| What to Expect From Linnanmaa |
|
|
| By Nina Lah | ||||||
| Wednesday, 01 February 2006 | ||||||
 Linnannaa Post Office and shops.Photo by Isabela Ion Linnanmaa is located approximately 5.3 kilometres to the north from Oulu town centre, on the east side of Pohjantie. Its proximity to the highway ensures easy access by both bus and car. It has approximately 2840 inhabitants and 6300 working in the area. Many people know this area because they come to work to Technopolis, also known as Technology village (Teknologiakylä). In Technopolis there are over 100 companies and the place itself is very important for the technological development in Finland. It has several technology research and production facilities. Technopolis Linnanmaa offers modern equipped conference rooms, auditoriums and sauna facilities rentable for different types of events. A wide range of buses connect Linnanmaa with the
rest of Oulu. Bus number 19 connects Linnanmaa with the Oulu airport.
The buses run very frequently and usually you will not have to wait for
a bus for more than fifteen minutes during daytime. For exact
timetables you can visit the next web page: http://www.koskilinjat.fi/in_english/timetables/bus_timetables/index.html.
The city centre is about fifteen minutes away by bus but you can also
use the very well maintained bike routes. It takes more or less half an
hour to get downtown with a bike, depending on your physical condition.
In addition to a day-care
centre at Techonopolis, there are also two other day-care centres in
the area. Those are Linnanmaa day-care centre on Yliopistokatu street
and Tuulikello day-care centre on Teknologiantie street. The latter is
bilingual since they communicate with children in Finnish and English.
Linnanmaa also has a teacher training primary school (Oulun
normaalikoulu) and a secondary school. And of course we should not
forget about the University of Oulu.  University of Oulu. Photo by Isabela Ion  The Botanical Garden, Photo by Monica Codreanu Next to the university stands the Chapel of St. Lucas (Pyhän Luukkaan kappeli) which also holds a service in English on Sundays at 15.00. The student health centre provides students with high quality services from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 15.00. One plus side of living in Linnanmaa is definitely the fact that it is right next to Kaijonharju. There you can find a pharmacy, post office, R-Kioski, two pizzerias, two bars and a Chinese restaurant. Caio is a restaurant/bar and it is the gathering place for many exchange and Finnish students living in the area. You can relax by playing snooker, pool or darts, whichever suits you better. It is open every day of the week, usually from 16.00 onwards, except on Sundays when they open already at 14.00. If the university library is not enough, you can always visit the local branch library in Kaijonharju. Three smaller grocery shops can also be found within a walking distance from each other. Not far away from the university, you can also shop in Prisma and Euromarket which were completed in 2004. Inside the same complex are also a cafeteria, a pizza place, Alko, a bank and an optician. Linnanmaa is home for many Finnish and foreign students and there are many student residences provided by PSOAS (Pohjois-Suomen opiskelija-asuntosäätiö). PSOAS provides apartments as cheaply as possible mainly for students studying in Oulu. PSOAS has apartments for more than 5100 students, among them also exchange students. Another bigger residence area is called Puu-Linnanmaa (puu=tree). It has six blocks, 45 living buildings and 308 apartments. Puu-Linnanmaa is the continuation of the Finnish wood tradition, and as the name already reveals, the apartment buildings and the small wooden building are made mainly of wood. The aim of this wooden living area is to promote quality modern wood architecture, buildings and the use of wood to promote building technology.  Linnanmaa Sports Hall, Photo by Monica Codreanu The
closeness of two lakes (Pyykösjärvi, Kuivasjärvi) makes it almost
impossible not to try skating or cross-country skiing in the winter
time. If you are not sure about the thickness of the ice, there is also
a safer alternative. There is an ice rink next to the Normaalikoulu on
Yliopistokatu, or you can try out the Linnanmaa Ice Rink at
Kauppalinnankatu 6. In the summer there is of course the option of
swimming in the lakes and you can also play basketball or tennis. There
are a couple of tennis courts around Linnanmaa campus and you just have
to reserve it beforehand with writing your name to the paper that is by
the court. It is also possible to borrow tennis rackets and balls. One
thing that Linnanmaa is lacking in is a lively night life since there
are no clubs, cinemas or theatres. For all of those, the city centre is
still the best option. But you can always make a party on your own or
join one of the many parties students arrange in their homes.
|
||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
