| Oulu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Oulun kaupunki | |||
|
|||
| Location of Oulu in Finland | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Finland | ||
| Region | Northern Ostrobothnia | ||
| Sub-region | Oulu sub-region | ||
| Charter | 1605-04-08 | ||
| Government | |||
| • City manager | Matti Pennanen | ||
| Area(2011-01-01)[1] | |||
| • Total | 1,513.37 km2 (584.3 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 1,410.17 km2 (544.5 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 103.2 km2 (39.8 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 67th largest in Finland | ||
| Population (2011-01-31)[2] | |||
| • Total | 141,742 | ||
| • Rank | 6th largest in Finland | ||
| • Density | 100.51/km2 (260.3/sq mi) | ||
| Population by native language[3] | |||
| • Finnish | 97.3% (official) | ||
| • Swedish | 0.2% | ||
| • Others | 2.4% | ||
| Population by age[4] | |||
| • 0 to 14 | 17% | ||
| • 15 to 64 | 70.5% | ||
| • 65 or older | 12.5% | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Municipal tax rate[5] | 19% | ||
| Website | www.ouka.fi | ||
Oulu (pronounced [ˈoulu] ( listen), Swedish: Uleåborg [ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj]) is a city and municipality of 141,742 inhabitants (31 January 2011)[2] in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world.
Contents |
Oulu was founded on April 8, 1605, by King Charles IX of Sweden opposite to the fort built on the island of Linnansaari. This took place after favourable peace settlements with the Russians, which removed the threat of 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 river Oulujoki, which is an ancient trading site. One possible source for the name Oulu is a word in the Sami language meaning 'flood water', but there are other suggestions. Oulu was the capital of the Province of Oulu from 1776 to 2009.
In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city. The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly known for the neoclassical (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. The Oulu Cathedral was built in 1832 to his designs, with the spire being finished in 1844.
Once known for wood tar and salmon, Oulu has evolved into a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. Other prominent industries include wood refining, paper, and steel. The University of Oulu is located six kilometres north of the city center. The Oulu Airport, located in the neighboring municipality of Oulunsalo, is the second busiest in Finland.
The municipality of Ylikiiminki was merged with the city of Oulu on January 1, 2009. Oulu and the municipalities of Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Oulunsalo and Yli-Ii will be merged on January 1, 2013.[6]
There have been a number of theories for the origin of the name Oulu. One theory, and most probable, is that it would be a derivation of a Uralic word meaning "floodwater". This would be a loanword from the Saami language such as Southern Saami åulo, meaning "melted snow" or åulot meaning "thaw". It has also been speculated that the words väylä ("fairway, channel") and uoma ("river channel, bed") and their Northern Savo dialectic word uula is probably a loan from the Saami word oalli and is connected to the name Oulu. Another theory is that the Finnish word for flood, vuo, whose reconstructed form *uva has meant "river bed", is in the name's etymology.[7]
Oulu has a subarctic climate with very cold, long and snowy winters and short, warm summers. Average annual temperature is 2 °C (36 °F). The average annual precipitation is 433 mm (17.05 in) falling on 98 days a year, mostly in summer.
| Climate data for Oulu, Finland (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −7.4 (18.7) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20.4 (68.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
5.5 (41.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
5.73 (42.32) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
0.5 (32.9) |
7.5 (45.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
16.0 (60.8) |
13.7 (56.7) |
8.4 (47.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
2.00 (35.60) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −15.4 (4.3) |
−14.7 (5.5) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
2.8 (37.0) |
8.8 (47.8) |
11.4 (52.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.9 (40.8) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−1.99 (28.41) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 26 (1.02) |
21 (0.83) |
23 (0.91) |
19 (0.75) |
30 (1.18) |
43 (1.69) |
57 (2.24) |
65 (2.56) |
48 (1.89) |
42 (1.65) |
31 (1.22) |
28 (1.1) |
433 (17.05) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 98 |
| Sunshine hours | 18.6 | 65.0 | 127.1 | 189.0 | 266.6 | 288.0 | 285.2 | 204.6 | 126.0 | 74.4 | 27.0 | 6.2 | 1,677.7 |
| Source: Hong Kong Observatory,[8] | |||||||||||||
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.
There are many artists, writers and musicians resident in the city. A variety of concerts, both rock, classical music, and jazz, as well as other cultural events take place each year; for example, Oulu Music Video Festival – the host of the Air Guitar World Championships and Musixine Music Film Competition – in August, annual rock festival Qstock in July, the Oulu Music Festival in winter, the Oulunsalo Music Festival in summer, The Irish Festival of Oulu in October and the International Children's Film Festival in November. Kalmah is a melodic death metal-band from Oulu that formed in 1998.
[Tenkula] Metal Musician
The University of Oulu and Oulu University of Applied Sciences (formerly Oulu Polytechnic) are 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 is served by Oulu Airport, the second largest airport in Finland by passenger volume. It is located in the neighbouring municipality of Oulunsalo, 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the city centre.
The Port of Oulu is one of the busiest harbours on the Bothnian Bay. It includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks, Oritkari docks, and the Toppila docks.
The shortest travel time from Oulu railway station to Helsinki Central railway station is 5 h 44 mins, operated by VR. Other destinations include, for instance, Kolari, Rovaniemi, Seinäjoki and Tampere.
The most important road in Oulu is highway 4 (E8/E75) that runs from Helsinki to Utsjoki via Lahti, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kemi and Rovaniemi. Other highways running to and from Oulu are highway 20 to Kuusamo and highway 22 to Kajaani.[9]
As of December 31, 2005, the active working population was employed as follows:[10]
| Industries | Working population |
|---|---|
| Services | 36,616 |
| Industry | 11,439 |
| Commerce | 9,394 |
| Construction | 4,659 |
| Transport | 4,469 |
| Farming and forestry | 471 |
| Unknown | 1,200 |
| Total | 68,248 |
In 2008, the most important employers were:[10]
| Employer | No. of employees |
|---|---|
| City of Oulu | 9,760 |
| Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District | 5,546 |
| Nokia Group | 4,700 |
| University of Oulu | 3,050 |
| The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Education | 1,651 |
| Stora Enso Group | 1,155 |
| Kesko Group | 1,054 |
| Itella Corporation | 920 |
| Cooperative Arina Group (S Group) | 830 |
| Deaconesses' Institution | 694 |
Ice hockey is the most popular spectator sport in Oulu. The local club Kärpät have won the SM-Liiga championship title five times (1981, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008). They have also been the runner-up in the IIHF European Champions Cup twice, in 2005 and 2006.
In football AC Oulu and OPS are playing in Ykkönen, the second tier of Finnish league system. Up to date only OPS have claimed Finnish football championship by winning Mestaruussarja twice in 1979 and 1980.
Oulu has two well known bandy clubs. OLS which has become Finnish champions 14 times, and OPS with their 7 championships. Currently only OLS is playing in Bandyliiga, the top level in Finnish bandy. In 2001 the city was the main venue for the Bandy World Championships.
Terwa Marathon & Run is an annual event run in late May (since 1989).
The educational department takes part in Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland.
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||