Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a

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 ...

and a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

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. ...

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 Bot ...

. 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 Nurmijärv ...

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 ...

and

Vantaa Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city in Finland ...

, and the fourth largest urban area in the country after

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 P ...

, Ii,

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 List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of ...

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 abou ...

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 ou ...

. 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 bi ...

and

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

, 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, 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 ...

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 lan ...

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. ...

. 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 ...

from one of the now-extinct Saami languages 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 ( We ...

, at the mouth of river Oulujoki, 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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

. 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 th ...

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 wit ...

(''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 arti ...

-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

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. ...

, Kaakkuri, Ritaharju, Tuira, and . The municipality of

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 popul ...

was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2009. Oulu and the municipalities of

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 Ostr ...

, 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 ...

were merged on 1 January 2013.

Climate

Oulu has a subarctic continental climate (

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 winter ...

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 ...

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 some ...

, 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 ...

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 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 United States, Norw ...

revival movement. 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

and

. Oulu was the site of the 2018 Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal. 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 fr ...

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 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 Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and ...

, and one of the best ice hockey teams in Europe, Oulun Kärpät. 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, 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: ...

takes place each October, and the International Children's Film Festival each November. Museums in Oulu include the Northern Ostrobothnia museum, the

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 '' ...

(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 ...

science center, and the Turkansaari

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� ...

. Notable statues and sculptures in Oulu include a sculpture of Frans Michael Franzén and '' The Bobby at the Market Place'' statue. Finlands' Eurovision representatives 2021 rock band Blind Channel are from Oulu. They placed 6th in the competition.

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.

Food

In the 1980s, '' rössypottu'',

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 soli ...

and sweet cheese (''juhannusjuusto'') were named Oulu's traditional parish dishes.

Sights

, 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, s ...

* The Market Square with the

City Library 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 de ...

, the City Theatre and old salt and tar storehouses *

Hupisaaret Islands The Hupisaaret Islands City Park is a public urban park in the Myllytulli district in central Oulu, Finland. The park is located in the delta of the River Oulu. The area was built as a public park in the 1860s, the first white wooden bridges t ...

, 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. The area consists of small islands which divide the free-flowing river into smaller streams and ...

rapids *The Northern Ostrobothnia museum *The Pateniemi Sawmill Museum *The Vehicle Museum *The

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 district ...

) *The Arctic Gallery * Technopolis, the technology village * Turkansaari (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 *Old observatory in Linnansaari, built in 1875 on top of the ruins of the Castle of Oulu *

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 denominations ...

* Haukipudas Church * Holy Family of Nazareth Church *

Holy Trinity Cathedral of Oulu sv, Heliga Treenighetens katedral , native_name_lang = , image = Holy Trinity Oulu 20100110.JPG , coordinates = , location = Oulu , country = Finland , denomination = ...

Kiiminki Church The Kiiminki Church is an evangelical Lutheran church in the Kiiminki district of the Finnish city of Oulu. It was part of the town of Kiiminki until 2013 when that town was merged into Oulu. The church building has been designed and constructe ...

* Oulujoki Church * Oulunsalo Church * St. Luke's Chapel *

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

Other points of interest

* Oulu Music Video Festival * Air Guitar World Championships *

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 *M ...

*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 has ...

*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 ...

) *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 ...

s on the

. 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 ta ...

service in Oulu, which is mostly used between

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 Pr ...

. 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 ...

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 Pe ...

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 b ...

and

. 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 18 ...

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 cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden borde ...

and

. 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 ...

and Highway 22 to

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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

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 discover ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

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 wa ...

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 April ...

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

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 votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. 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 ...

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 i ...

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 Veikka ...

, 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 Finnish 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 champion. Before that from 1908 to ...

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 so ...

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 ...

club, OLS, which plays in

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,

, 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 killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

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 Wom ...

. Oulu is also home to several other sports clubs such as Oulu Northern Lights (

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 wi ...

), Oulun NMKY (

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 (

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 (

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 eve ...

), SK Pohjantähti (

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 ...

)), OYUS (

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 it ...

), Oulu Irish Elks (

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 ki ...

) and ETTA (

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 Sum ...

). Oulun Tervahiihto 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

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 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 Fac ...

, singer, X Factor UK 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 direc ...

, 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 be ...

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 mur ...

, 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 Winte ...

, 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 daughter ...

, pharmacist, factory owner and '' vuorineuvos'' * V.A. Koskenniemi, poet * Taavetti Lukkarinen, 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 ...

of treason * Fanni Luukkonen, 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 ( ...

, poet *

Impaled Nazarene Impaled Nazarene is a Finnish extreme metal band that started as black metal but have incorporated elements of grindcore, thrash metal and death metal, and have grown more towards hardcore punk. History The band formed in November 1990, with f ...

, nuclear metal band *

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 March ...

, 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 Patrik Pasma (born 2 March 2000) is a Finnish racing driver who last competed for Evans Grand Prix in the Formula Regional Asian Championship for Evans Grand Prix. Career Formula Ford Pasma started his single seater career in an array of diffe ...

, racing driver * Leena Peltonen-Palotie, 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 s ...

, figure skater * Ville Ranta, comic artist * Mika Ronkainen, 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, 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 ...

, church painter * Three former presidents of the country

Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg (, ; 28 January 1865 – 22 September 1952) was a Finnish jurist and academic, which was one of the most important pioneers of republicanism in the country. He was the first president of Finland (1919–1925) and a liber ...

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. Ahti ...

, 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 Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

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 a ...

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,

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,

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) wi ...

, Markus Nutivaara and Sebastian Aho * Football/soccer players: Niko Heiskanen, Aki Lahtinen, Antti Niemi and

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. Interna ...

, Seppo Pyykkö

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Oulu is twinned with: *

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 city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

, 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 in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

, 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 ...

, Turkey ''(since 1978)'' *

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

, Germany ''(since 1968)'' *

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 o ...

, 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, Hungary ''(since 1978)'' *

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

''(since 2010)'' Oulu also maintains relationships with cities twinned to former municipalities

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 comp ...

, Italy ''(twinned with

since 2010)'' * Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary ''(twinned with

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 ...

, Russia ''(twinned with Haukipudas,

, and

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 popu ...

, UK * Ilembula, 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, Nicaragua *

Sendai is the capital 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 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...

, 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, Um ...

, Sweden * Vienne, France

International municipal projects

The educational department was a part of the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland.

References

External links

*
Visitoulu.fi
– VisitOulu.fi – Official tourism website of Oulu * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Finland Grand Duchy of Finland Seaside resorts in Finland Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea 1605 establishments in Sweden Populated places established in 1605