Oulu Castle

Oulu, Finland

Oulu castle (Uleåborg) was built in 1590 for a stronghold to Swedish soldiers on their way to fight against Russian Karelia. The castle was mostly made of wood and earth walls. There probably was an earlier medieval castle on the same location. The Russian Sophia Chronicle has recorded that men from Novgorod tried to conquer a new castle in the Oulu River delta in 1377 but were unsuccessful. King of Sweden, Charles IX ordered to rebuild the castle in 1605. Old wooden parts were demolished and a new wall was built around the castle island.

Russians burned down wooden parts of the Oulu castle during the Great Northern War in 1715. Final destruction occured in 1793, when thunderstorm set the castle on fire and gunpowder magazine exploded.

Wooden constructions on the remaining powder magazine date from 1875 when the Oulu School of Sea Captains built their observatory on the site. The building has been a cafeteria since 1912 with a small exhibition on the castle history.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Merikoskenkatu, Oulu, Finland
See all sites in Oulu

Details

Founded: 1590
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Finland
Historical period: Reformation (Finland)

More Information

www.ouka.fi
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Phil Dangerfield (2 years ago)
An interesting bit of history for the local area but its not particularly fantastic. Im surprised they rebuilt it, but as they say “if you build it they will come” and yep i went and looked. Posted a video of the stone basement/cellar.
Dong He (2 years ago)
Was not able to go inside but great architecture to look at from outside
Karl S (4 years ago)
Small but pretty.
seema jeeva (5 years ago)
beautiful place
shadil (5 years ago)
Oulu castle ("Uleåborg") was built in 1590 for a stronghold to Swedish soldiers on their way to fight against Russian Karelia. The castle was mostly made of wood and earth walls. There probably was an earlier medieval castle on the same location. The Russian Sophia Chronicle has recorded that men from Novgorod tried to conquer a new castle in the Oulu River delta in 1377 but were unsuccessful. King of Sweden, Charles IX ordered to rebuild the castle in 1605. Old wooden parts were demolished and a new wall was built around the castle island. Russians burned down wooden parts of the Oulu castle during the Great Northern War in 1715. Final destruction occured in 1793, when thunderstorm set the castle on fire and gunpowder magazine exploded. Wooden constructions on the remaining powder magazine date from 1875 when the Oulu School of Sea Captains built their observatory on the site. The building has been a cafeteria since 1912 with a small exhibition on the castle history.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

The Church of the Holy Cross

The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).

The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.

The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.

The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.