Vaasa (Finnish:[ˈʋɑːsɑ];Swedish:Vasa,Finland Swedish:[ˈvɑːsɑ]ⓘ), formerly (1855–1917) known asNikolaistad (Finnish:Nikolainkaupunki;lit.'city ofNicholas'),[2] is acity inFinland and the regional capital ofOstrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on theGulf of Bothnia. The population of Vaasa is approximately 70,000, while thesub-region has a population of approximately 111,000. It is the 14th most populousmunicipality in Finland, and the tenth most populousurban area in the country.
Vaasa is abilingual municipality withFinnish andSwedish as its official languages. The population consists of63% Finnish speakers,23% Swedish speakers, and14% speakers of other languages.[6] The municipalities surrounding Vaasa, such asKorsholm andMalax, have aclear majority of Swedish speakers. As a result, the Swedish language maintains a strong position in the city, making it the most significantcultural center forSwedish-Finns.[9][10][11]
Over the years, Vaasa has changed its name several times. At first it was calledMustasaari orMussor after the village where it was founded in 1606, but just a few years later the name was changed toVasa to honor the royal Swedish lineage. The nameMustasaari (Finnish) orKorsholm (Swedish) remains in use as the designation for the surrounding rural municipality, which has encircled the city since 1973.[12]
During the period of Russian rule, the city was renamedNikolaistad (Swedish) orNikolainkaupunki (Finnish) in 1855, in tribute to the recently deceased TsarNicholas I of Russia.[2] The renaming was prompted by a petition submitted to TsarAlexander II in April of that year by a group of local merchants under pressure from authorities. The new name was unpopular among the residents who continued to refer to the city asVasa. In 1862, an attempt to restore the original name through another petition to the emperor proved unsuccessful.[13]
Following theRussian Revolution in 1917, the City Council decided on 19 March 1917 to revert back to the earlier nameVaasa. The name was confirmed by the Senate on 18 October 1917.[13][12]
The history ofKorsholm and also of Vaasa begins in the 14th century, when seafarers from the coastal region in centralSweden disembarked at the present Old Vaasa, and the wasteland owners fromSouthwest Finland came to guard their land.[citation needed]
In the middle of the century, Saint Mary's Church was built, and in the 1370s the building of the fortress atKorsholm, Crysseborgh, was undertaken, and served as an administrative centre of theVasa County. KingCharles IX of Sweden founded the town of Mustasaari (Mussor) on 2 October 1606,[1] around the oldest harbour and trade point around the Korsholm church approximately seven kilometres (4.3 miles) to the southeast from the present city. In 1611, the town was chartered and renamed after theRoyal House of Vasa.[14]
Thanks to the sea connections, ship building and trade, especially tar trade, Vaasa flourished in the 17th century and most of the inhabitants earned their living from it.[citation needed]
In 1683, the three-subject orTrivial school moved fromNykarleby to Vaasa, and four years later a new schoolhouse was built in Vaasa. The firstlibrary in Finland was founded in Vaasa in 1794. In 1793, Vaasa had 2,178 inhabitants, and in the year of the catastrophic town fire of 1852 the number had risen to 3,200.[citation needed]
During theFinnish War, fought betweenSweden andRussia in 1808–1809, Vaasa suffered more than any other city. In June 1808, Vaasa was occupied by the Russian forces, and some of the local officials pledged allegiance to the occupying force.
On 25 June 1808 the Swedish colonelJohan Bergenstråhle was sent with 1,500 troops and four cannons to free Vaasa from the 1,700 Russian troops who were led by generalmajor Nikolay Demidov. TheBattle of Vaasa started with the Swedish force disembarking north of Vaasa inÖsterhankmo and advancing all the way to the city where they attacked with 1,100 troops, as some had to be left behind to secure the flank. There was heavy fighting in the streets and in the end the Swedish forces were repelled and forced to retreat back the way they came.
Generalmajor Demidov suspected that the inhabitants of Vaasa had taken to arms and helped the Swedish forces, even though the provincial governor had confiscated all weapons that spring, and he took revenge by letting his men plunder the city for several days. During those days 17 civilians were killed, property was looted and destroyed, many were assaulted and several people were taken to the village of Salmi inKuortane where they had to endure the physical punishment calledrunning the gauntlet. The massacre in Vaasa was exceptional during the Finnish war as the Russian forces had avoided that kind of cruelty that far. It was probably a result of the frustration the Russians felt because of intensive guerilla activity against them in the region.
On 30 June the Russian forces withdrew from Vaasa, and all officials that had pledged allegiance to Russia were discharged, and some were assaulted by locals. On 13 September the Russian forces returned and on the next day the decisiveBattle of Oravais, which was won by Russia, was fought some 50 kilometres (30 mi) further north. By winter 1808, the Russian forces had overrun all of Finland, and in theTreaty of Fredrikshamn (17 September 1809) Sweden lost the whole eastern part of its realm. Vaasa would now become a part of the newly formedGrand Duchy of Finland within theRussian Empire.
The mainly wooden and densely built town was almost utterly destroyed in 1852. A fire started in a barn belonging to district court judgeJ. F. Aurén on the morning of 3 August. At noon the whole town was ablaze and the fire lasted for many hours. By evening, most of the town had burned to the ground. Out of 379 buildings only 24 privately owned buildings had survived, among them theFalander–Wasastjernapatrician house (built in 1780–1781) which now houses the Old Vaasa Museum.
TheCourt of Appeal (built in 1775, nowadays theChurch of Korsholm), some Russian guard-houses along with a gunpowder storage and the buildings of the Vaasa provincial hospital (nowadays a psychiatric hospital) also survived the blaze. The ruins of the greystone church, thebelfry, the town hall and the trivial school can still be found in their original places. Much of the archived material concerning Vaasa and its inhabitants was destroyed in the fire. According to popular belief, the fire got started when a careless visitor from Vörå fell asleep in Aurén's barn and dropped his pipe in the dry hay.
The new town of Nikolaistad (Finnish:Nikolainkaupunki), named after the lateTsar Nicholas I, rose in 1862 about seven kilometres (4.3 miles) to the northwest from the old town. The town's coastal location offered good conditions for seafaring. The town plan was planned byCarl Axel Setterberg in theEmpire style. In the master plan the disastrous consequences of the fire were considered. Main streets in the new town were five broad avenues which divided the town into sections. Each block was divided by alleys.
During theFinnish Civil War, Vaasa was the capital of Finland from 29 January to 3 May 1918.[3] As a consequence of the occupation of central places and arresting of politicians inHelsinki the Senate decided to move the senators to Vaasa, where theWhite Guards that supported the Senate had a strong position and the contacts to the West were good.[15][16]
TheSenate of Finland began its work in Vaasa on 1 February 1918, and it had four members. The Senate held its sessions in the Town Hall. To express its gratitude to the town the Senate gave Vaasa the right to add the Cross of Freedom, independent Finland's oldest mark of honour designed byAkseli Gallen-Kallela, to itscoat of arms, to the town's coat of arms.[17][18] The coat of arms is unusual not only in this respect, but also because of its non-standard shape and a crown are included. Because of its role in the civil war, Vaasa became known as "The White City". A Statue of Freedom, depicting a victorious White soldier, was erected in the town square.
The language conditions in the city shifted in the 1930s, and the majority became Finnish-speaking.
Post-war, Vaasa was industrialized, led by the electronics manufacturerStrömberg, later merged intoABB.
In 2013, the municipality ofVähäkyrö was merged into Vaasa. It is currently anexclave area of the city, since it is surrounded by other municipalities.
Near thePolar Circle, Vaasa falls incontinental subarctic climate (Köppen:Dfc) with severe dry winters and almost warm summers. The prevailing direction of the winds,North Atlantic Current and the proximity of theGulf of Bothnia give the climate a certainly livability in spite of the latitude, similar to the south ofAlaska, where continentality, proximity to the poles and moderation intersect.[19] TheFöhn wind, for example, passes over theScandinavian Mountains and leaves a milder and drier weather in the lee of the mountains where Vaasa is found, affecting especially in the winter which explains sunny days even in the season of short solar duration.[20]
The location of some sea distance gives a seasonal delay of spring and summer at the same time that autumn and winter are affected late. The average annual temperature is 4.7 °C (normal from 1991 to 2020). The lowOstrobothnia usually receives little snow but the contact of cold air with warmer and humid air can generate heavy snowfall. Early summer (as well as spring) tends to be drier and the wettest month does not coincide with the warmer month. End of April is usually the growing season with 250–300 mm approximately.[20] The maritime breeze explains the difference in temperature, distribution of precipitation and sunshine, different from the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Bothnia brings the sea wind in places further distant about 50 km from the coast.[21] The city gets more sun than inland places, although current log are unavailable.[22] The highest ever recorded temperature was 32.2 °C (89.6 °F), on 18 July 2018, although a record of 33.7 °C (92.7 °F) was recorded in the city center the same day[citation needed], which in fact was the hottest day of Finland in 2018 by slightly edging a temperature recorded in Turku Artukainen of 33.6 °C (92.5 °F), also on 18 July 2018, making it the highest temperature ever recorded in Vaasa.[citation needed]
Climate data for Vaasa Airport, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1961 – present
The city of Vaasa is officiallybilingual, with bothFinnish andSwedish as official languages. As of 2024[update], the majority of the population, 44,487 persons (63.2%), spoke Finnish as their first language. The number ofSwedish speakers was 16,167 persons (23.0%) of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by13.8% of the population.[26] AsEnglish andSwedish - or Finnish for Swedish speakers - are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.
At least 50 different languages are spoken in Vaasa. The most common foreign languages areUkrainian (1.2%),Arabic (1.1%),English (1.0%) andRussian (0.9%).[26]
As of 2024[update], there were 9,967 persons with a foreign background living in Vaasa, or 14% of the population.[note 1] The number of residents who were born abroad was 9,875, or 14% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Vaasa was 7,179. Most foreign-born citizens came from theSweden, formerSoviet Union,Ukraine,Bangladesh andVietnam.[26]
The relative share of immigrants in Vaasa's population is above the national average. Moreover, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
In 2023, theEvangelical Lutheran Church was the largest religious group with 65.0% of the population of Vaasa. Other religious groups accounted for 2.4% of the population. 32.6% of the population had no religious affiliation.[28]
The multi-use cargo and passengerPort of Vaasa is located in Vaskiluoto, connecting Vaasa withUmeå, Sweden, and destinations further afield.[30]
The film production companyFuture Film has its head office in Vaasa.[31][32]
Vaasa is also home to Tropiclandia Water Park, located onVaskiluoto Island adjacent to a localspa hotel.[33] The now disassembledWasalandia Amusement Park, which ceased operations in 2015 due to a small number of visitors, was located in the immediate vicinity of Tropiclandia.[34][35][36]
Main roads, includinghighway 3 (E12) andhighway 8 (E8), connect Vaasa toHelsinki,Tampere,Oulu,Pori,Jyväskylä,Kokkola andSeinäjoki. There are 419 kilometres (260 mi) from Helsinki to Vaasa, 330 kilometres (210 mi) fromTurku, 244 kilometres (152 mi) from Tampere, 319 kilometres (198 mi) from Oulu, 121 kilometres (75 mi) from Kokkola, 99 kilometres (62 mi) fromJakobstad, 193 kilometres (120 mi) from Pori, 83 kilometres (52 mi) fromLapua and 78 kilometres (48 mi) from Seinäjoki. It is also a relatively short distance from Sweden to Vaasa. The tourist route calledBlue Highway also runs from the port of Vaasa and through the city. In 1962–1964, other Finnish cities introduced regionalspeed limits of 50 km/h, but in Vaasa the limit was 60 km/h for a long time.[37]
Vaasa Airport is located about nine kilometers southeast of the city center.Finnair andScandinavian Airlines operate from Vaasa Airport,[38] butNorwegian Air Shuttle terminated the Vaasa–Helsinki route on 10 January 2020.[39] There is scheduled traffic from Vaasa Airport to Helsinki (flight time 45 min) andStockholm (flight time 1 h 5 min).[40]
Port of Vaasa is located on the Vaskiluoto island four kilometers west of the city centre. Daily passenger and cargo traffic between Vaasa andUmeå is operated by shipping companyWasaline.
Vaasa has three universities. The largest one is theUniversity of Vaasa, which is located in the neighbourhood of Palosaari. Palosaari is a peninsula near the center of Vaasa, connected to it by bridges. The other two universities areÅbo Akademi, headquartered inTurku, and theHanken School of Economics headquartered inHelsinki. Unique to Vaasa is the Finland-Swedish teachers training schoolVasa övningsskola, part of Åbo Akademi. TheUniversity of Helsinki also has a small unit, specialized in law studies, in the city centre.
^ab"Nikolaistad".Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved16 March 2025.
^"Vasa, Vasa".Finlandssvenska bebyggelsenamn. Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. Retrieved16 March 2025.
^Tuomas Tepora & Aapo Roselius (2014). "The War of Liberation, the Civil Guards, and the Veterans' Union: Public Memory in the Interwar Period".The Finnish Civil War 1918. History of Warfare (vol. 101).ISBN978-90-04-24366-8.
.jpg)
