Women’s Oulu – A tribute to women who have shaped the cityscape of Oulu by researchers

Women’s Oulu is the 50th anniversary publication of the Historical Society of Northern Finland. The volume "Naisten Oulu. Pohjoisen kaupungin historiaa" (Women’s Oulu: The History of a Northern City) examines the history of Oulu through the actions and lives of local women. The women represented in the book played a significant role in the development of the city of Oulu from the nineteenth century through to the twenty-first century. A group of researchers from the University of Oulu collaborated to bring together ten studies focusing on historically influential women.
Kuva Oulun museon kokoelmista. Musta-valkoisessa kuvassa naisia kävelemässä sillalla
Picture from collections of Oulu museum

Local history in Oulu has been researched and written about to varying degrees since the late nineteenth century. However, these studies have largely focused on the activities and achievements of men, while references to women’s contributions to the city’s history have remained marginal.

Women’s Oulu highlights numerous pioneering and active women whose actions and work have had an impact both locally in Oulu and more broadly across Northern Finland. The volume includes women from fields such as education, culture, and business.

Since its early days, the Historical Society of Northern Finland has emphasized publishing as a core part of its activities, and Women’s Oulu is now the 97th publication in the Studia Historica Septentrionalia series. In addition to marking the Society’s anniversary, the publication also celebrates Oulu’s European Capital of Culture year 2026.

The editors of the book, postdoctoral researcher Riikka Isoaho‑Nousiainen and Professor Tiina Kinnunen from the University of Oulu, are particularly pleased that the long-standing society chose a work that specifically highlights the role of women in history as its anniversary publication.

“The aim of the book is to promote research into the history of Northern Finland and to deepen and renew historical research on Oulu by bringing forward a women’s perspective that has received far too little attention,” editors Kinnunen and Isoaho‑Nousiainen explain.

Isoaho‑Nousiainen and Kinnunen began compiling the volume in 2024. Editing the book has been a truly engaging project for them, as it led them deep into the core of the lives of each fascinating woman studied in the publication.

Altogether, 13 researchers contributed to the writing of the volume.

“Collaboration with the authors was highly rewarding, and the joint meetings of the entire research team became the highlights of the project,” says Riikka Isoaho‑Nousiainen.

This spring, the Oulu City Library is hosting a public lecture series (in Finnish) based on the themes of the book. In the lecture series bearing the same name as the volume, Oulu-based historians present the key research findings from the book’s articles to a wider audience. The lecture series is part of the programme for Oulu’s European Capital of Culture year.

More information about the lecture schedule and contents

Created 17.4.2026 | Updated 17.4.2026