Oulu Province

The province of Oulu (Finnish: Oulun lääni, Swedish: Uleåborgs län) was a province of Finland from 1775 until 2010, when the current division into regions was established. The province was named after its capital, the city of Oulu.

8.8% of Finns, or about 461,000 people, lived in the province of Oulu (2004). The largest cities, apart from the capital Oulu, were Kajaani, Raahe and Kuusamo.

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  Shield between 1809 and 1917

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  Shield after 1917

History

For history, geography and culture, see Ostrobotnia

Uleaborg's rule in the Russian Empire, 1913.

Oulu Province in 2009.

The province of Oulu was established in 1775 when Finland was an integrated part of Sweden from the northern part of the county of Ostrobothnia. The new province was named after its administrative seat, Oulu.

As a consequence of the tumultuous conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden had allied itself with the Russian Empire, the United Kingdom, and the other parties of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleonic France. However, after the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Russia made peace with France and left the coalition. This allowed Russia in 1808 to challenge Sweden in the Finnish war for control of Finland. In the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809, Sweden was forced to cede all of her territory in Finland to Russia.

The ceded territories became part of the Russian Empire and were reconstituted as the Grand Duchy of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as Grand Duke. Oulu Province was expanded in 1809 with parts of Västerbotten County (eastern part of the Torne Valley and historical Lapland). After Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917, there were no changes to the Oulu province until 1938, when the northern part was separated and established as the province of Lapland.

All provinces in Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010.

Regions

The province of Oulu was divided into 2 regions:

• North OstrobotniaPohjois-Pohjanmaa)
• Kainuu

Municipalities in 1997

Note: cities in bold

Previous municipalities

Dismantled before 1997

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 Malmgrén (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 Mättä (1949-1967)
• Niilo Ryhtä (1967-1973)
• Erkki Haukipuro (1973-1986)
• Ahti Pekkala (1986-1991)
• Eino Siuruainen (1991-2009)