Oulu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Oulu (disambiguation).
Oulu
—  City  —
Oulun kaupunki
Coat of arms of Oulu
Coat of arms		 Official logo of Oulu
Logo
Location of Oulu in Finland
Location of Oulu in Finland
Coordinates: 65°01′N 025°28′E / 65.017°N 25.467°E / 65.017; 25.467Coordinates: 65°01′N 025°28′E / 65.017°N 25.467°E / 65.017; 25.467
Country  Finland
Province Oulu Province
Region Northern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region Oulu sub-region
Charter 1605-04-08
Government
 - City manager Matti Pennanen
Area (2009-01-01)[1]
 - Total 1,513.37 km2 (584.3 sq mi)
 - Land 1,410.13 km2 (544.5 sq mi)
 - Water 103.24 km2 (39.9 sq mi)
Population (2009-03-31)[2]
 - Total 137,360
 - Density 97.41/km2 (252.3/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] 18%
Website www.ouka.fi
Drawing of central Oulu from the 19th Century.

Oulu (Oulu.ogg listen (help·info)) (Swedish: Uleåborg, [ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj], literally “Ule River Castle”) is a city and municipality of 137,360 inhabitants (31 March 2009)[2] 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 has a namesake in the United States, Oulu, Wisconsin, which is a village with a population of about 540.

Contents

[edit] History

Oulu was founded on April 8, 1605, by King Charles IX of Sweden opposite to the castle 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 source for the name Oulu is a word in the Sami language meaning 'flood water', but there are other suggestions. Oulu has been the capital of the Oulu Province since 1776.

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.

From being a town known for wood tar and salmon in the past, Oulu has evolved into a major centre of competence in the field of high technology, particularly IT and wellness technology. Other prominent industries include wood refining as well as paper and steel industry. The University of Oulu is located six kilometres north of the city center. The Oulu Airport, located in neighbouring municipality of Oulunsalo, is the second busiest in Finland.

The municipality of Ylikiiminki was consolidated with the city of Oulu on January 1, 2009.


[edit] Geography

[edit] Climate

 Weather averages for Oulu 
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average high °C (°F) -7
(19)		 -7
(19)		 -1
(30)		 5
(41)		 12
(54)		 18
(64)		 21
(70)		 18
(64)		 12
(54)		 5
(41)		 1
(34)		 -6
(21)
Average low °C (°F) -13
(9)		 -13
(9)		 -8
(18)		 -3
(27)		 3
(37)		 9
(48)		 12
(54)		 10
(50)		 5
(41)		 1
(34)		 -5
(23)		 -10
(14)
Precipitation mm (inches) 20.0
(0.79)		 18.3
(0.72)		 17.3
(0.68)		 12.2
(0.48)		 17.6
(0.69)		 31.3
(1.23)		 35.2
(1.39)		 36.2
(1.43)		 22.3
(0.88)		 23.9
(0.94)		 22.5
(0.89)		 19.9
(0.78)
Source: Foreca {{{accessdate}}}

[edit] Cultural life

The cultural life in Oulu is rich and varied. 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. Oulu is home to the most northerly architecture school in the world. The school is best known for its strong regionalistic ideas to develop architecture. This movement is named "Oulun koulu" style.

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, and the International Children's Film Festival in November. Many people who have made a significant contribution to the cultural and political life of Finland have been born or have lived in Oulu, for example, the composer Leevi Madetoja, and the writer Paavo Rintala. Three former Presidents of the country, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Kyösti Kallio and Martti Ahtisaari also went to school there, attending the Oulu Lyceum.

[edit] Sights

Oulu City Hall.
View over the river Oulu towards Tuira from Hupisaaret park. Water power plant can be seen on the right side. Tuira is one of the largest districts of Oulu with almost 7000 inhabitants.
  • Tietomaa, a science center with over 150 exhibits
  • Ainola Park, formerly a university botanical garden before the university was moved to Linnanmaa
  • The Rapids Center, the area in the estuary of the Oulu river consisting of small islands connected with bridges, fountains in the middle of the river, and including a housing area of building blocks planned by Alvar Aalto
  • Rotuaari pedestrian street
  • The Market Square with the City Library, the City Theatre and old salt and tar storehouses
  • Mannerheim Park
  • The Oulu Cathedral
  • Hupisaaret, a large park area located in the estuary of the Oulu river
  • The F. M. Franzen memorial
  • The Northern Ostrobothnia museum
  • The Pateniemi Sawmill Museum
  • The Vehicle Museum
  • The University of Oulu Botanical Garden (situated in Linnanmaa)
  • The Oulu Art Museum
  • The Arctic Gallery
  • Technopolis, the technology village
  • Turkansaari (website) (historical outdoor museum)

[edit] Other points of interest

Railway station area in Oulu, looking southwest along Hallituskatu.
Mannerheim Park is a favourite hangout place for many.

[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) and Rovaniemi Airport (1 daily with Finnair) as well as charter flights to Southern Europe, Canary Isles and Phuket in Thailand.

In October of 2007, Air Baltic begun flying to Oulu Airport, offering a direct connection to its main hub Riga International Airport in Latvia, and connecting flights to airports in most European countries.

Oulu Airport is located in the neighbouring county of Oulunsalo, 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the city centre. It can be reached by bus number 19 from the centre of the city and Technopolis.

[edit] Sea

Port of Oulu is one of the busiest harbours within the Bothnian Bay. Port of Oulu includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks, Oritkari docks and the Toppila docks.

[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

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.[6]

Distances to other Finnish cities:[6]

City Distance Direction
Helsinki 612 km S
Jyväskylä 339 km S
Kajaani 181 km SE
Kemi 106 km N
Kokkola 196 km SW
Kotka 585 km S
Kuopio 286 km SSE
Kuusamo 212 km NE
Lahti 507 km S
Lappeenranta 551 km SSE
Pori 509 km SSW
Raahe 78 km SW
Rovaniemi 222 km N
Tampere 491 km SSW
Tornio 130 km NNW
Turku 633 km SSW
Vaasa 318 km SW

[edit] Employment

As of December 31, 2005, the active working population was employed as follows:[7]

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:[7]

Stora Enso has an important paper manufacturing plant in Oulu.
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

[edit] Sports

Kärpät wins gold after beating Jokerit in 2005 Final.

The Oulu ice hockey team Kärpät have won the Finnish Elite League (SM-Liiga) Championship title five times (1981, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008). They have also been the runner-up in the European Champions Cup twice, in 2005 and 2006.

Terwa Marathon & Run event in late May (since 1989)

[edit] Town twinning

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Friendship cities

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/Pintaalat_kunnittain_1.1.2009.pdf. Retrieved on 20 February 2009. 
  2. ^ a b "Population by municipality as of 31 March 2009" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://www.vrk.fi/vrk/files.nsf/files/5D795199C7CAC193C22575A000324AE2/$file/20090331.htm. Retrieved on 28 April 2009. 
  3. ^ "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved on 29 March 2009. 
  4. ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved on 28 April 2009. 
  5. ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2009". Tax Administration of Finland. 1 December 2008. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=6425;167571. Retrieved on 8 March 2009. 
  6. ^ a b AffectoGenimap Finland Oy. Autoilijan Tiekartta 2007 – Road map [map], 1:800,000. (2006) ISBN 978-951-593-047-7.
  7. ^ a b "Business and industry". Information about Oulu. Oulu: City of Oulu. 2008-09-15. http://www.ouka.fi/city/english/elinkeinot.asp. Retrieved on 5 January 2009. 

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia
Municipalities Coat of arms of Northern Ostrobothnia
Former municipalities
Northern Ostrobothnia · Oulu Province · Finland

mhr:Оулу

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulu"
Personal tools