Oulu
Oulu (/ˈoʊluː/ OH-loo,[9][10] Finnish: [ˈou̯lu] ⓘ; Swedish: Uleåborg [ʉːlɛɔˈbɔrj] ⓘ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants[5] in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere and Vantaa, and the fourth largest urban area in the country after Helsinki, Tampere and Turku. Oulu's neighbouring municipalities are: Hailuoto, Ii, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Pudasjärvi, Tyrnävä and Utajärvi.
Oulu Uleåborg (Swedish) | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Oulun kaupunki Uleåborgs stad City of Oulu | |
From top, left to right: Rantakatu in downtown Oulu; Oulu City Hall; Lyseo Upper Secondary School and the Oulu Cathedral; Shops along Kirkkokatu; Radisson Blu Hotel along Ojakatu | |
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Nickname(s): | |
Location of Oulu in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 65°00′51″N 25°28′19″E / 65.01417°N 25.47194°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | North Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Oulu |
| Charter | 1605-04-08 |
| Government | |
| • City manager | Seppo Määttä |
| Area (2018-01-01)[3] | |
| • City | 3,817.52 km2 (1,473.95 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,410.17 km2 (544.47 sq mi) |
| • Water | 103.2 km2 (39.8 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 187.1 km2 (72.2 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 17th largest in Finland |
| Population (2023-09-19)[5] | |
| • City | 213,348 |
| • Rank | 5th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 151.29/km2 (391.8/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 208 939[4] |
| • Urban density | 915.8/km2 (2,372/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 94.5% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Sami | 0.1% |
| • Others | 5.2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 17.4% |
| • 15 to 64 | 66% |
| • 65 or older | 16.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Oulu is one of the largest cities in the world for its latitude. It is the fourth northernmost city in the world with over 100,000 inhabitants, with the three others located in Russia.
Due to its large population and geopolitically economic and cultural-historical location, Oulu has been called the "capital of Northern Finland".[1] Oulu is also considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technology (such as NFC tags and ubi-screens) on a community-wide scale.[11] Despite only ranking in the top 2% universities,[12] the University of Oulu is regionally known in the field of information technology.[13][14][15] Oulu has also been very successful in recent urban image surveys; in a study published by the Finnish Economic Survey in 2008, it received the best ranking of large cities in image ratings across the country, including ratings from respondents in all provinces.[16] In the 2023 T-Media survey, Oulu was tied with Kuopio as the second most attractive city in Finland, while Tampere taking first place.[17]
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, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper, and steel.[citation needed]
Oulu has been chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2026.[18][19]
Etymology Edit
The city is named after the river Oulujoki, which originates in the lake Oulujärvi. There have been a number of other theories for the origin of the name Oulu. One possible source is a word in the Sami language meaning 'flood water', but there are other suggestions. 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 Sami 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 Sami 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 Sami variety would have to be assumed having added further derivational suffixes.[20]
History Edit
Oulu is situated by the Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of river Oulujoki, which is an ancient trading site. The city proper was founded on 8 April 1605 by King Charles IX of Sweden,[21] opposite the fort built on the island of Linnansaari. This took place after favourable peace settlements with Russia, which removed the threat of attack via the main east–west waterway, the river Oulu.[citation needed] The surrounding areas were populated much earlier. Oulu was the capital of the Province of Oulu from 1776 to 2009.
In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city.[citation needed] The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly known for the neoclassical (empire style) buildings around Helsinki Senate Square, was enlisted to provide the plan for its rebuilding. 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. During the Åland War, part of the Crimean War, Oulu's harbour was raided by the British fleet, who destroyed ships and burned tar houses, leading to international criticism.[citation needed]
Geography Edit
Oulu is located in northern Finland, a considerable distance from the other cities in the country. It is located 607 kilometres (377 mi) north of the capital city Helsinki. Mainland Finland's northernmost and southernmost points are roughly equidistant from Oulu. Oulu's coast sits at the Bothnian Bay (Perämeri in Finnish) and the Swedish mainland is about 180 km directly west across the Bothnian Bay. From the center of Oulu in the direction of Oulunsalo, there is Kempeleenlahti, a smaller but wide, meadow-belted bay,[22] and part of it has been listed as a nature conservation area.[23] The nearby island Hailuoto is just off the coast, 53 kilometres (33 mi) away in the Bothnian Bay. Along the coast to the southwest, about 75 kilometres (47 mi) of Oulu is Raahe (Brahestad), known for its historic wooden town, and about 130 kilometres (81 mi) of Oulu is Kalajoki, known for its popular sandy beaches.
Subdivisions Edit
Oulu is divided into 106 city districts. The largest of these are Haukipudas, Oulunsalo, Kaakkuri, Ritaharju, Tuira, and Kello.
The municipality of Ylikiiminki was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2009. Oulu and the municipalities of Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Oulunsalo, and Yli-Ii were merged on 1 January 2013.[24]
Climate Edit
Oulu has a subarctic continental climate (Köppen Dfc). It is the largest Finnish city entirely in this climatic zone as well as one of the largest such in the world. The typical features are cold and snowy winters with short and mild summers.[25][26] Average annual temperature is 3.3 °C (37.9 °F). The average annual precipitation is 477 mm (18.78 in) falling 105 days per year, mostly in late summer and fall.[citation needed] The warmest temperature ever recorded in Oulu was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) in July 1957,[27] while the coldest temperature on record was −41.5 °C (−42.7 °F) in February 1966.[28]
Due to Oulu's far northern location, and its frequent overcast skies, it only sees on average 15 minutes of sunlight in December. During the winter solstice days only last 3 hours and 34 minutes with the sun rising 1.9 degrees over the horizon. On the other hand, during the summer solstice days last 22 hours and 3 minutes, with the sun dipping 1 degree below the horizon. This gives Oulu white nights during the summer.[29]
On June 21, 2021, Oulu was struck by the Ahti thunderstorm, causing flooding and fall of trees with the wind blowing at more than 30 meters per second.[30] The storm is known to have killed one person and injured two people.[31][32]
| Climate data for Oulu, 1991–2020 normals, records 1921–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.3 (48.7) | 7.8 (46.0) | 11.5 (52.7) | 23.9 (75.0) | 29.9 (85.8) | 32.3 (90.1) | 33.3 (91.9) | 30.5 (86.9) | 25.4 (77.7) | 21.1 (70.0) | 11.2 (52.2) | 8.2 (46.8) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −4.8 (23.4) | −4.7 (23.5) | −0.4 (31.3) | 5.8 (42.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 5.8 (42.4) | 0.5 (32.9) | −2.7 (27.1) | 6.9 (44.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) | −8.4 (16.9) | −4.4 (24.1) | 1.6 (34.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.7 (62.1) | 14.6 (58.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 3.3 (37.9) | −1.6 (29.1) | −5.3 (22.5) | 3.3 (38.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −11.9 (10.6) | −12.1 (10.2) | −8.3 (17.1) | −2.5 (27.5) | 3.4 (38.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 12.4 (54.3) | 10.6 (51.1) | 6.0 (42.8) | 0.6 (33.1) | −4.2 (24.4) | −8.8 (16.2) | −0.5 (31.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.5 (−35.5) | −41.5 (−42.7) | −32 (−26) | −21.4 (−6.5) | −9.1 (15.6) | −6.1 (21.0) | 3.6 (38.5) | −1.5 (29.3) | −8.0 (17.6) | −20.6 (−5.1) | −33 (−27) | −37.2 (−35.0) | −41.5 (−42.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32 (1.3) | 29 (1.1) | 26 (1.0) | 23 (0.9) | 40 (1.6) | 51 (2.0) | 80 (3.1) | 62 (2.4) | 49 (1.9) | 51 (2.0) | 43 (1.7) | 39 (1.5) | 525 (20.5) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 33 (13) | 46 (18) | 43 (17) | 7 (2.8) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 (1.6) | 17 (6.7) | 150 (59) |
| Average precipitation days | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 104 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (daily average) | 87 | 86 | 82 | 73 | 67 | 66 | 71 | 76 | 82 | 86 | 90 | 89 | 80 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 24 | 69 | 137 | 208 | 273 | 296 | 283 | 212 | 133 | 69 | 28 | 8 | 1,740 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Source 1: FMI[33] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: FMI (record highs and lows 1921–1961)[34] FMI (record highs and lows 1961–present)[35] Source 3: weather2travel.com (average monthly UV index)[36] | |||||||||||||
Demographics Edit
Population Edit
The city of Oulu has 213,348 inhabitants, making it the 5th most populous municipality in Finland. The Oulu region has a population of 261,462, making it the fourth largest region in Finland after Helsinki, Tampere and Turku. Oulu is home to 4% of Finland's population. 5.8% of the population has a foreign background, which is lower than in the major Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa or Turku.[37]
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 121,809 |
| 1985 | 128,869 |
| 1990 | 136,029 |
| 1995 | 146,395 |
| 2000 | 160,851 |
| 2005 | 173,436 |
| 2010 | 185,419 |
| 2015 | 198,525 |
| 2020 | 207,327 |
Languages Edit
Population by mother tongue (2022)[37]
Oulu is the second largest monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality in Finland after Tampere. There are 480 Swedish speakers in Oulu, or 0.2% of the population.[37] The number of Sámi speakers, Finland's third official language, is 143 inhabitants. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.
At least 100 different languages are spoken in Oulu. The most common foreign languages are Russian (0.6%), Arabic (0.5%), English (0.4%) and Chinese (0.3%).[37]
Immigration Edit
| Population by country of birth (2022)[37] | ||
| Nationality | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | 199,613 | 94.2 |
| Sweden | 1,913 | 0.9 |
| Soviet Union | 842 | 0.4 |
| China | 610 | 0.3 |
| Iraq | 528 | 0.2 |
| India | 509 | 0.2 |
| Vietnam | 377 | 0.2 |
| Thailand | 374 | 0.2 |
| Russia | 361 | 0.2 |
| Iran | 336 | 0.2 |
| Somalia | 311 | 0.1 |
| Other | 6,074 | 2.9 |
In 2022, 11,192 people with a migrant background lived in Oulu, or 5.3% of the population.[note 1] There are 12,235 residents who were born abroad, which or 5.8% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Oulu is 7,869.[39] Most foreign-born citizens come from the former Soviet Union, Sweden, Iraq, China and India.[37]
The relative share of immigrants in Oulu's population is below the national average. Nevertheless, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
Religion Edit
In 2022, the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 68.8% of the population of Oulu. Other religious groups accounted for 1.9% of the population. 29.5% of the population had no religious affiliation.[37]
Oulu, as well as other parts of North Ostrobothnia, is well known as a strong support area of the Conservative Laestadianism revival movement.[40] A Laestadian background has been estimated to be common in construction sector management.[41] Oulu was the site of the 2018 Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä declared that “Sex crimes against children are inhumane acts of incomprehensible evil.”[42]
Economy Edit
As of 31 December 2008, the active working population was employed as follows:[43]
| Industries | Working population |
|---|---|
| Services | 43,049 |
| Industry | 11,111 |
| Commerce | 10,848 |
| Construction | 5,449 |
| Transport | 3,698 |
| Farming, forestry and mining | 582 |
| Unknown | 431 |
| Unemployment rate | 16.3% (2016) |
| Total | 75,158 |
In 2011, the most important employers were:[43]
| Employer | No. of employees |
|---|---|
| City of Oulu | 9,709 |
| Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District | 6,144 |
| University of Oulu | 3,045 |
| Nokia Networks | 2,100 |
| Nokia Group | 2,000 |
| The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Vocational Training | 1,955 |
| Kesko Group | 1,426 |
| Cooperative Arina Group (S Group) | 1,107 |
| Stora Enso Group | 1,155 |
| Itella Corporation | 780 |
| ISS Palvelut Oy | 730 |
| ODL Group | 653 |
Culture Edit
The best known cultural exports of the city of Oulu are the Air Guitar World Championships held annually in August, Mieskuoro Huutajat (also known as Screaming Men), the now defunct metal band Sentenced, and one of the best ice hockey teams in Europe, Oulun Kärpät.
Many artists, writers, and musicians live in the city. A variety of concerts — rock, classical, and jazz — as well as other cultural events take place each year. Examples include the Oulu Music Video Festival, the Air Guitar World Championships, and the Musixine Music Film Competition, all in August. In July, the annual rock festival Qstock takes place. The Oulu Music Festival is held in winter and the Oulunsalo Music Festival in summer. The Irish Festival of Oulu takes place each October, and the International Children's Film Festival each November.
Museums in Oulu include the Northern Ostrobothnia museum, the Oulu Museum of Art (OMA), the Tietomaa science center, and the Turkansaari open-air museum.
Notable statues and sculptures in Oulu include a sculpture of Frans Michael Franzén and The Bobby at the Market Place statue.
Finlands' Eurovision representatives 2021 rock band Blind Channel are from Oulu. They placed 6th in the competition.
Kalmah is a melodic death metal-band from Oulu that formed in 1998.
Food Edit
In the 1980s, rössypottu, salmon soup and sweet cheese (juhannusjuusto) were named Oulu's traditional parish dishes.[44]
Sights Edit
- Tietomaa, a science center with over 150 exhibits
- The Rapids Center, the area in the estuary of the Oulu river consisting of small islands connected with bridges and fountains in the middle of the river, and including a housing area of building blocks planned by Alvar Aalto
- The Market Square with the City Library, the City Theatre, the Toripolliisi statue and old salt and tar storehouses
- Hupisaaret Islands, a large park area located in the estuary of the Oulu river
- The F. M. Franzen memorial
- The Koitelinkoski rapids
- The Northern Ostrobothnia museum
- The Pateniemi Sawmill Museum
- The Vehicle Museum
- The University of Oulu Botanical Gardens (situated in Linnanmaa)
- The Arctic Gallery
- Technopolis, the technology village
- Turkansaari (historical open-air museum)
- Spa Hotel Eden and sand beach in Nallikari recreation and tourism area
- Mannerheim Park
- Old observatory in Linnansaari, built in 1875 on top of the ruins of the Castle of Oulu
- Oulu Museum of Art
Churches Edit
- Cathedral
- Haukipudas Church
- Holy Family of Nazareth Church
- Holy Trinity Cathedral of Oulu
- Kiiminki Church
- Oulujoki Church
- Oulunsalo Church
- St. Luke's Chapel
- Tuira Church
- Ylikiiminki Church
Other points of interest Edit
- Oulu Music Video Festival
- Air Guitar World Championships
- Jalometalli Metal Music Festival
- The Irish Festival of Oulu
- Laitakari beacon tower
- Madetoja Hall, housing the Oulu Music Centre, the residence of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra
- Oulu Hall (a large indoor sports facility consisting of a low dome, which looks somewhat like a landed flying saucer)
- Terwa Marathon & Run, event in late May (since 1989)
- The Terva-skiing event in early March (since 1889)
- The Winter Swimming World Championship[citation needed]
Transport Edit
Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second largest airport in Finland by passenger volume. It is located 15 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of 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 and Oritkari docks. There is also a ferry service in Oulu, which is mostly used between Oulunsalo and the Hailuoto Island.[45]
The shortest travel time from Oulu railway station to Helsinki Central railway station is 5 h 34 min, operated by VR. Other destinations include 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.[46]
Oulu is notable for its transportation network dedicated to non-motor vehicular traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles (termed "light" traffic in Finland). In 2022, the city contained more than 950 kilometres (590 mi) of pathways and more than 300 underpasses and bridges devoted exclusively to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The network is used year-round. The ratio of walking and cycling traffic pathways to residents is the highest in Finland and the cycling mode share is 20 percent.[47][48][49] Oulu is often touted as an excellent city for bicycling, even in winter.[50][51]
In 2015, a large underground parking facility, Kivisydän (Stone Heart), opened in the city center directly beneath main shopping streets. The network of parallel roads for cars and pedestrians was drilled in the rock at the depth of 30 meters (98 ft). The parking facility includes two ramps, 900 visitor parking lots (expandable to 1500), six access points to the ground served by 19 elevators (expandable to nine and 25), a service facility for commercial delivery vehicles, and ubi-screens that guide the driver to the selected ground access point and help locate the parked car by its license number.[52][53]
Solar power Edit
In 2015, the Kaleva Media printing plant in Oulu became the most powerful photovoltaic solar plant in Finland, with 1,604 solar photovoltaic (PV) units on its roof. Although the city of Oulu, located near the Arctic Circle, has only two hours of weak sunlight in December, the photovoltaic cells work almost around the clock in the summer. The cold climate means the PV panels can get up to a 25% boost per hour, as they don't overheat.[54]
Because the sun is quite low in the sky at this latitude, vertical PV installations are popular on the sides of buildings. These solar walls also capture light reflected from snow.[54]
Snow is not necessarily cleared from rooftop solar installations.[54]
The local utility, Oulun Energia, is owned by the city of Oulu. The energy mix it receives from the Nordic-wide grid includes wood pellets, waste incineration, bioenergy, hydro-electric, geothermal, wind, nuclear, peat, natural gas and coal.[54]
Sports Edit
Ice hockey is the most popular spectator sport in Oulu. The local club Kärpät has won the SM-liiga championship title eight times (1981, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2018). It has also twice been the runner-up in the IIHF European Champions Cup, in 2005 and in 2006.
In football AC Oulu plays in Veikkausliiga, the premier division of Finnish football. So far OPS has claimed the Finnish football championship only twice by winning Mestaruussarja in 1979 and in 1980. Other notable football clubs include OLS, OTP and JS Hercules.
Oulu has one well-known bandy club, OLS, which plays in Bandyliiga and has become Finnish champions 14 times, most recently in 2014. The other bandy club, OPS, with its 7 championships and a bronze medal as late as in 2009, announced it would be closing down after the 2009–10 season. In 2001 the city was the main venue for the Bandy World Championship.
Oulu is also home to several other sports clubs such as Oulu Northern Lights (American football), Oulun NMKY (Basketball), Oulun Lippo (Pesäpallo), Oulun Pyrintö (Track and field), SK Pohjantähti (Orienteering)), OYUS (Rugby union), Oulu Irish Elks (Gaelic football) and ETTA (Volleyball).
Oulun Tervahiihto is an annual ski marathon event held since 1889.
Terwa Run & Marathon is an annual running event held since 1989 in late May.
Education Edit
The University of Oulu and Oulu University of Applied Sciences have their main campuses 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]
Oulu Vocational College has over 13 000 students. It houses several different study subjects in different units which are spread over Oulu and neighbouring municipalities. Oulu Vocational College School of Business Studies is one of the few vocational schools which has game programming in its curriculum.
Oulu International School is one of nine schools in Finland offering basic education in English. There's also a Swedish-speaking private school (Swedish Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg) for students up until high school. The school is the northernmost Swedish-speaking school in Finland.[55]
Notable people Edit
- Saara Aalto, singer, X Factor UK finalist
- Eero Aho, actor
- Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto, politician
- Peter von Bagh, film historian and director
- Blind Channel, a post-hardcore and nu metal band
- Vladislav Delay, electronic musician
- Eeva Riitta Fingerroos, Paralympic swimmer
- Frans Michael Franzén, poet
- Lars Gallenius, 17th century painter
- Heidi Hautala, politician
- Matti Hautamäki, ski jumper
- Aaro Hellaakoski, poet
- John von Julin, pharmacist, factory owner and vuorineuvos
- Yrjö Kallinen, politician
- Jorma Kontio, harness driver
- Pekka Korpi, harness driver
- V.A. Koskenniemi, poet
- Ville Laihiala, musician and former frontman of the discontinued local metal band Sentenced
- Vilho Lampi, painter
- Taavetti Lukkarinen, former foreman of Kemi Oy; man who convicted to death and hanged of treason
- Fanni Luukkonen, the leader of Lotta Svärd
- Leevi Madetoja, composer
- Impaled Nazarene, nuclear metal band
- Iivo Niskanen, Olympic champion cross-country skier
- Kerttu Niskanen, cross-country skier
- Patrik Pasma, racing driver
- Leena Peltonen-Palotie, geneticist
- Michael Maria Penttilä, serial killer
- Susanna Pöykiö, figure skater
- Ville Ranta, comic artist
- Mika Ronkainen, filmmaker
- Keke Rosberg, 1982 Formula One world champion
- Kauko Röyhkä, author and rock musician
- Mikael Toppelius, church painter
- Juha Väätäinen, athlete
- Sara Wacklin, teacher and writer
- Three former presidents of the country Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Kyösti Kallio and Martti Ahtisaari, also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- Ice Hockey players: Kari Jalonen, Mikael Granlund, Markus Granlund, Joni Pitkänen, Reijo Ruotsalainen, Mika Pyörälä, Lasse Kukkonen, Markus Nutivaara and Sebastian Aho
- Football/soccer players: Rasmus Karjalainen, Otso Liimatta, Aki Lahtinen, Antti Niemi, Markus Heikkinen, Janne Hietanen, Mika Nurmela and Seppo Pyykkö
- Qiyu Zhou, chess player, commentator, and streamer
International relations Edit
Twin towns and sister cities Edit
- Alta, Norway (since 1948)[56][57]
- Arkhangelsk, Russia (since 1993)[56][58]
- Astana, Kazakhstan (since 2013)[59]
- Boden, Sweden (since 1948)[56]
- Bursa, Turkey (since 1978)[56][60]
- Halle, Germany (since 1968)[56]
- Leverkusen, Germany (since 1968)[56]
- Odesa, Ukraine (since 1957)[56]
- Siófok, Hungary (since 1978)[56]
- Hangzhou, China (since 2010)[56]
Oulu also maintains relationships with cities twinned to former municipalities merged with Oulu in 2013:[56]
- Matera, Italy (twinned with Oulunsalo since 2010)
- Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary (twinned with Haukipudas since 1992)
- Kronstadt, Russia (twinned with Haukipudas, Kiiminki, and Yli-Ii since 1991)
Partnership and twinning cities Edit
In addition Oulu has eight 'Partnership & Twinning cities':[61]
International municipal projects Edit
The educational department was a part of the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland.
See also Edit
Notes Edit
References Edit
- ^ a b Oulu Information – City of Oulu
- ^ Oulu – Capital of Northern Scandinavia
- ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Tarkoma, Jari (2008-01-15). "Taajamissa asuu 84 prosenttia väestöstä". Tiedote (in Finnish). Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,587,841 at the end of August 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Oulu". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ "Oulu". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ Saylor, Michael (2012). The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press. p. 63. ISBN 9781593157203.
- ^ "QS World University Rankings for Computer Science and Information Systems 2022".
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Prime Minister Juha Sipilä (Centre) on Wednesday issued an official statement on the much-discussed case, saying the events have shocked many, for a good reason. "Sex crimes against children are inhumane acts of incomprehensible evil," he stated
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External links Edit
- Official website
- – official tourism website of Oulu (archived 2 May 2017)