Vaasa

Understand

300px|thumb|Vaasa city hall Vaasa was an important place of governance when Finland was part of Sweden. It started in the 14th century when Korsholm castle was built near the village of Korsholm (Finnish: Mustasaari). In 1606 the village was granted city status and five years later it was renamed Wasa in honor of the Swedish royal lineage. The old names live on in the municipality that surrounds Vaasa.

The old town of Vaasa burned to the ground in 1852, and when it was rebuilt it was relocated closer to the sea some six kilometers northwest from its original location. In the same process the town was renamed Nikolainkaupunki (Sw: Nikolaistad) in honor of Russian Czar Nikolai I, as Finland at that time was a Grand Duchy under Russian rule (1809–1917). In its new location the town became an important sea-faring city and a local businessman named Carl Gustaf Wolff (1800–1868) was at one point the biggest shipowner in the Nordic countries. When Finland proclaimed its independence in 1917 the name of the town was again reverted to Vaasa. The town was made capital of the white side (conservative, bourgeois) during the civil war (1918), when Helsinki was occupied by the red side (socialist, communist). It has since then been known as The White City; the support for the whites was very strong in the area.

Around 25% of Vaasa's population is Swedish-speaking and even more are bilingual in Finnish and Swedish. In the area surrounding Vaasa the majority of people are Swedish-speaking;…

Get around

The city is quite compact and most things to see are within walking distance. The commercial centre and nightlife are concentrated in the area around the market square. The distance to much of Korsholm, on the other hand, is some 12 km. Replot is 20 km away, Björköby 35 and Panike 45, the latter north and north-west of Replot.

See

thumb|200px|Trinity church thumb|200px|The market square

The campuses of Vaasa. Vaasa has three university-level educational institutions with campuses that make use of Vaasa's industrial past. has a unique campus that combines modern architectural elements with an old Cotton Mill in the neighborhood of Palosaari. The campus is on the waterfront and has park areas all around. Some say it is the most beautiful campus in Finland. South from that campus, closer to the city centre but still along the waterfront is , a former grain mill that houses two faculties of Åbo Akademi university in Vaasa. In the northern end of Kauppapuistikko you will find the , also known as Hanken, which is housed in a former clothing factory.

Contemporary architecture. There are some interesting buildings to see if you are an architecture buff of the modern sort. One interesting area is the Campus of Vaasa university already mentioned above, another is the city's Center City Block, also called , which was designed by architect Viljo Revell and finished in 1963. In the neighbourhood of Huutoniemi (sw: Roparnäs) you'll find , a modernist building finished in 1964 and designed by Aarno Ruusuvuori. Significant industral architecture is well represented in and the City Library, also mentioned above, is an interesting meld of old and new.

Do

The archipelago off Vaasa is a : the Kvarken Archipelago.

Buy

thumb|right|200px|The old Market Hall of Vaasa is still in use.

There are three shopping malls in Vaasa of which two are found by the market square. On the western side of the square is (named after architect Viljo Revell who planned the modern city block that was built in 1962) and on the eastern side is the smaller . A big mall can be found on the northern end of the market square. In , eastwards from the city center, you'll find a big area with various big shops, a smaller shopping mall and two big supermarkets. Best reached by car.

Drink

thumb|upright|Café in an old house

There are several bars and nightclubs in Vaasa.

Go next

thumb|Traditional vessel on its way towards Sweden – the shallow stony [[Kvarken Archipelago is a UNESCO world heritage site.]]

Kvarken Archipelago (Merenkurkku, Kvarken). The archipelago outside Vaasa is a UNESCO world nature heritage site. The whole archipelago is an experience in itself but the parts under UNESCO protection are mainly in the municipalities of Korsholm, Korsnäs, Malax and Vörå. The coastal towns of Ostrobothnia. Vaasa is the perfect base to go out on daytrips to the smaller towns of Kristinestad, Kaskinen and Närpes in the south or Nykarleby), Jakobstad and Kokkola in the north. Provinssirock is a good rock festival in the city of Seinäjoki, some 80 km east of Vaasa. As most hotels are fully booked in the area during the festival, Vaasa could provide a comfortable base for a musical visit. The annual festival is organized in the middle of June. Or why not take the ferry over to Umeå in Sweden (see #By boat above).