Oulu (/ˈoʊluː/ OH-loo,[9][10] Finnish: [ˈou̯lu] ⓘ; Swedish: Uleåborg [ʉːlɛɔˈbɔrj] ⓘ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia.

Oulu's neighbouring municipalities are: Hailuoto, Ii, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Pudasjärvi, Tyrnävä and Utajärvi.

Due to its large population and geopolitical, economic and cultural-historical position, 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 technologies (such as NFC tags and ubi-screens) on a community-wide scale.

[16] In the 2023 T-Media survey, Oulu was tied with Kuopio as the second most attractive city in Finland, while Tampere was ranked first.

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 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").

[23] Oulu is situated by the Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of river Oulujoki, which is an ancient trading site.

Following the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, the status of Oulu was disputed in its ownership, as both the Novgorod Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden held much influence.

[28] 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.

[citation needed] The city was the site of the Battle of Oulu on 3 February 1918 between the Whites and the Reds during the Finnish Civil War.

From the center of Oulu in the direction of Oulunsalo, there is Kempeleenlahti [fi], a smaller but wide, meadow-belted bay,[31] and part of it has been listed as a nature conservation area.

[37] Due to Oulu's far northern location, and its frequent overcast skies, it only sees on average 15 minutes of sunshine per day in December.

[38] FMI (record highs and lows 1961–present)[41] Source 3: weather2travel.com (average monthly UV index)[42] The city of Oulu has 216,194 inhabitants, making it the 5th most populous municipality in Finland.

6.1% of the population has a foreign background, which is lower than in the major Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa or Turku.

[45] Population by native language (2023)[45] Oulu is the second largest monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality in Finland after Tampere.

As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä declared that "Sex crimes against children are inhumane acts of incomprehensible evil.

"[51] As of 31 December 2008, the active working population was employed as follows:[52] In 2011, the most important employers were:[52] 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.

A variety of concerts – rock, classical, and jazz – as well as other cultural events take place each year.

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

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.

[60] In 2015, a large underground parking facility, Kivisydän (Stone Heart), opened in the city center directly beneath main shopping streets.

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 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.

Oulu has one well-known bandy club, OLS, which plays in Bandyliiga and has become Finnish champions 14 times, most recently in 2014.

A former motorcycle speedway track known as the Iinat Motor Sports Center was located north of the Pirttilammentie and east of the Iinatintie (64°57′31″N 25°34′23″E / 64.95861°N 25.57306°E / 64.95861; 25.57306).

[64] The Center opened in 1979 and hosted many events, including the Finnish Final, as part of the qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1983.