Oulu (Swedish: Uleåborg) is a city in Finland and the provincial
center of Northern Ostrobothnia, located at the mouth of the Oulu
River on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of
Northern Ostrobothnia. Founded in 1605, Oulu is the oldest city in
Northern Finland and the fifth most populous city in Finland and the
fourth largest urban area. Oulu had a population of 205,750
inhabitants on 30 June 2020 and an area (1 January 2020) of 3,817.54
square kilometers, of which 2,971.96 are land, 80.08 inland waters
and the remaining 765.50 square kilometers are sea. Oulu is the
largest coastal community in Finland.
Oulu is the
administrative and commercial center of its region. Oulu's
neighboring municipalities are Hailuoto, Ii, Kempele, Liminka,
Lumijoki, Muhos, Pudasjärvi, Tyrnävä and Utajärvi.
The
current city of Oulu was founded on 1 January 2013, when the former
city of Oulu and the municipalities of Haukipudas, Kiimingi,
Oulunsalo and Yli-Ii merged.
Strong cultural fields in Oulu are film, photography and dance, as
well as children's culture. Madetoja Hall, completed in 1983, is home to
the northernmost professional symphony orchestra in the EU region, the
Oulu Sinfonia. In addition, several different art and science
exhibitions and themed events are organized in Oulu each year, some of
which are organized by Kulttuuritalo Valve. The Tiernasäätiö also
operates in Oulu, which was established to cherish and develop the Oulu
tierna tradition. Oulu is home to Finland's first science center,
Tietomaa, which was opened to the public in 1988. Oulu was nominated to
be the European capital of culture for 2011.
Writers
Well-known male writers born in or influenced by Oulu include V. A.
Koskenniemi, Jorma Kurvinen, Samuli Paulaharju, Matti Hälli, Hannu
Väisänen, Kauko Röyhkä, Ari Paulow, Teuvo Pakkala, Joni Skiftesvik, Tatu
Vaaskivi, Lauri Kokkonen, Paavo Rintala, Juhani Siljo and Kaarlo Kramsu.
Many women writers are connected to Oulu, such as Sara Wacklin, Mimmi
Bergh, Fredrika Pietilä, Anu Kaipainen, Anna-Maija Ylimaula. Writers
Sinikka Laine, Pauliina Rauhala, Pauliina Vanhatalo and Inga Röning also
join Oulu.
Museums
The North Ostrobothnia Museum is located
near the center in Ainola Park. The museum building, completed in 1931,
was designed by architect Oiva Kallio. Nearby in Myllytull, in the
former headquarters of Veljekset Åström Oy, is the Oulu Art Museum,
founded in 1963. In Pikisaari, the Sailor's Home Museum operates in
Matila's house, which exhibits furniture and objects that typically
belonged to a sailor's home in Oulu in the late 19th century. On the
south side of the city of Oulu, in the Kiviniemi district, there is the
Oulu Car Museum, which exhibits more than 50 vehicles, the oldest from
the 1910s. North of the city center in Pateniemi is the museum of the
Pateniemi sawmill, which mainly focuses on presenting the operation and
history of the Pateniemi sawmill that operated between 1873 and 1990. In
Oulujoki's Turkansaari, about ten kilometers from the center, there is
the Turkansaari outdoor museum, which presents rural culture. The
Geological Museum and the Zoological Museum previously operated at the
University of Oulu in Linnanmaa, but they were discontinued in 2018.
Public sculptures
Memorial statue of F. M. Franzén
Futura -
Unknown
The interaction of human touch and technology
Osprey and
salmon
Spring storm
Rebounded
Maiden of the bottom
Polskis
Checkbook
Wings
Your market poll
From Tuira to the shores of
Ruija
The path of enlightenment
Communication
The
independent newspaper Kaleva, founded by Juho Raappana in 1899, is
published in Oulu. In 2014, it was the seventh largest in circulation in
Finland.[
Other magazines published in Oulu are Suomenmaa, the
main supporter of Suomen Keskus, and the magazine Kansan tahto, which is
close to the left-wing alliance. The city newspapers published in Oulu
are Forum24, published by Kaleva, and Oulu-lehti, owned by Joutsen
Media, which publishes Suomenmaa.
Joutsen Media also owns
Kolmiokirja, which publishes entertainment and hobby magazines.
Yleisradio Pohjois Suomen's news is broadcast from Oulu. In addition,
Yle Oulu's delivery is located in Oulu.
Oulu dialect
The Oulu
dialect is a Western Finnish mixed dialect by birth, whose roots go back
to the ancient Hämä language form. The dialects of the Oulu region
belong to the Northern Pohja dialects of the Finnish language. Ties to
foreign countries were strong because trade was conducted all over the
world. The use of Swedish loanwords is typical of the Oulu dialect
vocabulary. Swedish-speakingness was visible in Oulu at the beginning of
the 20th century in a completely different way than it is today. The
strong position of Swedish-speakers was also reflected in the fact that
in the 1870s, the otherwise Finnish-language Oulu Wiikko-Sanom had
announcements in Swedish. The merchant and bourgeois families of Oulu
generally spoke Swedish until the 20th century. In the 1850s, about ten
percent of the inhabitants of Oulu were Swedish-speaking. However, their
share decreased to three percent by the 1930s. The Finnish-speaking
population of Oulu colored their speech with words borrowed from the
Swedish language. These include, for example, valakolöki, petrata,
fiini, oorninki, pruvvi, tilipehööri, rörö, veska, tyyristää and
entrata. The battery, on the other hand, has a Russian influence. Words
have been forgotten, but some still occasionally appear on the pages of
newspapers. Well-known dialect words still used by the people of Oulu
today are onnikka "bus" and patio "terrace". The most famous saying in
the Oulu dialect is probably Ookkonää from Oulu? Scary pollies?
Food culture
In the 1980s, rössypottu, salmon soup and makia cheese
were named Oulu's main dishes.
Käristemkara or kärkkäri and
so-called känkky or kämäpizza are a central part of Oulu's fast food
culture. When Kotivara wanted to stop making Kärkkäri, an address was
quickly collected on its behalf.
Several large Christian summer events have been organized in Oulu.
The summer clubs of the old stadium players have been organized in Oulu
twelve times, the last time in 1966.[98] The revival celebration has
been organized in Oulu four times: 1928, 1960, 1983 and 2011.
Other known events:
Arctic Steps
Precious metals Festival
Block
shark pack
Shallow Ocean Race
OuDance
Oulu's festive weeks
Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival
Oulu Children's
and Youth Theater Festival
Oulu Music Festival
Oulu Music Video
Festivals and Air Guitar World Championships
Days in Oulu
Oulunsalo Soi
Oulu Comics Festival
Oulu Tarvahihto and Tarvasutu
and Tarwahölkkä and -marathon
Qstock
Rotuari Piknik
The Irish
Festival of Oulu
Time Tunnel
Vectorama
Light Oulu! -festival of
lights
Oulu, founded by King Charles IX of Sweden on April 8,
1605, is the oldest city in Northern Finland. Oulu's heyday began in
1765, when the city gained the rights of a tapestry city to enable
foreign trade. In 1822, a fire destroyed the entire city center, and
architect Carl Ludvig Engel drew up a new grid pattern for the city.
Oulu has burned ten times in its history.
Today, Oulu is
known especially as a technology city and the economic locomotive of
Northern Finland. Founded in 1982, Oulu Technopolis was the first
technology village in the Nordic countries. Previously, Oulu was
known as a tar city: Oulu's main export product in the 19th century
was tar, and it was also the largest tar exporter in Finland
throughout the century. The peasants of Kainuu delivered tar along
the Oulujoki River to Tervahovi in the Toppila district, on the
northern shore of the Toppilansalmi. The tar bourgeoisie were the
leading merchant families in the city of Oulu who traded in foreign
tar. In addition to export and import trade, tar couriers were
engaged in ship equipment and sawmill operations.
Oulu is an important traffic hub. One of Finland's main
thoroughfares, highway 4 from Helsinki to Utsjoki, which is a motorway
for the city, and the European roads E8 and E75 pass through it. Highway
20 leading to Kuusamo and highway 22 leading to Kajaani start from Oulu,
and highway 8 leading to Turku diverges from highway 4 south of Oulu in
Liminga. Five road, one railway and three light traffic bridges cross
the Oulu River in the city area. Since the beginning of 2015, Oulu
Public Transport has been responsible for organizing public transport in
the urban area. There are long-distance connections from Oulu bus
station to different parts of Finland.
Oulu railway station is a
crossing station of three lines, from which there are several daily
passenger train services to Helsinki, Kuopio, Kolar and Rovaniemi, and
freight traffic is also busy. More than 500 ships visit the port of Oulu
every year, and about three million tons of cargo pass through it every
year. Oulu Airport, located in the Kylänpuole district, is the second
busiest airport in the country in terms of passenger numbers after
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, and there are a couple of dozen flights to
Helsinki every day.
In Oulu, there is an investment in cycling
all year round. There is almost a thousand kilometers of bike path
network. Oulu's reputation as a winter cycling city was raised by the
congress, where it was declared the best winter cycling city in the
world.
About 200 sports clubs operate in Oulu, where many sports are played.
Football clubs
Among the Oulu ball clubs, men's championships
have been won by Oulun Palloseura (2) in football, Kärpät (8) in ice
hockey, Lippo (4) in baseball, Oulun Palloseura (7) and Oulu
Luistinseura (16) in ice ball, Bandy-84 and RB-Oulu in rinkball, and Sun
in volleyball Volleyball.
Other main league clubs from Oulu in
ball sports have been, for example, in football Oulu Työväen Balloliijat
(OTP), FC Oulu and AC Oulu, in futsal Tervarit and FC Oulun Pallo, in
ice ball OPP, OTP and Oulu Tarmo, in rink ball Oulu Pallo-Karhut,
R-Ville Team, in basketball ONMKY , OLS and Merikoski SBT in floorball
and ETTA and Kisko in volleyball. In smaller ball sports, Oulu's major
league clubs have been Northern Lights (American football) and OYUS
(rugby). Oulu's Beach Volley Team Nurminen-Piippo won SM silver in 2011
and SM gold in 2012.
In women's ball games, Oulu's success has
been represented by Lippo in baseball, Kärpät in ice hockey, OPS in ice
ball, OLS and Merikoski SBT in floorball, OPS, ONS and OTP in soccer,
and ETTA in volleyball.
Other species
In martial arts, one of
the most successful clubs in Oulu is the Oulu ITF Taekwon-Do club.
Several medals have come from the international value competitions.
Among others, Janne Korhonen (taekwondo) is a three-time European
champion in his sport. Jaana Ronkainen is a successful judoka, European
champion, silver and bronze medalist. Pasi Laurén has also represented
his country and hometown at the Olympic level. Juha Hänninen is a
multiple Finnish champion and Olympic representative in boxing. Dancers
trained by the Kilpatansiseura Oulu Telemark Team, which has been
operating since 1965, have competed and been successful in both national
and international competitions. In the television series Tanssii tähtien
coni, Oulu's dance expertise has been widely seen.
Sports venues
Oulu has three swimming pools, three municipal ice rinks and seven
sports halls and several sports halls. There are dozens of sports
centers and fields in different parts of the city.
The most
important sports center is the Raksila sports center, which houses the
ice rink Oulun Energia Areena (built in 1975, 6,614 seats) and the
multipurpose arena Ouluhalli. Raksila also has one of Finland's busiest
swimming pools, an artificial ice rink and a baseball stadium. Other
important sports areas are Oulu's main football field Castreni sports
center, Oulu sports hall, Linnanmaa sports park (practice ice rink and
sports hall) and Heinäpää sports center, which has seven full-sized
soccer fields and a ball hall. Äimärauti's equestrian center has
Finland's oldest trotting track located at the same location, as well as
several riding and trotting stables.
Well-known competitions
Oulu has often hosted prestigious competitions in various sports, such
as the athletics championships, the Kaleva competitions. They have been
organized in Oulu five times. The city has hosted the East-West baseball
value match several times. Oulu has served as the venue for the World
Ice Hockey Championships in 1967, 1975 and 2001, as well as in 1969,
when one match of the Swedish Championships was played in Oulu. The
European Championships in wrestling were organized in 1989. The European
Championships in volleyball have been organized in the city in 1977 and
1993. In addition, national matches have been played in football, ice
hockey, ice hockey and volleyball. One of the most significant
individual matches is probably from 1980, when OPS played a 1–1 draw
against Liverpool.
The ice hockey team Oulun Kärpät has played in
the Ice Hockey SM league since the 2000–2001 season, before that it was
in the league in the 1970s and 80s. Kärppie's achievements include eight
Finnish championships, the most recent of which is from the 2017–2018
season.
The athletes of Oulu NMKY organize the Oulu Run, which
has been run every September since 1966. They also organize the
Terwahölkkä and marathon event, which has been running every May since
1989.
In 2003, general class JM-SM races have been held at the
Iinat motor sports center.
Change
Oulu has been very
successful in recent city image surveys. In a study published by
Taloustikkumas in 2008, it received the best ranking among large cities
in the image evaluations of the entire country, when the evaluations of
respondents from all counties were included.
Asteroid 1512 Oulu
is named after the city.