| Itīs Official: Yet More Of Ouluīs History Is To Be Destroyed |
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| By Edward Dutton | ||||||
| Tuesday, 14 February 2006 | ||||||
 Photo by Yorick Juffer  Photo by Riku Pudas
According to the website Heritage at Risk, Finland has amongst the fewest historical buildings in Western Europe. Over 90 percent of its buildings have been put-up since 1975, and the number of constructions, other than churches, remaining from before independence from Russia are negligible. Oulu is particularly at risk and the pace of the destruction of its old buildings has been astounding. Firstly, there was the city fire in 1822, then many buildings were wiped out in the second World War. But even in the mid-1960s, Oulu was a picturesque, wooden city. It was then that the powers that be decided to obliterate almost all of Oulu’s history.
According to architect Karen Niskela, it was only in 1985, decades after most other European countries, that Finland decided to protect its by then tiny architectural heritage. Tragically, most of the remaining wooden structures around Oulu’s market square were mysteriously burnt down in the 1990s. As there was no reason for this, the local conspiracy theory appears to be that Oulu ‘drunks’ were paid to commit arson so that developers were no longer inconvenienced by Oulu’s annoying, irreplaceable ‘aittat,’ as they’re known.
You could probably count Oulu’s genuinely old (i.e pre-twentieth century) wooden buildings on one hand. Yet, the city council is adamant that, for the sake of progress, yet more have to be flattened. Oulu needs a modern railway station, the argument runs, because it will create jobs. It will attract new business. But will it?
If Oulu wants to be taken seriously as an international city, is it really a good idea to destroy yet more of its history? One of the things that many internationally famous cities have in common is the tourist industry. And Oulu could take lucrative advantage of this because it is relatively close to Lapland, which many tourists aim to visit. Capital cities will attract tourists anyway. There is generally lots to do and various ‘must see’ sites such as the Parliament and the Palace. But apart from these, if tourists are going to go to a city outside the capital, what they want is a picturesque place with lots of old, or at least old-looking, buildings. In Britain, it’s Edinburgh or Winchester. In Belgium, its Bruges. In Sweden, it’s Uppsala and in Estonia it’s Tartu. In Finland, that city is probably Turku. Okay, unlike Oulu, many of these are their country’s former capital and have more ‘history’ simply for that reason. But nevertheless, Oulu could still make itself a lot more attractive if it looked after its few remaining old buildings and even made a point of erecting new buildings that are made to look old. This is what was done in Warsaw after World War II and the centre of Warsaw, though fake, is certainly eye-catching.
Old buildings are attractive both to tourists and to people that might come and live here. There’s a nostalgia, something romantic about them. You can imagine what the city used to be like. You can feel, experience for yourself, just a glimpse of what Oulu life might have been a hundred years ago. For me, as someone from England, the few wooden buildings left are part of what makes Oulu bearable. I’m used to towns such as Durham which has buildings going back to at least the ninth century, large numbers of eighteenth century buildings andvalmost no buildings put up AFTER 1920. In Oulu, something built in 1929 is worth fighting for like I might fight for a sixteenth century tavern - threatened by a new runway - in the UK. Oulu’s old buildings are just . . . well . . nice, especially as much of the city looks like down town Harare, but with snow. Nice buildings and green land make people feel happy . . . and Oulu Council seem determined to allow building on every bit of undeveloped land in the city as well!
To pull down anymore old buildings would make the city even less attractive. It would not be ‘good for business.’ Oulu City Council can try as hard as they like to emphasise that the city is old, with their Oulu 400 Celebrations such as Aikamatka (Time Journey). But a few plays about witch craft trials and a handful of students dressed-up in period costumes hardly compares with actually looking after Oulu’s wooden buildings so that people can experience the history themselves. And Oulu Railway Station is not just any old building. It is one of very few old railway stations remaining. It is not merely of interest to railway enthusiasts but anybody interested in history. So important is it, that it has even generated its own encyclopaedia article in Wikipedia, like Waterloo and other historical stations. So surely its out buildings should be preserved. But this, sadly, seems to be no argument in the face of its lack of escalators, concrete and room, perhaps, for another McDonalds. The city council’s arguments have been laughable. According to the Kaleva, they have claimed that THEY are Oulu’s democratic voice and they will take responsibility for the decision. This is meaningless as the councillors that are now seen to have ruined Oulu’s heritage in the 1970s are either dead or happily retired, not accountable for pulling down Oulu’s history. Also, according to Kaleva, the majority of Oulu residents want to KEEP the old buildings. If Oulu wants to become an international city, attracting tourists from all over the world, gimmicks like last summer’s ‘Garlic Festival’ are no substitute for beautiful, historical or even mock-historical buildings. Due to incredible short-sightedness, there are hardly any left in Oulu. To remove even one more is absurd and bizarre considering the council’s attempts to celebrate Oulu’s history. With its history preserved, and mock old-buildings erected to try and right the wrongs of past, Oulu could become an increasingly attractive destination. But at the moment, it seems to be slipping slowly towards becoming as concrete and grey as most other towns in Finland. Let’s just hope that this little piece of Oulu’s memory is not forgotten forever.
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