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• Largest city in Northern Finland, capital of Oulu province
• 130,000 inhabitants over 370 square kilometres of dry land,
on the northern part of the Baltic Sea
• Population of10,000
in 1880, 20,000 in 1940, over 80,000 in 1970, and 100,000 in
1990
• Situated 65,01°N, 25,28°E, GMT+2.00 – 160 kilometres
from the arctic circle, 612 kilometres to Helsinki
• Founded
in 1605 by King Karl IX of Sweden, though surrounding districts
were populated much earlier
• Was known for wood tar and salmon,
now for IT
• Home to 33 pizzerias
• One of biggest ports in
the Bothnian Bay for commercial shipping
• Biggest employers
the city of Oulu (9,600), Oulu hospital district (5,300), Nokia
(4,600), and Oulu University (3,000)
• A major fire destroyed
most of the city in 1822; the town centre was rebuilt in a neo-classical
style to plans by Carl Ludvig Engel, who also designed the cathedral
and parts of Helsinki
• Hosts the Air Guitar World Championships
and the World Ice Swimming Championships
• Oulu University is
one of the Shanghai Jiao Tong top 400 rated universities
• Oulu
airport, located out of town, is the second busiest in Finland
• Hosts numerous music festivals such as the Oulu Music Festival
for classical music, the Qstock rock music festival, and the
Jalometalli metal music festival
• Former Finnish President
& UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari lived and studied locally
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