Oulu, North Ostrobothnia Region, Finland

🇫🇮 Oulu is a city and municipality in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland. Oulu's neighbouring municipalities are: Hailuoto, Ii, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Pudasjärvi, Tyrnävä and Utajärvi.

Due to its large population and geopolitically economic and cultural-historical location, Oulu has been called the "capital of Northern Finland". 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; especially the University of Oulu is internationally well known in the field of information technology. 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.

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.

Oulu was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2026.

History 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, 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. 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. 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.

Geography Oulu is located in northern Finland, a considerable distance from the other cities in the country. It is located 607 km (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 centre of Oulu in the direction of Oulunsalo, there is Kempeleenlahti [fi], a smaller but wide, meadow-belted bay, and part of it has been listed as a nature conservation area. The nearby island Hailuoto is just off the coast, 53 km (33 mi) away in the Bothnian Bay. Along the coast to the south-west, about 75 km (47 mi) of Oulu is Raahe (Brahestad), known for its historic wooden town, and about 130 km (81 mi) of Oulu is Kalajoki, known for its popular sandy beaches.

Subdivisions Oulu is divided into 106 city districts. The largest of these are Haukipudas, Oulunsalo, Kaakkuri, Ritaharju, Tuira, and Kello [fi].

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.

Economy The active working population is employed as follows: Services 43,049; Industry 11,111; Commerce 10,848; Construction 5,449; Transport 3,698; Farming, forestry and mining 582; Unknown 431;

Economy: Top Employers Among the most important employers are: City of Oulu; Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District; University of Oulu; Nokia Networks; Nokia Group; The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Vocational Training; Kesko Group; Cooperative Arina Group (S Group); Stora Enso Group; Itella Corporation; ISS Palvelut Oy; ODL Group.

Culture 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 centre, 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 In the 1980s, rössypottu, salmon soup and sweet cheese (juhannusjuusto) were named Oulu's traditional parish dishes.

Sights • Tietomaa, a science centre 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 • 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

Points of interest • 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

Transport Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second largest airport in Finland by passenger volume. It is located 15 km (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.

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.

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 km (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. Oulu is often touted as an excellent city for bicycling, even in winter.

In 2015, a large underground parking facility, Kivisydän (Stone Heart), opened in the city centre 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.

Solar power 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.

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.

Snow is not necessarily cleared from rooftop solar installations.

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.

Sport 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 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.

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.