Oulu

Oulu (listen (help·info)) (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 largest 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 attack 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, a major fire destroyed much of the city. The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly known for the neo-classical (empire style) buildings around Helsinki Senate Square, was enlisted to provide the plan for the rebuilding of the city. With minor changes, this plan remains the basis for the layout of Oulu's town center. Oulu Cathedral was built in 1832 to his designs, with the spire being finished in 1844.

From being a town known for wood tar 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. 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 Screaming Men), and the now defunct metal band Sentenced. The Oulu Music Video Festival (originally the host of the Air Guitar Championships) is also a significant event. The annual music festival Qstock has risen to acclaim in the past few years; headlining the 2006 festival were UK's Motörhead.

1 Sights
- 1.1 Other points of interest
- 1.2 Nightlife
2 Transportation
3 Sports
4 Trivia
5 Town twinning
6 External links

[edit] Sights

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
Technopolis, the technology village

Image of Oulu, March 2004, showing the inlet of Pokkisenväylä at the mouth of the Oulu River. The spire of Oulu Cathedral is visible in the center of the picture. Oulu Lycaeum, also by Engel, is to the left.

[edit] Other points of interest

Oulu Music Video Festival
Air Guitar World Championships
Qstock Rock Festival (website)
Jalometalli Metal Music Festival (website)
Oulu City Theatre (website)
Oulu Children's Theatre Festival (website)
The University of Oulu
Oulu Hall (a large indoor sports facility consisting of a low dome, described as a landed flying saucer)
Nallikari Recreational Centre (with sandy beach and camping grounds)
Eden Hotel & Spa (in Nallikari)
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.

[edit] Nightlife

45 Special, Saaristonkatu, started as a rock club, the "45" (or simply "numero", number) is the usual venue for nationally touring rock bands. It has two dancefloors for popular rock, pop, electro, reggae and so on.
Hevimesta, Torikatu, a heavy metal and rock club.
Never Grow Old, Hallituskatu, small loungy bar with a variety of live gigs, shows and djs; incl. funk, jazz, brazilectro, soul, ska, reggae, salsa... and unisex toilets.
Club Teatria, Härkätie, the largest indoor rock club in Finland and venue for rock concerts.
Onnela, Isokatu, a popular club (part of a national chain) with four different floors playing four different styles of music: rock, suomipop (Finnish pop), 80s and dance.
Amarillo, Kirkkokatu, a tex-mex restaurant with a disco for pop and dance sounds in the basement.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Air

Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second biggest airport in Finland by passenger volume. There are non-stop scheduled flights to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (around 18 daily flights with Finnair and Blue1), Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (1 daily with Blue1) and Rovaniemi Airport (1 daily with Finnair) as well as charter flights to Southern Europe, Canary Isles and starting from next winter, to Phuket in Thailand.

Oulu Airport can be reached by bus number 19 from the centre of the city and Technopolis.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] Sports

Oulu's icehockey team Oulun Kärpät have won Finnish Icehockey League Championships three times (1981, 2004 and 2005). They have also won silver of European champion two times, 2004 and 2005.

[edit] Trivia

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. A recent variation read "tiptopaskanbe kaupunni", as seen on paskakaupunni.com. Paska kaupunni means "shitty city" with the word "city" ("kaupunki") misspelt to mimic the local dialect, and is probably a reference to a song by Oulu-born Finnish rock musician and author Kauko Röyhkä.

Oulu, Wisconsin, Oulu's namesake in the United States, is a small town with a population of about 540.

[edit] Town twinning

[edit] External links

	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oulu

	Municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia
	Alavieska \| Haapajärvi \| Haapavesi \| Hailuoto \| Haukipudas \| Ii \| Kalajoki \| Kempele \| Kestilä \| Kiiminki \| Kuivaniemi \| Kuusamo \| Kärsämäki \| Liminka \| Lumijoki \| Merijärvi \| Muhos \| Nivala \| Oulainen \| Oulu \| Oulunsalo \| Piippola \| Pudasjärvi \| Pulkkila \| Pyhäjoki \| Pyhäjärvi \| Pyhäntä \| Raahe \| Rantsila \| Reisjärvi \| Ruukki \| Sievi \| Siikajoki \| Taivalkoski \| Tyrnävä \| Utajärvi \| Vihanti \| Yli-Ii \| Ylikiiminki \| Ylivieska
	Northern Ostrobothnia \| Oulu Province \| Finland