Every design for Oulainen

The Pyhäjoki runs straight through Oulainen, south of Oulu in Northern Ostrobothnia, and the town has grown up on both its banks. Even the name seems to come from the water: oulu is an old dialect word for flooding. Around the centre lie the villages of Kilpua, Lehtopää, Matkaniva, Petäjäskoski, Piipsjärvi and Honkaranta, with Alavieska, Ylivieska, Raahe and Haapavesi as neighbours. People were living on the shore of Piipsjärvi as far back as the Stone Age.

The feeling Oulainen leaves is one of music and of trains. The Ostrobothnian railway brought the town its station, still in the middle of town, and with it the role of hub for the whole Pyhäjoki valley. Oulainen Music Weeks have been held for decades, the Oulainen Youth Choir has sung its way to international acclaim, and Musiikkipatsas, the music statue, stands as a reminder. The National Veteran Machines Fair adds the smell of old engines, and Maailman varanapa, the world's spare navel, brings a grin to anyone who finds it.

If you have walked along Kirkkoranta on a summer evening or sung in that choir, you know exactly which bend of the river this map is about. It is yours.