Originally at this place there stood a wooden church built in the 1610s, which was torn down because of its derelict condition. The next cathedral designed by Daniel Hagman was finished in 1777. The fire of Oulu destroyed its wooden structures in 1822. The current stone church was completed in 1832 after a neoclassical design by C.L. Engel. The most noteworthy piece of art inside the cathedral is a portrait of Johannes Messenius, painted in 1611.

There is a special, tiny wooden church for children in the shade of bird cherry trees in the churchyard. This is a miniature replica of the very first church in Oulu, located on the same property in the late 16th century.