next to the border of the Kainuu region, and is part of the former province of Oulu. It is from Utajärvi to Oulu and to Kajaani. The municipality has a pop ...
.
Due to its large population and geopolitically economic and cultural-historical location, Oulu has been called the "capital of Northern Finland".Oulu Information – City of Oulu /ref> Oulu is also considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technology (such as NFC tags and ubi-screens) on a community-wide scale. Despite only ranking in the top 2% universities, the
University of Oulu
The University of Oulu ( fi, Oulun yliopisto) is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 13,000 students and 2,900 staff. 21 International Master's P ...
is regionally known in the field of information technology. Oulu has also been very successful in recent urban image surveys; in a study published by the Finnish Economic Survey in 2008, it received the best ranking of large cities in image ratings across the country, including ratings from respondents in all
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
.
Once known for
wood tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
and
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
, Oulu has evolved into a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. Other prominent industries include wood refining, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper, and steel.
Oulu has been chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2026.
Etymology
The city is named after the river
Oulujoki
Oulujoki is a river in Oulu province, Finland. Its name in Finnish means literally "Oulu River" ( sv, Ule älv), originally in old Northern Ostrobothnian dialect literally "Flood River". Its origin is Oulujärvi and its watershed area covers a ...
, which originates in the lake
Oulujärvi
Oulujärvi (; sv, Ule träsk; also known as Lake Oulu) is a large lake in the Kainuu region of Finland. With an area of it is the fifth largest lake in the country. The lake is drained by the Oulu River, which flows northwestward from the lake ...
. There have been a number of other theories for the origin of the name ''Oulu''. One possible source is a word in the
Sami language
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
meaning 'flood water', but there are other suggestions. At minimum, the structure of the word requires that, if originally given by speakers of a
Uralic
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...
language, the name must be a
derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
. In all likelihood, it also predates Finnish settlement and is thus a
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
from one of the now-extinct
Saami languages
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several America ...
once spoken in the area.
The most probable theory is that the name derives from the Finnish dialectal word ''oulu'', meaning "
floodwater
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
", which is related to e.g.
Southern Sami
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
''åulo'', meaning "melted snow", ''åulot'' meaning "thaw" (of unknown ultimate origin). Two other word families have also been speculated to be related. The first is seen in the Northern Savo dialectal word ''uula'' and its Sami counterpart ''oalli'', both meaning "river channel". The second is the Uralic root reconstructed as *''uwa'', meaning "river bed" (reflected as ''vuo'' in modern Finnish, also in derivatives such as ''vuolas'' "heavy-flowing"). To either of these roots, some Sami variety would have to be assumed having added further derivational suffixes.
History
Oulu is situated by the
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...
, at the mouth of river
Oulujoki
Oulujoki is a river in Oulu province, Finland. Its name in Finnish means literally "Oulu River" ( sv, Ule älv), originally in old Northern Ostrobothnian dialect literally "Flood River". Its origin is Oulujärvi and its watershed area covers a ...
, which is an ancient trading site. The city proper was founded on 8 April 1605 by King
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric X ...
, opposite the fort built on the island of Linnansaari. This took place after favourable peace settlements with Russia, which removed the threat of attack via the main east–west waterway, the river Oulu. The surrounding areas were populated much earlier. Oulu was the capital of the
Province of Oulu
The Province of Oulu ( fi, Oulun lääni, sv, Uleåborgs län) was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland and also the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia.
History
''For Histo ...
from 1776 to 2009.
In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city. The architect
Carl Ludvig Engel
Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel (3 July 1778 – 14 May 1840), was a German architect whose most noted work can be found in Helsinki, which he helped rebuild. His works include most of the buildings around the capital's monumental ...
, chiefly known for the neoclassical (empire style) buildings around
Helsinki Senate Square
The Senate Square ( fi, Senaatintori, sv, Senatstorget) presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki, Finland.
Senate Square and its surrounding ...
, was enlisted to provide the plan for its rebuilding. With minor changes, this plan remains the basis for the layout of Oulu's town center. The
Oulu Cathedral
Oulu Cathedral ( fi, Oulun tuomiokirkko, sv, Uleåborgs domkyrka) is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Oulu, located in the centre of Oulu, Finland. The church was built in 1777 as a tribute to the King of Sweden ...
was built in 1832 to his designs, with the spire being finished in 1844. During the
Åland War
The Åland War ( fi, Oolannin sota, sv, Åländska kriget) is the Finnish term for the operations of a British-French naval force against military and civilian facilities on the coast of the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1854–1856, during the Crime ...
, part of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, Oulu's harbour was raided by the British fleet, who destroyed ships and burned tar houses, leading to international criticism.
Geography
Oulu is located in northern Finland, a considerable distance from the other cities in the country. It is located north of the capital city
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. Mainland Finland's northernmost and southernmost points are roughly
equidistant
A point is said to be equidistant from a set of objects if the distances between that point and each object in the set are equal.
In two-dimensional Euclidean geometry, the locus of points equidistant from two given (different) points is the ...
from Oulu. Oulu's coast sits at the
Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...
(''Perämeri'' in Finnish) and the Swedish mainland is about 180 km directly west across the Bothnian Bay. From the center of Oulu in the direction of
Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Yli-Ii it lost its municipal status and was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. ...
, there is , a smaller but wide,
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...
-belted bay, and part of it has been listed as a nature
conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
. The nearby island
Hailuoto
Hailuoto (; sv, Karlö) is a Finnish island in the northern Baltic Sea and a municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Hailuoto is (), which make it the smallest municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia and the former Oulu Pr ...
is just off the coast, away in the Bothnian Bay.
Subdivisions
Oulu is divided into 106 city districts. The largest of these are
Haukipudas
Haukipudas is a town and former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Its shore runs along the Gulf of Bothnia, with the river Kiiminkijoki running through the province. Alo ...
,
Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Yli-Ii it lost its municipal status and was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. ...
Ylikiiminki
Ylikiiminki ( sv, Överkiminge) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2009.
It was located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a pop ...
was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2009. Oulu and the municipalities of
Haukipudas
Haukipudas is a town and former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Its shore runs along the Gulf of Bothnia, with the river Kiiminkijoki running through the province. Alo ...
,
Kiiminki
Kiiminki ( sv, Kiminge) was a municipality of Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Oulunsalo and Yli-Ii municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. Kiiminki municipality was part of the Oulu province in the Northern Ostrobo ...
,
Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Yli-Ii it lost its municipal status and was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. ...
, and
Yli-Ii
Yli-Ii ( sv, Överijo) was a municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Oulu and was part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Alongside Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Oulunsalo municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 J ...
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dfc''). It is the largest Finnish city entirely in this climatic zone as well as one of the largest such in the world. The typical features are cold and snowy winters with short and warm summers. Average annual temperature is . The average annual precipitation is falling 105 days per year, mostly in late summer and fall. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Oulu was in July 1957, while the coldest temperature on record was in February 1966.
Due to Oulu's far northern location, and its frequent overcast skies, it only sees on average 15 minutes of sunlight in December. During the
winter solstice
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...
days only last 3 hours and 34 minutes with the sun rising 1.9 degrees over the horizon. On the other hand, during the
summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
days last 22 hours and 3 minutes, with the sun dipping 1 degree below the horizon. This gives Oulu
white nights
White night, White Night, or White Nights may refer to:
* White night (astronomy), a night in which it never gets completely dark, at high latitudes outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles
* White Night festivals, all-night arts festivals held in ...
during the summer.
On June 21, 2021, Oulu was struck by the Ahti
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
, causing
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing and fall of trees with the wind blowing at more than 30 meters per second. The storm is known to have killed one person and injured two people.
Demographics
In 2008, there were 316
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 ...
-speaking inhabitants as mother tongue, which was 0.2% of the total population, making the city unilingually
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 ...
-speaking similar to other areas in Northern Finland. With
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Swedish being compulsory school subjects, functional bi- or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. In 2007, there were 2,417 foreign citizens living in the city, of whom 618 were from elsewhere in the EU. 51.1% of the population is female.
Oulu, as well as other parts of North Ostrobothnia, is well-known as a strong support area of the
Conservative Laestadianism
Conservative Laestadianism is the largest branch of the Lutheran Christian revival, revival movement Laestadianism. It has spread to 16 countries. As of 2012 there were about 115,000 Conservative Laestadians, most of them in Finland, the Un ...
revival movement
Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
. A Laestadian background has been estimated to be common in construction sector management.
In 2017, the population grew to over 200,000 inhabitants, making Oulu the fourth Finnish locality with at least 200,000 inhabitants after
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
.
Oulu was the site of the 2018
Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal
In December 2018, it transpired that adult men, all of whom had arrived in Finland as asylum seekers or refugees, were grooming, and raping and otherwise sexually abusing, girls under 15 years of age in Oulu, Finland. One victim ended up comm ...
. Prime Minister
Juha Sipilä
Juha Petri Sipilä (; born 25 April 1961) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2019. A relative newcomer to politics, he has a successful background in business. He was the leader of the Centre Party fro ...
declared that “Sex crimes against children are inhumane acts of incomprehensible evil.”
Population
Economy
As of 31 December 2008, the active working population was employed as follows:
In 2011, the most important employers were:
Culture
The best known cultural exports of the city of Oulu are the
Air Guitar World Championships Air Guitar World Championships (AGWC) is an annual event taking place in Oulu, Finland. AGWC was arranged for the first time in 1996. Today, national championships are held all around the world.
Playing air guitar is based on mimicking guitar playi ...
held annually in August,
Mieskuoro Huutajat
Mieskuoro Huutajat (Men's Choir Shouters) is an internationally famous shouting choir from Oulu, Finland. They were established in 1987 and originally comprised 20 shouting men, since expanded to 30.
Led by conductor Petri Sirviö, the choir is ...
(also known as ''Screaming Men''), the now defunct metal band Sentenced, and one of the best ice hockey teams in Europe,
Oulun Kärpät
Oulun Kärpät (Finnish for "Oulu Ermines", sometimes referred to as Kärpät Oulu) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish championship title eight times ...
.
Many artists, writers, and musicians live in the city. A variety of concerts — rock, classical, and jazz — as well as other cultural events take place each year. Examples include the Oulu Music Video Festival, the
Air Guitar World Championships Air Guitar World Championships (AGWC) is an annual event taking place in Oulu, Finland. AGWC was arranged for the first time in 1996. Today, national championships are held all around the world.
Playing air guitar is based on mimicking guitar playi ...
, and the Musixine Music Film Competition, all in August. In July, the annual rock festival
Qstock
Qstock is an annual two-day rock festival held at the end of July in Oulu, Finland.
The festival lineup includes some of the biggest names in both domestic and international music scene, regardless of the genre. The first Qstock festival was orga ...
takes place. The Oulu Music Festival is held in winter and the Oulunsalo Music Festival in summer.
The Irish Festival of Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
Oulu Museum of Art
The Oulu Museum of Art (OMA) is an art museum in the Myllytulli neighbourhood in Oulu. It is located on the edge of the Hupisaaret Islands park.
The museum was opened to the public on October 12, 1963. The first premises were in the so-called ''K ...
(OMA), the
Tietomaa
Tietomaa is a science centre in Oulu, Finland. It is located in Myllytulli
Myllytulli is a district of the city centre area of Oulu, Finland.
Myllytulli was mostly industrial area, which was rezoned mostly for residential use in 1984. Some of ...
Turkansaari
Turkansaari is an island in the Oulujoki river with an open-air museum in the Madekoski district in Oulu, Finland. The museum is run by the Northern Ostrobothnia museum.
Turkansaari island was a marketplace for Russian traders in the Oulujoki ri ...
open-air museum
An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum.
Definition
Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere ...
Kalmah
Kalmah is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Oulu that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records. The word "kalmah" is Karelian and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the dea ...
is a melodic death metal-band from Oulu that formed in 1998.
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...
and
sweet cheese
Juhannusjuusto or makiajuusto (lit. Midsummer cheese or sweet cheese) is an Ostrobothnian dish which is also called red whey and cheese soup. Like the name suggests it is eaten during Midsummer and more widely in the summer season.
The sweet ch ...
(''juhannusjuusto'') were named Oulu's traditional parish dishes.
Sights
*
Tietomaa
Tietomaa is a science centre in Oulu, Finland. It is located in Myllytulli
Myllytulli is a district of the city centre area of Oulu, Finland.
Myllytulli was mostly industrial area, which was rezoned mostly for residential use in 1984. Some of ...
, a science center with over 150 exhibits
*The Rapids Center, the area in the estuary of the Oulu river consisting of small islands connected with bridges and fountains in the middle of the river, and including a housing area of building blocks planned by
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
Hupisaaret Islands
The Hupisaaret Islands City Park is a public urban park in the Myllytulli district in central Oulu, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shar ...
, a large park area located in the estuary of the Oulu river
*The F. M. Franzen memorial
*The
Koitelinkoski
Koitelinkoski (i.e. ''Koiteli rapids'') is an outdoor recreation area located along the Kiiminkijoki river in the Kiiminki district in Oulu, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a No ...
University of Oulu Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Garden of the University of Oulu is one of the northernmost scientific gardens in the world. Botanical Garden collection of plants is maintained for teaching and research purposes and it is open to the public.
Collections include mo ...
(situated in
Linnanmaa
Linnanmaa is a district of the Kaijonharju area of Oulu, Finland. The district is located about five kilometers north of the city centre.
The main campus of the University of Oulu is located in Linnanmaa occupying most of the area of the distric ...
)
*The Arctic Gallery
* Technopolis, the technology village
*
Turkansaari
Turkansaari is an island in the Oulujoki river with an open-air museum in the Madekoski district in Oulu, Finland. The museum is run by the Northern Ostrobothnia museum.
Turkansaari island was a marketplace for Russian traders in the Oulujoki ri ...
(historical open-air museum)
*
Spa Hotel Eden
Break Sokos Hotel Eden is a spa hotel located in the Hietasaari district, west of Oulu centre in the Nallikari camping area. This Finland subtropical sea spa was constructed in 1989 by the designer Paavo Karjalainen.
The spa was originally know ...
and sand beach in
Nallikari
Nallikari is a seaside resort located on an island in the Hietasaari district in Oulu, Finland. The resort can be reached year-round with the local bus routes 15 and 15N and during summertime with a trackless train
A trackless train — or t ...
recreation and tourism area
*
Mannerheim Park
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867–1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman.
Mannerheim may also refer to:
Surname
* Mannerheim (family), a noble family
** Carl Erik Mannerheim (1759–1837), Finnish vice chairman and statesman
** ...
*Old observatory in Linnansaari, built in 1875 on top of the ruins of the Castle of Oulu
*
Oulu Museum of Art
The Oulu Museum of Art (OMA) is an art museum in the Myllytulli neighbourhood in Oulu. It is located on the edge of the Hupisaaret Islands park.
The museum was opened to the public on October 12, 1963. The first premises were in the so-called ''K ...
Churches
*
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
*
Haukipudas Church
The Haukipudas Church is an evangelical Lutheran church in Haukipudas, Oulu.
The church building has been designed by Matti Honka, an Ostrobothnian builder of churches in the 18th century. The church was completed in 1762. Major renovations were ...
Oulunsalo Church
The Oulunsalo Church is an evangelical Lutheran church in the Finnish city of Oulu. It was part of the town of Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along ...
Tuira Church
The Tuira Church ( fi, Tuiran kirkko) is an evangelical Lutheran church in Tuira, Oulu
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is th ...
*
Ylikiiminki Church
The Ylikiiminki Church ( fi, Ylikiimingin kirkko, sv, Överkiminge kyrka) is an evangelical Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century Germa ...
Air Guitar World Championships Air Guitar World Championships (AGWC) is an annual event taking place in Oulu, Finland. AGWC was arranged for the first time in 1996. Today, national championships are held all around the world.
Playing air guitar is based on mimicking guitar playi ...
*
Jalometalli Metal Music Festival
Jalometalli Metal Music Festival is a Finnish heavy metal festival held annually in Oulu since 2002. The festival mainly features old school thrash metal and death and black metal bands.
Lineups
2002
* Thyrane
*Monsterspank
*Funeris Nocturnum
...
*The Irish Festival of Oulu
*
Laitakari beacon tower
Laitakari beacon tower is a daymark ( navigational aid) located on the island of Laitakari in the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland. The island is located east-northeast of Hailuoto and is within the municipal boundaries of the City of Oulu. There ha ...
*Madetoja Hall, housing the Oulu Music Centre, the residence of the
Oulu Symphony Orchestra
The Oulu Symphony Orchestra ( fi, Oulu Sinfonia or ') is a Finnish orchestra based in Oulu, Finland. Oulu Sinfonia gives concerts primarily at the Oulu Music Centre, in the ''Madetojan sali'' (Madetoja Concert Hall), located in the Karjasilta dis ...
*Oulu Hall (a large indoor sports facility consisting of a low dome, which looks somewhat like a landed
flying saucer
A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...
)
*Terwa Marathon & Run, event in late May (since 1989)
*The Terva-skiing event in early March (since 1889)
*The Winter Swimming World Championship
Transport
Oulu is served by
Oulu Airport
Oulu Airport (; fi, Oulun lentoasema, sv, Uleåborgs flygplats) is located in Oulu, Finland, south-west of the city centre. The airport is the second busiest in Finland after Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, as measured by the number of passengers (ca ...
, the second largest airport in Finland by passenger volume. It is located south-west of the city centre.
The
Port of Oulu Port of Oulu (''Oulun satama'' in Finnish) is a complex of three separate harbours located at the mouth of Oulujoki river in Oulu, Finland. Port of Oulu is a corporation owned by the City of Oulu. Annual average of 3 million tons of cargo is shipp ...
is one of the busiest
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
s on the
Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...
. It includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks and Oritkari docks. There is also a
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
service in Oulu, which is mostly used between
Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Yli-Ii it lost its municipal status and was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. ...
and the
Hailuoto Island
Hailuoto (; sv, Karlö) is a Finnish island in the northern Baltic Sea and a municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Hailuoto is (), which make it the smallest municipality in Northern Ostrobothnia and the former Oulu P ...
.
The shortest travel time from
Oulu railway station
The Oulu Railway Station is located in the centre of Oulu, Finland, in the city district of Vaara. All trains are operated by VR. Nearby is the Oulu bus station for long-distance buses.
The railway station was built in 1886 when the Ostroboth ...
to
Helsinki Central railway station
Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) ( HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peo ...
is 5 h 34 min, operated by VR. Other destinations include
Kolari
Kolari is a municipality of Finland at the Swedish border, which follows the Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe.
It is located in the region of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of whic ...
,
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per ...
,
Seinäjoki
Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...
and
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
.
The most important road in Oulu is Highway 4 ( E8/ E75) that runs from Helsinki to
Utsjoki
Utsjoki (; sme, Ohcejohka ; smn, Uccjuuhâ; sms, Uccjokk; no, Utsjok) is a municipality in Finland, the northernmost in the country. It is in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 187 ...
via
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...
,
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
, Oulu,
Kemi
Kemi (; sme, Giepma ; smn, Kiemâ; sms, Ǩeeʹmm; Swedish (historically): ''Kiemi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio and the Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and to Rovani ...
and
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per ...
. Other
highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
running to and from Oulu are Highway 20 to
Kuusamo
Kuusamo ( sme, Guossán; smn, Kuáccám) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
T ...
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 ...
.
Oulu is notable for its transportation network dedicated to non-motor vehicular traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles (termed "light" traffic in Finland). In 2010, the city contained more than of pathways and more than 100 underpasses and bridges devoted exclusively to light traffic. The network is used year-round. The ratio of light traffic pathways to residents is the highest in Finland and the cycling mode share is 20 percent. Oulu is often touted as an excellent city for bicycling.
In 2015, a large underground parking facility, Kivisydän (''Stone Heart''), opened in the city center directly beneath main shopping streets. The network of parallel roads for cars and pedestrians was drilled in the rock at the depth of . The parking facility includes two ramps, 900 visitor parking lots (expandable to 1500), six access points to the ground served by 19 elevators (expandable to nine and 25), a service facility for commercial delivery vehicles, and ubi-screens that guide the driver to the selected ground access point and help locate the parked car by its license number.
Solar power
In 2015, the Kaleva Media printing plant in Oulu became the most powerful photovoltaic solar plant in Finland, with 1,604 solar photovoltaic (PV) units on its roof. Although the city of Oulu, located near the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
, has only two hours of weak sunlight in December, the photovoltaic cells work almost around the clock in the summer. The cold climate means the PV panels can get up to a 25% boost per hour, as they don't overheat.
Because the sun is quite low in the sky at this latitude, vertical PV installations are popular on the sides of buildings. These solar walls also capture light reflected from snow.
Snow is not necessarily cleared from rooftop solar installations.
The local utility, Oulun Energia, is owned by the city of Oulu. The
energy mix
The energy mix is a group of different primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and should not be c ...
it receives from the Nordic-wide grid includes wood pellets, waste incineration, bioenergy, hydro-electric, geothermal, wind, nuclear, peat, natural gas and coal.
Sports
Ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
is the most popular spectator sport in Oulu. The local club Kärpät has won the
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
championship title eight times (
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
). It has also twice been the runner-up in the
IIHF European Champions Cup
The IIHF European Champions Cup (ECC) was an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which took place during a long weekend in early January. The winner was considered the official club champion of Europe by t ...
, in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
.
In
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
AC Oulu
AC Oulu (ACO) is a Finnish football club based in Oulu. Formed in 2002, the club have played two seasons in Finland's highest football league Veikkausliiga and seven seasons in the second highest league Ykkönen. The club are currently playing ...
plays in
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...
, the premier division of Finnish football. So far
OPS
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea.
Iconography
In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
has claimed the Finnish football championship only twice by winning
Mestaruussarja
Mestaruussarja (Championship series) was the top division of Finland, Finnish association football, football from 1930 to 1989. It was replaced by Veikkausliiga in 1990.
In 1930 league format was used for the first time to decide the Finnish cham ...
in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
. Other notable football clubs include OLS, OTP and
JS Hercules
JS Hercules is an association football club established in Oulu, Finland, in 1998. The team started at the lowest level of the Finnish league system and was playing in the Third Division until promoted to Finnish Second Division, Kakkonen, for ...
.
Oulu has one well-known
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
Bandyliiga
The Bandyliiga (; 'Bandy League') is the top level of men's bandy in Finland. The league was founded in 1908 as the Jääpallon SM-sarja ('Bandy Finnish Championship Series') and the present name has been used since the 1991–92 season. Bandyl ...
and has become Finnish champions 14 times, most recently in 2014. The other bandy club,
OPS
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea.
Iconography
In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
, with its 7 championships and a bronze medal as late as in 2009, announced it would be closing down after the 2009–10 season. In
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
the city was the main venue for the
Bandy World Championship
The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the Wome ...
.
Oulu is also home to several other sports clubs such as
Oulu Northern Lights
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
(
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
),
Oulun Lippo Oulun may refer to:
*Oulun Energia Areena, arena in the Raksila district of Oulu, in Finland
*Oulun Kärpät, ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland
*Oulun Luistinseura (or OLS), Finnish multi-sports club, based in Oulu
*Oulun Lyseo ...
(
Pesäpallo
Pesäpallo (; sv, boboll, both names literally meaning "nest ball", colloquially known in Finnish as pesis, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland a ...
),
Oulun Pyrintö Oulun may refer to:
* Oulun Energia Areena, arena in the Raksila district of Oulu, in Finland
*Oulun Kärpät, ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland
* Oulun Luistinseura (or OLS), Finnish multi-sports club, based in Oulu
* Oulun Ly ...
(
Track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
Orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
),
Oulu Irish Elks
Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...
(
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
).
Oulun Tervahiihto Oulun Tervahiihto or Tervahiihto is an annual ski marathon held in Oulu, Finland. Held since 1889, it is the longest-running annual long-distance ski race in the world. Races include 40km and 70km in both traditional and skating styles, and the ter ...
is an annual ski marathon event held since 1889.
Terwa Run & Marathon is an annual running event held since 1989 in late May.
Education
The
University of Oulu
The University of Oulu ( fi, Oulun yliopisto) is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 13,000 students and 2,900 staff. 21 International Master's P ...
and
Oulu University of Applied Sciences
Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OAMK) (in Finnish: ''Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu'' (Oamk)) is a university of applied sciences in Oulu, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic ...
have their main campuses located in Oulu.
Oulu is home to the most northerly architecture school in the world. The school is best known for its strong regionalistic ideas for developing architecture. This movement is named "the Oulu school" ("Oulun koulu") of architecture.
Oulu Vocational College has over 13 000 students. It houses several different study subjects in different units which are spread over Oulu and neighbouring municipalities. Oulu Vocational College School of Business Studies is one of the few vocational schools which has game programming in its curriculum.
Oulu International School
Oulu International School (OIS) is a public, not-for-profit, co-educational international school in the Myllytulli district in Oulu, Finland. The school was founded in 2001. It is one of nine English-speaking schools in Finland that offer basic e ...
is one of nine schools in Finland offering basic education in English. There's also a Swedish-speaking private school (Swedish Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg) for students up until high school. The school is the northernmost Swedish-speaking school in Finland.
Notable people
*
Saara Aalto
Saara Sofia Aalto (born 2 May 1987) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, and voice actress. In 2012 she came second in the first season of ''The Voice of Finland''.
In 2016 Aalto finished as the runner-up in the thirteenth series of ''The X Fact ...
, singer,
X Factor UK
''The X Factor'' is a British reality television music competition, created by Simon Cowell. Premiering on 4 September 2004, it was produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment for ITV, as well as simulc ...
finalist
*
Marcus Amand Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a Asteroid belt, main belt asteroid, also known as List of minor planets: 369001–370000#088, ( ...
, French racing driver
*
Peter von Bagh
Kari Peter Conrad von Bagh (29 August 1943 – 17 September 2014) was a Finnish film historian and director. Von Bagh worked as the head of the Finnish Film Archive. He was the editor-in-chief of ''Filmihullu'' magazine and co-founder and direct ...
, film historian and director
*
Blind Channel
Blind Channel is a Finnish nu metal band from Oulu. The band define their musical style as "violent pop". They represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song " Dark Side", finishing in sixth place.
Career
In February ...
, a
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
and
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
band
*
Vladislav Delay
Vladislav Delay is the most frequently used pseudonym of Sasu Ripatti (born 1976), a Finnish electronic musician. He has also recorded as Luomo, Sistol, Uusitalo, Conoco, and Ripatti, working in styles such as minimal techno, glitch, and house. ...
, electronic musician
*
Lars Gallenius
Lars Gallenius (circa 1658 Oulu – 25 March 1753 Jakobstad) was a Finnish painter.
He was the first "free art person" in Finland. He received the bourgeois rights of the city of Oulu for painting in 1688. He primarily painted religious-themed mu ...
, 17th century painter
*
Matti Hautamäki
Matti Antero Hautamäki (; born 14 July 1981) is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed from 1997 to 2012. He is one of Finland's most successful ski jumpers, having won sixteen individual World Cup competitions; multiple medals at the Winter ...
, ski jumper
*
Aaro Hellaakoski
Aaro Hellaakoski (June 22, 1893 – November 23, 1952) was a Finnish poet whose work includes some of the earliest examples of modernism in Finnish literature.
Hellaakoski was born in Oulu. By profession he was a geographer conducting studies in ...
, poet
*
John von Julin
Johan (''John'') Jacob Julin, (since 1849 von Julin; 5 August 1787 – 11 March 1853) was a Swedo-Finnish pharmacist, factory owner and ''vuorineuvos''. His son was Albert von Julin, a businessman and also a ''vuorineuvos''. Through his daught ...
, pharmacist, factory owner and ''
vuorineuvos
Vuorineuvos ("mining counselor", literally Finnish for "mountain counselor"; sv, bergsråd) is a Finnish honorary title granted by the President of Finland to leading figures in industry and commerce. The title is honorary and has no responsibilit ...
''
*
V.A. Koskenniemi
Veikko Antero Koskenniemi (8 July 1885 – 4 August 1962) was a Finnish poet born in Oulu.
From 1921 to 1948, Koskenniemi served as Professor of Literary History at the University of Turku. He was the university's rector from 1924 to 1932. ...
, poet
*
Taavetti Lukkarinen
Taavetti Lukkarinen (8 November 1884 in Nilsiä – 2 October 1916 in Oulu) was a former Kemi Oy's foreman from Keminmaa, Finland, who was sentenced to death for treason after helping German prisoners of war who had fled the Kirov Railway const ...
, former foreman of Kemi Oy; man who convicted to death and
hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
of treason
*
Fanni Luukkonen
Fanni Luukkonen (13 March 1882 – 27 October 1947) was the longtime leader of the Finnish Lotta Svärd, a voluntary auxiliary organisation for women.
Fanni Luukkonen was born in Oulu. She was chosen as the leader of Lotta Svärd in 1929. During ...
, the leader of
Lotta Svärd
Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. Du ...
*
Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish ...
, composer
*
Frans Michael Franzén
Frans Michael Franzén (9 February 1772 – 14 August 1847) was a Swedish-Finnish poet and clergyman. He served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Härnösand.
Biography
Franzén was born in Oulu ( sv, Uleåborg), Northern Ostrobothnia, Sweden ( ...
Iivo Niskanen
Iivo Henrik Niskanen (born 12 January 1992) is a Finnish cross-country skier who has competed in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup since 2011. He is a three-time Olympic champion.
Career
Iivo Niskanen made his individual World Cup debut on 12 Marc ...
, Olympic champion cross-country skier
*
Kerttu Niskanen
Kerttu Elina Niskanen (born 13 June 1988) is a Finnish cross-country skier. She is a four-time Olympic medalist.
Career
At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo, her first senior WCH, Niskanen finished eighth in the 10 km classica ...
, cross-country skier
* Patrik Pasma, racing driver
*
Leena Peltonen-Palotie
Leena Peltonen-Palotie (16 June 1952 – 11 March 2010) was a Finnish geneticist who contributed to the identification of 15 genes for Finnish heritage diseases, including arterial hypertension, schizophrenia, lactose intolerance, arthrosis ...
, geneticist
*
Susanna Pöykiö
Susanna Pöykiö (born 22 February 1982) is a Finnish former figure skater. She is a two-time European medalist (silver in 2005, bronze in 2009) and a five-time (2000, 2002, 2005–2007) Finnish national champion.
Career
Pöykiö began ska ...
, figure skater
*
Ville Ranta
Ville Matias Ranta (born 29 November 1978) is a Finnish people, Finnish comic artist and cartoonist from Oulu. He received the Finnish comics society's ''Puupäähattu'' award in 2009. In his work, Ranta focus on controversial and provocative to ...
, comic artist
*
Mika Ronkainen
Mika Ronkainen (born 6 August 1970) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter from Oulu, Northern Finland. Ronkainen is the co-creator and director of successful crime drama '' All the Sins'' and he has also worked with documentary films and thea ...
, filmmaker
*
Keke Rosberg
Keijo Erik Rosberg (born 6 December 1948), known as "Keke" (), is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series, as well as the first Finnish ...
, 1982
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
world champion
*
Kauko Röyhkä
Kauko Röyhkä, (born Jukka-Pekka Välimaa, 12 February 1959, Valkeakoski), is a Finnish rock musician and author. Since the early 1980s he has been a popular rock artist in Finland known especially as a strong lyricist.
Röyhkä lived his yout ...
, author and rock musician
*
Sara Wacklin
Sara Elizabeth Wacklin (26 May 1790 – 28 January 1846) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish educator and writer. She was a pioneer in educating girls, and can be regarded as the first female university graduate in Finland. She can also be regarded ...
, teacher and writer
*
Mikael Toppelius
Mikael Toppelius (10 August 1734, Oulu – 27 December 1821, Oulu) was a Finnish church painter; the last significant representative of the Ostrobothnian church painting tradition. His grandson was the well-known writer, Zachris Topelius.
Biog ...
Kyösti Kallio
Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...
and
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland (1994–2000), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work.
Ahtisa ...
, also a
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
laureate
* Ice Hockey players:
Kari Jalonen
Kari Jalonen (born January 6, 1960) is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. Currently he is the head coach of Czech national team. He is not related to Finnish ice hockey coach Jukka Jalonen.
Playing career
A pr ...
,
Mikael Granlund
Mikael Antero Granlund (born 26 February 1992) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played professionally in Finland with Oulun Kärpät ...
,
Markus Granlund
Kari Markus Granlund (born 16 April 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward, who most recently played for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he elected to leave the ...
,
Joni Pitkänen
Joni Pitkänen (born 19 September 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and Carolina Hurricanes.
Playing career
Pitkänen starte ...
,
Reijo Ruotsalainen
Reijo Ruotsalainen (born April 1, 1960) is a Finnish former ice hockey defenceman. He was twice named Finland's top defenceman, and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, in 1987 and 1990.
Playing career
Ruotsalainen started his career ...
,
Mika Pyörälä
Mika Pyörälä (born 13 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), Timrå IK and Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elitserien, and Amur Khabarovsk of ...
,
Lasse Kukkonen
Lasse Juhani Kukkonen (born 18 September 1981) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Earlier in his career, he had a four-year stint in the National Hockey League (NHL) w ...
,
Markus Nutivaara
Markus Nutivaara (born 6 June 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nutivaara was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 7th round (189th overal ...
Aki Lahtinen
Aki Lahtinen (born 31 October 1958) is a Finnish former footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football ...
Mika Nurmela
Mika Nurmela (born 26 December 1971) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the sporting director of Finnish Ykkönen club AC Oulu. His son Anselmi Nurmela is also a professional footballer.
Internatio ...
Alta, Norway
( se, Áltá ; fkv, Alattio; fi, Alattio) is the most populated municipality in Finnmark in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta. Some of the main villages in the municipality in ...
''(since 1948)''
*
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
, Russia ''(since 1993)''
*
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
, Kazakhstan ''(since 2013)''
* Boden, Sweden ''(since 1948)''
*
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
Leverkusen
Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf.
With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...
, Germany ''(since 1968)''
*
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, Ukraine ''(since 1957)''
*
Siófok
Siófok (; german: Fock; la, Fuk) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about 124.66 km2 (48.1 ...
, Hungary ''(since 1978)''
*
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
''(since 2010)''
Oulu also maintains relationships with cities twinned to
former municipalities
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature.
A former may become an integral part of th ...
merged
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
with Oulu in 2013:
*
Matera
Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy.
As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...
, Italy ''(twinned with
Oulunsalo
Oulunsalo ( sv, Oulunsalo, also formerly ) is former municipality in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Yli-Ii it lost its municipal status and was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. ...
since 2010)''
*
Szigetszentmiklós
Szigetszentmiklós () is a city in Pest County, Hungary, with around 40,000 inhabitants.
Name
* Sziget – island: Szigetszentmiklós is a town on Csepel Island
* Szent Miklós – Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of Szigetszentmikl ...
, Hungary ''(twinned with
Haukipudas
Haukipudas is a town and former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Its shore runs along the Gulf of Bothnia, with the river Kiiminkijoki running through the province. Alo ...
since 1992)''
*
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
, Russia ''(twinned with Haukipudas,
Kiiminki
Kiiminki ( sv, Kiminge) was a municipality of Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Oulunsalo and Yli-Ii municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. Kiiminki municipality was part of the Oulu province in the Northern Ostrobo ...
, and
Yli-Ii
Yli-Ii ( sv, Överijo) was a municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Oulu and was part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Alongside Haukipudas, Kiiminki and Oulunsalo municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 J ...
since 1991)''
Partnership and twinning cities
In addition Oulu has eight 'Partnership & Twinning cities':
*
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, UK
*
Ilembula
Ilembula is a town and ward in Wanging'ombe district in the Njombe Region of the Tanzanian Southern Highlands. Its population according to the 2002 Tanzanian census is 18,126.
International relations
Twin towns, Sister cities & Partnership cit ...
, Tanzania
*
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, Germany
*
Luleå
Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...
, Sweden
*
Matagalpa
Matagalpa () is a city in Nicaragua which is the capital of the department of Matagalpa. The city has a population of 111,258 (2021 estimate),
*
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
, Japan (since 2005)
*
Umeå
Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County.
Situated on the Ume River, Ume ...
, Sweden
*
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.
International municipal projects
The educational department was a part of the
Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland consisted of the Finnish participation in the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 of the European Union.
The program was coordinated by a unit of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Fin ...