Oulu celebrated its history as a trading port last week when the Norwegian sailing ship Staatsraad Lehmkuhl docked at the harbour near the city centre. The ship then floated to Toppila Habour to begin the ‘Scandinavian Seaman Days’ celebration, where it was greeted by hundreds of Oulu residents.

According to Oulu-Lehti, various Oulu residents commented that the a ship of this kind had never been seen in Oulu before and were very impressed by it. Many residents were particularly interested in the sailing ship’s main mast which reaches an impressive height. Like many larger sailing ships, it has three masts in all.

The Stadsraad Lehmkuhl docked in Toppila on 2^nd August at about 1.40pm, carrying Norwegian and Danish Naval students of both sexes. One onlooker had specifically come to Oulu just to see the ship commenting that he had seen old ships of this kind in Turku but never in Oulu. 
 

Many Oululainen felt that the event added a bit of glamour to the city. According to Marjaana Stark, ‘These kinds of events pirk up Oulu and the Oulu street image.’ Like many other Oululaiset present, she was determined to follow all of the events held during the Seaman Days celebrations.

A number of residents were annoyed that this could be the last time that ships like this could come to Oulu. ‘If they build a bridge to Toppilansaari they won’t be able to come here ever again,’ commented one resident. ‘Why are they planning an ordinary bridge when they could build a liftable bridge with modern technology?’

The ship attracted such enthusiasm because it is extremely famous, at least amongst those interested in all things nautical. According to Åsmund Sjaen Pedersen, the Stadsraad Lehmkuhl is the largest three mast barque in the world and has a fascinating history. Built in Germany in 1914 as a training ship for the German merchant navy, she was taken (at the end of World War I) as a trophy by the Victorious British Navy, ending up in Newcastle in the North East of England. She was bought by Norway in 1923 (because a government minister quite liked her) taken back by the Germans during World War II and then taken back by the Norwegians again. The ship now embarks on regular cruises – usually to Scotland and Scottish islands but also around Bergen – which people can pay to go on. In addition it offers ‘Pirate Cruises’ for children and, if you want, you can  pay to go on board and train to be a sailor for the day.  

In the last week there have been a number of Seaman Day events in Oulu, most notably a march through the city centre by the Naval students from Norway, Denmark and Finland, which included a brass-band. Young people in naval uniform have also been touring the city. The cadets were in Oulu for the 59^th annual Scandinavian naval cadets meeting. This included various seminars on how to be in the navy but also football, volleyball and shooting tournaments, a cross-country run a tug-of-war and, of course, various times to have a sauna. The Seaman Day events included conferences for officers and chaplains and the ship was open to the public on various days of the week. The ship set sail for Norway from Oulu after a week in the harbour.