Ostrobothnia (region)
| Ostrobothnia landskapet Österbotten Pohjanmaan maakunta | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | |||
| |||
 Ostrobothnia on a map of Finland | |||
| Country | Finland | ||
| Historical province | Ostrobothnia | ||
| Seat | Vaasa | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 7,932.36 km2 (3,062.70 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 180,384 | ||
| • Density | 23/km2 (59/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | FI-12 | ||
| NUTS | 195 | ||
| Regional bird | Common swift (Apus apus) | ||
| Regional fish | Common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) | ||
| Regional flower | European meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) | ||
| Website | osterbotten.fi | ||
Ostrobothnia (Swedish: Österbotten; Finnish: Pohjanmaa) is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions of Central Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four modern regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia.
Ostrobothnia is one of the two Finnish regions with a Swedish-speaking majority (the other being the constitutionally monolingual province of Åland); Swedish-speakers make up 51.2%.[1] The region contains both bilingual municipalities and ones that are exclusively Finnish-speaking.
Geographically, Ostrobothnia has little topographical relief, because it is mostly former seafloor brought to surface by post-glacial rebound and the accumulation of alluvial sediment. Ostrobothnia has both vast expanses of cultivated fields (lakeus) as in Southern Ostrobothnia, and the archipelago of Kvarken (Finnish: Merenkurkku). Glacial transport has deposited large quantities of glacial erratics (rocks) in the area.[2] Like elsewhere in Pohjanmaa, rivers are a prominent part of the landscape. The major rivers that discharge into the Gulf of Bothnia in Ostrobothnia are Kyrönjoki, Lapuanjoki and Ähtävänjoki.
The regional tree is the black alder (Alnus glutinosa), the regional mammal is the common elk (Alces alces alces), the regional stone is the Vaasa granite and the regional song is "The march of Vaasa" (Swedish: Vasamarschen, Finnish: Vaasan marssi).
In local circles or communities, Ostrobothnia is often referred to as "Pampas" and a person from Ostrobothnia is called a "Pampees".[3] The word derives from the similarities in the flat landscape with the Pampas area in South America.
Municipalities
The region of Ostrobothnia is made up of 15 municipalities, of which six have city status (marked in bold), and the links are only in the majority language names.
| Name in Finnish |
Name in Swedish |
Population[4] | Swedish Speakers[5] |
Finnish Speakers[5] |
Sub-Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isokyrö | Storkyro | 4,615 | 0.6% | 98.9% | Kyrönmaa |
| Pietarsaari | Jakobstad | 19,303 | 56.4% | 40.2% | Jakobstad |
| Kaskinen | Kaskö | 1,275 | 28.1% | 68.1% | Sydösterbotten |
| Mustasaari | Korsholm | 19,448 | 70.2% | 28.7% | Vaasa |
| Korsnäs | Korsnäs | 2,120 | 91.2% | 3.2% | Vaasa |
| Kristiinankaupunki | Kristinestad | 6,605 | 56.6% | 42.2% | Sydösterbotten |
| Kruunupyy | Kronoby | 6,542 | 83.3% | 15.6% | Jakobstad |
| Laihia | Laihela | 8,077 | 1% | 98.3% | Kyrönmaa |
| Luoto | Larsmo | 5,308 | 92.5% | 6.5% | Jakobstad |
| Maalahti | Malax | 5,478 | 88.2% | 9.1% | Vaasa |
| Närpiö | Närpes | 9,503 | 88.4% | 5.8% | Sydösterbotten |
| Uusikaarlepyy | Nykarleby | 7,476 | 89.3% | 8.1% | Jakobstad |
| Pedersöre | Pedersöre | 11,027 | 90.1% | 9% | Jakobstad |
| Vaasa | Vasa | 67,465 | 24.8% | 69.8% | Vaasa |
| Vöyri | Vörå | 6,643 | 84.6% | 13.6% | Vaasa |
Former municipalities:
- The current Vörå is the result of consolidation of Maxmo and Oravais.
- Nykarleby has been merged with Jeppo, Munsala and Nykarleby landskommun.
- Korsholm has been consolidated from the five municipalities of Korsholm, Solf, Replot, Björköby and Kvevlax.
- Vaasa has been merged with parts of Solf and Korsholm.
- Pedersöre has been merged with Esse and Purmo.
- Malax has been consolidated from the municipalities of Malax, Petalax, Bergö and the northern part of Pörtom.
- Närpes has been merged with Övermark and Pörtom.
- Kristinestad has been consolidated from Kristinestad, Tjöck, Lappfjärd and Sideby.
- Kronoby is consolidated from Kronoby, Nedervetil and Terjärv.
Gallery
Vaasa Market Place with the "Statue of Liberty" on the right
A street view from Kristinestad, one of the best preserved wooden towns in the Nordic Countries
A view towards Kvarken from Norrskär Lighthouse, Korsholm
A view of Jakobstad town from the water tower
Kristinestad Old Church from 1700
An Ostrobothnian expanse in Laihia
Larsmo Church
Church stables at Närpes Church
An old tobacco factory in Jakobstad
University of Vaasa Main Building
Kronoby Church
Jakobstad Town Hall
Vörå Church from 1626, oldest preserved wooden church in Finland
A street in Finland's smallest town Kaskinen with typical Jugendstil buildings in the foreground
A view from Nykarleby town
A view of City of Vaasa
Isokyrö Old Church from early 16th century
Replot Bridge, the longest bridge in Finland
There are daily ferry connections to Umeå, Sweden from Vaasa
An old bridge in Korsnäs
Heraldry
The sprouting wheatsheaf is a symbol of the Royal House of Vasa; a Vasa king established the city of Vaasa, the capital of the region. The running stoats are a symbol of Ostrobothnia.
See also
- Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia
- Katrina (novel) (about an Ostrobothnian woman)
References
- ↑ Väestö iän ja sukupuolen mukaan alueittain 31.12.2008. Tilastokeskus: demography.
- ↑ "Aika, kallioperä ja jääkaudet » Merenkurkun saaristo". www.merenkurkku.fi. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ↑ Söderlund, Niklas Wahrman, Mats. "Pampees - Urbaani Sanakirja". urbaanisanakirja.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ↑ "Ennakkoväkiluku kuukausittain sukupuolen mukaan alueittain, elokuu 2018" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- 1 2 "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
External links
