The Province of Oulu (, , ) was a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland,

Western Finland Western Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province. Histor ...

and Eastern Finland and also the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...

and Russia.

History

The Province of Oulu was established in 1775 when Finland was an integrated part of Sweden from the northern part of

Ostrobothnia County Ostrobothnia County (, ) was a county of the Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power ...

. The new province was named after its administrative seat of

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

. As a consequence of the tumultuous conflicts of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

had allied itself with the Russian Empire,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the other parties of the Fourth Coalition against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. However, following the treaty of Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Russia made peace with France and left the coalition. This enabled Russia in 1808 to challenge Sweden in the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

, over the control of Finland. In the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...

on 17 September 1809 Sweden was obliged to cede all its territory in Finland, to Russia. The ceded territories became a part of the Russian Empire and were reconstituted into the Grand Duchy of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as Grand Duke. The Province of Oulu was expanded in 1809 with the parts of the

Västerbotten County Västerbotten County (), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or '' län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the ...

(eastern part of the Torne Valley and historical Lapland). After Finland became independent from Russia, in 1917, there were no changes in Oulu Province until 1938, when the northern part was split off and established as the

Lapland Province The Province of Lapland (, ) was a Provinces of Finland, province of Finland from 1938 to 2009. It was established in 1938, when it was separated from the Province of Oulu. After the Second World War, the Pechengsky District, Petsamo municipa ...

. All the provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010.

Administration

The State Provincial Office was a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promoted national and regional objectives of the State central administration.

Regions

The Province of Oulu was divided into two regions: *

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. The easternmost corner of the region between ...

(''Pohjois-Pohjanmaa / Norra Österbotten'') *

Kainuu Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...

(''Kainuu / Kajanaland'').

Municipalities in 2009 (cities in bold)

The Province of Oulu was divided into 43

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in 2009. * Alavieska *

Haapajärvi Haapajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Nei ...

* Haapavesi * Hailuoto *

Haukipudas Haukipudas is a town and former municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It was located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. Its shore runs ...

Hyrynsalmi Hyrynsalmi is a municipality in Finland and is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The world cha ...

* Ii *

Kajaani Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...

* Kalajoki *

Kempele Kempele is a municipality south of the city of Oulu and south of the Oulu Airport in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the Provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu, but today it is in the region of North Ostrobothnia. The p ...

Kiiminki Kiiminki () was a municipality of Finland. Along with Haukipudas, Oulunsalo and Yli-Ii municipalities it was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2013. Kiiminki municipality was part of the Oulu province in the Northern Ostrobothnia regio ...

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu regions of Finland, region. The municipali ...

Kuusamo Kuusamo (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in Koillismaa, the northeastern part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality h ...

Kärsämäki Kärsämäki (; literally meaning "snout hill") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is wate ...

* Liminka * Lumijoki * Merijärvi *

Muhos Muhos is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of northern Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu half an hour's drive (35 km) on route 22 from the city of Oulu, the capital of Northern Finla ...

Nivala Nivala (formerly known as ''Pidisjärvi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The muni ...

* Oulainen *

* Oulunsalo * Paltamo * Pudasjärvi * Puolanka * Pyhäjoki *

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–H ...

* Pyhäntä * Raahe *

Reisjärvi Reisjärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...

* Ristijärvi * Sievi * Siikajoki * Siikalatva * Sotkamo *

Suomussalmi Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

Taivalkoski Taivalkoski () is a municipality of Finland, it is located in the Province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Pop ...

* Tyrnävä * Utajärvi * Vaala * Vihanti * Yli-Ii *

Ylivieska Ylivieska () is a List of towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. It has a population of (), and it serves as the administrative centre for Kalajokilaakso and Pyhäjokilaakso, a ...

Former municipalities (disestablished before 2009)

* Kajaanin mlk * Oulujoki * Paavola * Rautio * Revonlahti * Saloinen * Kestilä * Kuivaniemi * Pattijoki * Piippola * Pulkkila * Rantsila * Ruukki * Temmes * Vuolijoki * Ylikiiminki

Governors

* Carl Magnus Jägerhorn 1775–1782 * Adolf Tandefelt 1782–1785 * Johan Fredrik Carpelan 1785–1800 * Samuel af Forselles 1800–1802 * Adolf Edelsvärd 1802–1804 * Jakob Daniel Lange 1805–1808 * Carl Henrik Ehrenstolpe 1809–1820 * Samuel Fredrik von Born 1820–1826 * Johan Abraham Stjernschantz 1826–1834 * Robert Wilhelm Lagerborg 1834–1849 * Alexander Lavonius 1849–1862 * George von Alfthan 1862–1873 * Otto Nyberg 1873–1879 * Carl Johan Jägerhorn 1878–1883 * Carl Adolf Tamelander 1883–1884 * Johan Gabriel Masalin 1884–1886 * Johan Axel Gripenberg 1886–1889 *

Anders Johan Malmgren Anders Johan Malmgren (21 November 1834 – 14 April 1897) was a Finnish zoologist and government official. Malmgren was a student in Helsinki in 1854, Master primus 1860, PhD 1864, Acting Commissioner of the fisheries in 1865, extraordinary pro ...

1889–1897 * Gustaf Esaias Fellman 1897–1901 * Edvard Furuhjelm 1901–1903 * Otto Savander 1903–1905 * Guido Gadolin 1905–1911 * Hjalmar Langinkoski 1911–1915 * Axel Fabian af Enehjelm 1915–1917 * Matts von Nandelstadh 1917–1925 * Eero Pehkonen 1925–1948 * Kaarle Määttä 1949–1967 * Niilo Ryhtä 1967–1973 * Erkki Haukipuro 1973–1986 * Ahti Pekkala 1986–1991 * Eino Siuruainen 1991–2009

References

External links

Oulu State Provincial Office
– Official site
Ouluphotos.com
{{Coord, 64, 30, N, 27, 00, E, type:adm1st_region:FI, display=title Provinces of Finland (1917–1997) Provinces of Finland (1997–2009) States and territories established in 1775 States and territories disestablished in 2010