Oulu
This article is about the Finnish city; for other uses see Oulu (disambiguation).Oulu () (
Uleåborg in
Swedish) (65°00'N 25°28'E) is a city and
municipality of about 130,000 inhabitants in the
province of
Oulu and the region of
Northern Ostrobothnia, in
Finland. It is the largest and most important city in Northern Finland and the sixth biggest city in the country. Its population growth rate is almost comparable with that of the
Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
Oulu was founded on
April 8 1605 by
King Karl IX of
Sweden opposite the castle built on the island of Linnansaari. This took place after favourable peace settlements with the Russians, which removed the threat of them attacking the region via the main east-west waterway, the river Oulu (the surrounding areas were populated much earlier). Oulu is situated by the
Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of
Oulu River, which is an ancient trading site. One source for the name Oulu is a word in the
Sami language meaning floodwater, but there are other suggestions. Oulu has been the capital of
Oulu province since
1776. In
1822, there was a fire in the city.
From being a town known for and
salmon, Oulu has evolved into a major centre of competence in the field of high technology, particularly
IT and
wellness technology. Other prominent industries are wood refining, paper and steel industry. The
University of Oulu is located 6 km north of the city center. The
Oulu Airport, located in neighbouring municipality of
Oulunsalo, is the second busiest in Finland.
The best known cultural exports of the city of Oulu are
Air guitar World Championships,
Mieskuoro Huutajat (also known as the
Screaming Men), and the now de-funct metal band
Sentenced.
*Tietomaa
*Ainola Park, a former University botanical garden
*Rotuaari pedestrian street
*The Market Square with the City Library, the City Theatre and old salt storehouses
*
Mannerheim Park*Hupisaaret
*The F. M. Franzen memorial
*The North-Ostrobothnia Museum
*The Pateniemi Sawmill Museum
*The Vehicle Museum
*The Linnanmaa University Botanical Garden
*The Oulu Art Museum
*The Arctic Gallery
*Teknopolis, the technology village
 |
Image of Oulu, March 2004, showing the inlet of Pokkitörmä at the mouth of the Oulu River. |
Other points of interest
*
Oulu Music Video Festival*
Air Guitar World Championships*The Qstock Rock Festival
*The Oulu City Theatre
*The
University of Oulu*The Eden Hotel & Spa
*The Oulu Hall
*The Nallikari Recreational Centre
*The Terva-skiing event
*The Oulu Horse Show
*The American Car Show
*The Winter Swimming World Championship
*Oulu University of Applied Sciences (formerly Oulu Polytechnic)
 |
Railway station area in Oulu, looking southwest along Hallituskatu. |
Nightlife
*The 45 Special, a popular rock club
*Hevimesta, a heavy metal club
*Never Grow Old, loungy bar with a variety of live gigs, djs and shows; incl. funk, jazz, brazilectro, soul, ska, reggae, salsa
*Club Teatria, a large indoor rock venue
*Onnela, a popular club with four different rooms playing four different styles of music: rock, suomipop (Finnish pop), 80s and dance
Air
Oulu is served by
Oulu Airport with non-stop scheduled flights to
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport,
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and
Rovaniemi Airport as well as charter flights to
Southern Europe and
Canary Isles.
Rail
The shortest travel time from
Oulu Railway Station to
Helsinki Central Railway Station is 5 h 44 mins, operated by
VR. There are also night trains with beds taking 8-11 hours; the newest night train cars are double deckers and have showers and toilets in the cabins. Other destinations include, for instance,
Kolari,
Rovaniemi,
Seinäjoki and
Tampere.
Road
*
Helsinki 550 km S
*
Jyväskylä 333 km S
*
Kotka 582 km S
*
Kuopio 284 km SSE
*
Lahti 505 km S
*
Lappeenranta 548 km SSE
*
Pori 501 km SSW
*
Rovaniemi 207 km NE
*
Tampere 476 km SSW
*
Tornio 131 km NNW
*
Turku 620 km SSW
*
Vaasa 290 km SW
An amusing feature of the downtown landscape has been, for years, a certain piece of
graffiti. The words "paska kaupunni" have been repeatedly written on a wall on Uusikatu street, between the bars Linnankrouvi and Cuba (formerly Reidar). The graffito has survived countless overpaintings, sometimes appearing with an added N. The most recent variation reads "tiptopaskanbe kaupunni", as seen on
paskakaupunni.com.
Paska kaupunni means "shitty city" with the word kaupunni ("kaupunki") misspelt to make it sound like the local dialect, and is probably a reference to a song by Oulu-born Finnish rock musician and author
Kauko Röyhkä.
*
City of Oulu*
Oulu This Week event calendar*
University of Oulu*
Oulu Polytechnic*
Koskilinjat Oy — local bus timetables*
Air Guitar World Championships*
Surviving in Oulu - Guide to living in Oulu*
paskakaupunni.com: Photographs of Oulu by kide.organics media collective*
Remarkable architectural sights in Oulu
