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.

Reference: Wikipedia

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Address

Merikoskenkatu, Oulu, Finland
See all sites in Oulu

Details

Founded: 1590
Category: Ruins in Finland
Historical period: Reformation (Finland)

More Information

oulu.ouka.fi
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Oulu City Hall (0,4 km)
Oulu Cathedral (0,5 km)
Museum of Northern Ostrobothnia (0,4 km)


Turkansaari (13,7 km)
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Kierikki Centre (44,1 km)
Ylikiiminki Church (31 km)
Haukipudas Church (18,9 km)
Iin Hamina (34,5 km)
Temmes Church (38,6 km)

User Reviews

Yanni H (2 years ago)
Hardly a castle.
Michael 1968 (2 years ago)
There's not much left from the casle, built in 1592 for fighting the Karelians. Only the (pretty small) basement still exists. On the basement there is a very nice cafe where you can get all possible kinds of icecream (alas with no cream on it ;-). The cafe is in a sailor' s school, probably From the late 18th Century ; it looks great, like a kind of lighthouse building. It has a very nice "garden" where you can sit down and enjoy the landscape and the food or drinks. The peninsula on which it is, Linnansaari, is very popular among motorcyclists (male as well as female) and there is a sort of "lift" for waterskiing at the edge of Linnansaari. For the "castle" 4/10, for the rest 8/10.
Milena Kostadinova (2 years ago)
Winter time the castle is closed, waiting for the summer..
Konark mehra (2 years ago)
Scenic and picturesque. Great experience to be there.
Sonia Kuismanen (3 years ago)
Really nice old structure. It includes a cafe and book shop. You can enjoy coffee or tea at the top of the tower and see Oulu. Dogs are welcome as well!
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