City of Oulu Oulun kaupunki
Coat of arms
Location of Oulu in Northern Europe
Coordinates: 65°01′N 25°28′E / 65.017, 25.467
Country	Finland
Province	Oulu Province
Region	Northern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Oulu sub-region
Charter	1605
Government
- City manager	Matti Pennanen
Area
- Total	449. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The state of Finland consists of 6 provinces ( Finnish: läänit, Swedish: län) The Province of Oulu is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. Finland is divided into 20 regions ( maakunta in Finnish, landskap in Swedish) Northern Ostrobothnia is a region ( maakunta / landskap) of Finland. In 2005 Finland is divided into 77 sub-regions ( seutukunta in Finnish, ekonomisk region in Swedish) A charter is the grant of authority or rights stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a City, in a council-manager form of city government Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 2 km² (173. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 4 sq mi)
- Land	369. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 7 km² (142. 7 sq mi)
- Water	75. 5 km² (29. 2 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- Total	130,459
- Density	351. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 4/km² (910. 1/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Official languages	Finnish
Website: www.ouka.fi

Drawing of central Oulu from the 19th Century. Eastern European Time ( EET) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+2 corresponds to the following Time zones Eastern European Time Egypt Standard Time Central Africa Time Daylight saving time ( DST Eastern European Summer Time ( EEST) is one of the names of UTC+3 Time zone, 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+3 is used in the following locations Moscow Time Eastern European Summer Time West Asian Summer Time The two official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside

Oulu (listen (help·info)) (Swedish: Uleåborg) is a city and municipality of about 130,000 inhabitants in the province of Oulu and the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the ||-||}The municipalities ( kunta in Finnish, kommun in Swedish) represent the local level of administration in Finland and The state of Finland consists of 6 provinces ( Finnish: läänit, Swedish: län) The Province of Oulu is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. Northern Ostrobothnia is a region ( maakunta / landskap) of Finland. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. 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. Greater Helsinki (Suur-Helsinki Swedish: Storhelsingfors) Capital Region ( Pääkaupunkiseutu, Huvudstadsregionen) Helsinki Oulu has a namesake in the United States, Oulu, Wisconsin, which is a village with a population of about 540. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Oulu (Americanized pronunciation - oo'loo is a town in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States.

History

Oulu was founded on July 20th 1605 by King Karl IX of Sweden opposite to the castle built on the island of Linnansaari. Charles IX (Karl IX ( 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. 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. The Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. Oulujoki is a river in Oulu province, Finland.Its origin is Oulujärvi and its watershed area covers a significant part of Kainuu region One source for the name Oulu is a word in the Sami language meaning 'flood water', but there are other suggestions. Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Finnic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway Oulu has been the capital of the Oulu Province since 1776. The Province of Oulu is a province of Finland. It borders the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. Year 1776 ( MDCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city. Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly known for the neo-classical (empire style) buildings around Helsinki Senate Square, was enlisted to provide the plan for the rebuilding of the city. Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Karl Ludwig Engel (1778-1840 was a German Architect known for his neoclassical (empire style The Senate Square (in Finnish Senaatintori, in Swedish Senatstorget) presents Carl Ludvig Engel 's architecture as a unique allegory 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. The Oulu Cathedral (in Finnish Oulun tuomiokirkko) is an Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Oulu,

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. Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter Salmon is the common name for several species of Fish of the family Salmonidae. Information technology ( IT) as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA is "the study design development implementation support 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 University of Oulu ( Oulun yliopisto in Finnish) is the third largest university in Finland. The Oulu Airport, located in neighbouring municipality of Oulunsalo, is the second busiest in Finland. Oulu Airport is located in Oulunsalo, Finland, about 15 kilometres south-west of Oulu city centre Oulunsalo is a municipality in the Province of Oulu, in Finland.

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. Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal -style Electric guitar solos Mieskuoro Huutajat ( Men's Choir Shouters) is an internationally famous shouting Choir from Oulu, Finland. Mieskuoro Huutajat ( Men's Choir Shouters) is an internationally famous shouting Choir from Oulu, Finland. Sentenced was a doom / Gothic metal and in the beginning Melodic death metal band formed in 1989, in the town of Muhos, Finland

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. Founded in 1994 Oulu Music Video Festival is an annual festival of music video cinema live music and Air guitar world championships, held in Oulu, 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. Leevi Antti Madetoja ( February 17, 1887 &ndash October 6, 1947) was a Finnish Composer. Three former Presidents of the country, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Kyösti Kallio and Martti Ahtisaari also went to school there, attending the Oulu Lyceum. Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg ( January 28, 1865 – September 22, 1952) was a prominent Jurist and Academic, who played a Kyösti Kallio kyøsti kallio ( April 10, 1873 &ndash December 19, 1940) was the fourth President of Finland (1937-1940 Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari ( pronounced) (born on June 23 1937 is a former President of Finland (1994–2000 2008 Nobel Peace Prize winner and

Sights

Oulu City Hall. A city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a City or Town 's administration and usually houses the city or

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. Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto ( February 3, 1898 — May 11, 1976) was a Finnish Architect and Designer, sometimes The Mannerheim Park is a small urban park in Oulu, Finland. With a fountain made from rough granite blocks and plenty of benches the park is a favorite hangout for The Oulu Cathedral (in Finnish Oulun tuomiokirkko) is an Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Oulu, 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)

Other points of interest

Railway station area in Oulu, looking southwest along Hallituskatu. The Northern Ostrobothnia museum is a museum of cultural history

Mannerheim Park is a favourite hangout place for many. The Mannerheim Park is a small urban park in Oulu, Finland. With a fountain made from rough granite blocks and plenty of benches the park is a favorite hangout for

• Oulu Music Video Festival
• Air Guitar World Championships
• Qstock Rock Festival (website)
• Jalometalli Metal Music Festival
• Jalometalli Winterfest
• Oulu City Theatre (website)
• Madetoja Hall, housing the Oulu Music Centre (website) the residence of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra
• Oulu Children's Theatre Festival (website)
• The University of Oulu
• Oulu Hall (a large indoor sports facility consisting of a low dome, which looks somewhat like a landed flying saucer)
• Nallikari Recreational Centre (with sandy beach and camping grounds)
• Eden Hotel & Spa (in Nallikari)
• Terwa Marathon & Run event in late May (since 1989)
• The Terva-skiing event in early March (since 1889)
• The Oulu Horse Show
• The American Car Show
• The Winter Swimming World Championship
• Oulu University of Applied Sciences (formerly Oulu Polytechnic)

Nightlife

• Kaarlenholvi, Kauppurienkatu. Founded in 1994 Oulu Music Video Festival is an annual festival of music video cinema live music and Air guitar world championships, held in Oulu, Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal -style Electric guitar solos Jalometalli Metal Music Festival is a heavy metal festival held annually in Finland since 2002. Jalometalli Winterfest is a heavy metal festival held annually in Finland. The University of Oulu ( Oulun yliopisto in Finnish) is the third largest university in Finland. Flying saucer is the name given to a type of Unidentified flying object (UFO with a disc- or Saucer -shaped body usually described as silver or metallic A very popular pub & nightclub, for all ages.
• 45 Special, Saaristonkatu, started as a rock club, the "45" (known simply as "numero", the number) is a venue for nationally touring rock bands. 45 Special aka Nelivitonen in Finnish is a popular night-life Nightclub in the centre of Oulu, Finland. It has two dance floors for popular rock, pop, electro, reggae and so on. Occasional electronic music clubs and various other music events.
• Hevimesta, Torikatu, a heavy metal and rock club. Hevimesta ( Helsinki slang for "heavy place" is a Finnish Nightclub specialising in Heavy metal music located in Oulu
• Never Grow Old, Hallituskatu, small loungy bar with a variety of live gigs, shows and djs; incl. funk, jazz, brazilectro, soul, ska, reggae, salsa. . . and unisex toilets.
• Club Teatria, Härkätie, the largest indoor rock club in Finland and venue for rock concerts.
• Onnela, Isokatu, a popular club (part of a national chain) with four different floors playing four different styles of music: rock, suomipop (Finnish pop), 80s and dance.
• Cabaret, a trendy nightclub.
• Amarillo, Kirkkokatu, a tex-mex restaurant with a disco for pop and dance sounds in the basement.
• Bar Becksu, Asemakatu. A "hetero friendly" gay bar.
• Nightclub Tähti, a nightclub for more mature audience. Large indoor venue with traditional dancing music performers playing every weekend.
• Hietasaaren Tanssimajakka, located in Hietasaari near Nallikari beach, a traditional dancing venue for more mature audience, open on summer weekends.

Transportation

Air

Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second biggest airport in Finland by passenger volume. Oulu Airport is located in Oulunsalo, Finland, about 15 kilometres south-west of Oulu city centre 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. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa, Finland, is the main Airport of the Helsinki metropolitan region and the whole of Finland Finnair Plc is Finland 's largest Airline and the Flag carrier, with its headquarters in Vantaa, Finland and its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Blue1 Oy is an Airline based in Helsinki, Finland. It is a Regional airline feeding into the Scandinavian Airlines System Rovaniemi Airport (Rovaniemen lentoasema is the fourth biggest Airport in Finland by annual number of passengers located about 10 Kilometres north from the The term Southern Europe can have four definitions geographical political climatic phytogeographic The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Phuket (ภูเก็ต pʰuːkɛt formerly known as Tha-Laang or Talang, or Junk Ceylon in Western sources a distortion of the Malay Tanjung The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj

In 2008, 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. A/S Air Baltic Corporation, operating as airBaltic, is the Latvian national Airline, based in the capital of Latvia, Riga. Riga International Airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve, which had become outdated

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

Sea

Port of Oulu is one of the busiest harbours within the Bothnian Bay. Port of Oulu ( Oulun satama in Finnish) is a complex of four separate Harbours located at the mouth of Oulujoki river in Oulu, A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Perämeri Bottenviken is the most northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. Port of Oulu includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks, Oritkari docks and the Toppila docks.

Rail

The shortest travel time from Oulu Railway Station to Helsinki Central Railway Station is 5 h 44 mins, operated by VR. The Oulu Railway Station is located in the centre of Oulu, Finland, in the city district of Vaara Helsinki Central railway station (Helsingin rautatieasema Helsingfors järnvägsstation is a widely recognised landmark in central Helsinki, Finland, and the VR or VR Group (VR-Yhtymä Oy VR-Group Ab is a state-owned Railway company in Finland, and formerly known as Suomen Valtion Rautatiet 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. Kolari is a municipality of Finland at the Swedish border which follows the Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe History There has probably been continuous settlement in the Rovaniemi area since the Stone Age. Sights Lakeuden risti ("the cross of the plains" Alvar Aalto's cultural and administrative centre the Southern Ostrobothnia District Tampere ( ˈtɑmpɛrɛ Swedish: Tammerfors or) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi

Road

• Helsinki 610 km S
• Jyväskylä 333 km S
• Kotka 582 km S
• Kuopio 284 km SSE
• Kuusamo 215 km NI
• Lahti 505 km S
• Lappeenranta 548 km SSE
• Pori 501 km SSW
• Rovaniemi 207 km NE
• Tampere 476 km SSW
• Tornio 131 km NNW
• Turku 620 km SSW
• Vaasa 290 km SW

Sports

Kärpät wins gold after beating Jokerit in 2005 Final. Helsinki (in Finnish;) or Helsingfors (in Swedish;) is the Capital and largest city of Finland. Jyväskylä (ˈjyvæsˌkylæ is a City and Municipality located in Central Finland, 147 km from Tampere and 270 km from Helsinki Kotkan kaupunki Kuopio is a Finnish City and Municipality located in the province of Eastern Finland and the region of Northern Savonia. Famous people from Kuusamo Hannu Hautala, photographer Tuomo Hänninen, politician Anssi Koivuranta, Nordic Lahti ( Swedish: Lahtis) is a city and Municipality in Finland. Lappeenranta ( Villmanstrand in Swedish) is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Pori ( Björneborg in Swedish) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. History There has probably been continuous settlement in the Rovaniemi area since the Stone Age. Tampere ( ˈtɑmpɛrɛ Swedish: Tammerfors or) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi Tornio (Duortnus Torneå is a municipality in Lapland, Finland. Turku, in Swedish Åbo ( pronounced,) is a city and the original capital of Finland on the southwest coast of Finland at the Vaasa ( Swedish: Vasa) is a city on the west coast of Finland. Kärpät is an Ice hockey team in the SM-liiga that plays in Oulu, Finland. Jokerit ( English: Jokers) is an Ice hockey team in the SM-liiga.

The Oulu ice hockey team Kärpät have won the Finnish Ice Hockey League (SM-Liiga) Championships five times (1981, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008). Kärpät is an Ice hockey team in the SM-liiga that plays in Oulu, Finland. SM-liiga is the top professional Ice hockey league in Finland, and generally regarded as one of the top leagues in Europe They have also won silver of European champion two times, in 2004 and 2005.

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

Most important employers (2006)

Stora Enso has an important paper manufacturing plant in Oulu. Stora Enso Oyj () is a Finnish &ndash Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer, formed by the merger of Swedish mining and forestry products company

• City of Oulu, 9,581
• Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District, 5,427
• Nokia Group, 4,590
• University of Oulu, 3,030
• The Oulu Region Joint Authority for Education, 1,466
• Stora Enso Group, 1,080
• Kesko Group, 1,046
• Cooperative Arina-Group (S-Group), 752
• Finland Post Ltd, 700
• Deaconesses' Institution, 603

Town twinning

Sister cities

• Alta, Norway
• Arkhangelsk, Russia
• Boden, Sweden
• Bursa, Turkey
• Halle, Germany
• Leverkusen, Germany
• Odessa, Ukraine
• Siófok, Hungary

Friendship cities

• Sendai, Japan (since 2005)

External links

• City of Oulu
• 65 Degrees North: Oulu's English Language Newspaper
• Oulu This Week event calendar
• University of Oulu
• Oulu University of Applied Sciences
• Koskilinjat Oy — local bus timetables
• Air Guitar World Championships

• Terwa Marathon & Run

• Ouluphotos.com - Photos of the city
• paskakaupunni.com: Photographs of Oulu by kide.organics media collective
• Remarkable architectural sights in Oulu
• Chamber for Assistance of Finns and Foreigners (CHAFF)