Oulu
OULU
The city of Oulu was founded by the order of Kaarle IX at the mouth of the
Oulu River in 1605. Oulu, which is located on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia,
has been the province's capital since 1776. The official site of Oulu is www.ouka.fi.
In 1776 the most important exports from Oulu were furs, salmon and later also
tar, which was used throughout the world to protect wooden ships. Today the
basic idea behind the city's international activities is to develop Oulu into
the leading centre of competence for the entire north of Europe. The "tar"
of the city of Oulu today, is internationally competitive high level know-how
and ability.
Oulu is the sixth largest city with 120,753 inhabitants. The area of Oulu is
382.3 square kilometres.
Oulu
is considered northern Europe's most significant centre of competence. A significant
amount of high technology know-how has been concentrated in the area. Oulu has
Finland's second largest university (founded 1958) and many public and private
research institutes. The region is well known for its rapidly growing high technology
industry which sells its products throughout the world. The city is thus also
an international growth centre.
Oulu is located on the Northern part of the Baltic Sea with good communication
links to the largest European centres and its airport is the second busiest
in Finland. This means that the city is a natural gateway to the Euroarctic
Barents region. The strong and well developed infrastructure of Oulu offers
flexible links both to Europe and to the Northern regions of North-West Russia.
Oulu seasons
The people of Oulu have plenty of light and darkness, but both during different
seasons of the year. In March the quantity of light and darkness in a day is
equally long but light already begins to vanquish darkness.
Schools close their doors at the end of May and then the summer holiday period
starts, during which it is said that Finland is closed. The people of Oulu,
who have gone through the winter heavily dressed, free themselves and the street
picture glitters with colour. There is absolutely no darkness during night and
at midsummer the sun only grazes the horizon.
The pedestrian street Rotuaari in the centre of the city is full of summer
events and inhabitants of the city, as well as people from other places, visit
the open market at the harbour. When summer arrives the face of Oulu assumes
a fresh green expression when the trees get their leaves and the grass starts
to grow.
Around the middle of August the people of Oulu return from their summer locations
and schools reopen. The lengthening of the evenings is followed with longing
feelings. Street lamps are lit in the evening. Berries and vegetable delicacies
are gathered from summer places and now people cycle to the nearby woods to
pick mushrooms and ripe wild berries.
When autumn advances and the starlings head south, Northern nature bursts into
its beautiful fall colours. In the glowing nature the golden cloudberry is sought
in marshes. They are then stored and sunshine and summer are enjoyed through
the dark and cold winter.
At the end of September darkness once again begin to leave light in its shade.
At the beginning of the month boats are lifted onto the shore. Only the fishermen
who catch salmon and whitefish in the centre of the city still keep their boats
in the water. Soon the shores will freeze and darkness will swallow the light
until the first snow arrives and brightens the land.
The dark period lasts until Christmas but, as the new year starts people begin
to check the increasing amount of light. When the sharp cold of the beginning
of the year has passed, the people of Oulu begin to head for the ski tracks,
skating rinks or onto the sea ice to fish.
Owing to the vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, Finland's
climate is temperate. Summer in Finland is warm, bright and exhilarating. Winter
however is dark and can be very cold. The daytime temperature in June-August
is usually between +15 and +25°C. In September it is already colder, and
rainy days may occur, so take warm clothing and an umbrella along with you.
The sun remains continuously above the horizon for several weeks in the midsummer;
this is when you can see the midnight sun! In winter time the temperature can
drop to as low as -40°C.
