Jump to content

Oulu: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Jim10701 (talk | contribs)
5,100 edits
m →‎Climate: rmv errant "and"
Crysb (talk | contribs)
1,381 edits
add reference to Oulu as "living lab"
Line 40: Line 40:
|footnotes =
|footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Oulu''' (pronounced {{IPA-fi|ˈoulu||Oulu.ogg}}, {{lang-sv|Uleåborg}} {{IPA-sv|ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj|}}) is a [[List of cities and towns in Finland|city]] and [[Municipalities of Finland|municipality]] of {{Formatnum: {{Infobox Finnish municipality/population count|Oulu}} }} inhabitants ({{#time: j F Y|{{Infobox Finnish municipality/population count|sourcedate}} }})<ref name="population_count" /> 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.
'''Oulu''' (pronounced {{IPA-fi|ˈoulu||Oulu.ogg}}, {{lang-sv|Uleåborg}} {{IPA-sv|ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj|}}) is a [[List of cities and towns in Finland|city]] and [[Municipalities of Finland|municipality]] of {{Formatnum: {{Infobox Finnish municipality/population count|Oulu}} }} inhabitants ({{#time: j F Y|{{Infobox Finnish municipality/population count|sourcedate}} }})<ref name="population_count" /> 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. Oulu is considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technology (such as NFC tags) at a community-wide scale.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything |last=Saylor |first=Michael |year=2012 |publisher=Perseus Books/Vanguard Press |isbn= |page=63 |pages=281}}</ref>


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 15:24, 6 June 2012

For other uses, see Oulu (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Finnish municipality Oulu (pronounced [ˈoulu] ⓘ, Swedish: Uleåborg [ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj]) is a city and municipality of Template:Infobox Finnish municipality/population count inhabitants (Error: Invalid time.)[1] 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. Oulu is considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technology (such as NFC tags) at a community-wide scale.[2]

History

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.

Drawing of central Oulu from the 19th Century.

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.[3]

Name

The city is named after the river Oulujoki, which originates in the lake Oulujärvi. There have been a number of theories for the origin of the name Oulu. At minimum, the structure of the word requires that if originally given by speakers of a Uralic language, the name must be a derivative. In all likelihood it also predates Finnish settlement and is thus a loanword from one of the now-extinct Saami languages once spoken in the area.

The most probable theory is that the name derives from the Finnish dialectal word oulu, meaning "floodwater", which is related to e.g. Southern Saami åulo, meaning "melted snow", åulot meaning "thaw" (of unknown ultimate origin). Two other word families have also been speculated to be related. The first is seen in the Northern Savo dialectal word uula and its Saami counterpart oalli, both meaning "river channel". The second is the Uralic root reconstructed as *uwa, meaning "river bed" (reflected as vuo in modern Finnish, also in derivatives such as vuolas "heavy-flowing"). To either of these roots, some Saami variety would have to be assumed having added further derivational suffixes.[4]

Geography

Climate

Oulu has a subarctic climate with cold, 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 late summer and fall.

Climate data for Oulu, Finland
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −6
(21) 		−5.7
(21.7) 		−0.9
(30.4) 		5.6
(42.1) 		12.5
(54.5) 		17.9
(64.2) 		21.1
(70.0) 		18.5
(65.3) 		12.5
(54.5) 		5.8
(42.4) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		−4
(25) 		6.4
(43.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.6
(14.7) 		−9.3
(15.3) 		−4.8
(23.4) 		1.4
(34.5) 		7.8
(46.0) 		13.5
(56.3) 		16.8
(62.2) 		14.3
(57.7) 		8.9
(48.0) 		3.3
(37.9) 		−2.8
(27.0) 		−8.2
(17.2) 		2.6
(36.7)
Mean daily minimum °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) 		−2.0
(28.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26
(1.0) 		21
(0.8) 		23
(0.9) 		19
(0.7) 		30
(1.2) 		43
(1.7) 		57
(2.2) 		65
(2.6) 		48
(1.9) 		42
(1.7) 		31
(1.2) 		28
(1.1) 		433
(17)
Average precipitation days 8 7 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 9 9 9 98
Mean monthly 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,[5]

Culture

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.

Notable people from Oulu

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 7,000 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
  • The 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 Gardens (situated in Linnanmaa)
  • The Oulu Art Museum
  • The Arctic Gallery
  • Technopolis, the technology village
  • Turkansaari (historical open-air museum)

Other points of interest

University of Oulu main building
Mannerheim Park is a favourite hangout place for many.

Education

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. [citation needed]

Transportation

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.[6]

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

Sports

Kärpät wins the Finnish championship in 2005 after beating Jokerit

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).

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Oulu is twinned with:[8]

Friendship cities

International municipal projects

The educational department takes part in Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland.

See also

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference population_count was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Saylor, Michael (2012). The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press. p. 63. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  3. ^ "Uusi Oulu" (in Finnish). Oulu: City of Oulu. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Oulu-nimen etymologia". Scripta.kotus.fi. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  5. ^ "Climatological Information for Oulu, Finland". Hong Kong Observatory.
  6. ^ Autoilijan Tiekartta 2007 – Road map (Map). 1:800,000. AffectoGenimap Finland Oy. 2006. ISBN 978-951-593-047-7.
  7. ^ a b "Business and industry". Information about Oulu. Oulu: City of Oulu. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Twin towns". www.ouka.fi. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  9. ^ "Информация о городах-побратимах" (in Template:Ru icon). www.arhcity.ru. 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2009-09-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  10. ^ Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Web Site; Sister Cities.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Oulu (category)

Template:Link GA Template:Link FA

ak:Oulu

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oulu&oldid=496286581"