Ostrobothnia (region)

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 landskapet Österbotten Pohjanmaan maakunta
Region
Coat of arms
Ostrobothnia on a map of Finland
Country	Finland
Historical province	Ostrobothnia
Capital	Vaasa
Area
• Total	7,932.36 km^2 (3,062.70 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• Total	180,445
• Density	23/km^2 (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 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 thirteen bilingual municipalities and two 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 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 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". The word derives from the similarities in the flat landscape with the Pampas area in South America.

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of Ostrobothnia

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[3]	Swedish Speakers[4]	Finnish Speakers[4]	Sub-Region
Isokyrö	Storkyro	4,576	0.6%	98.9%	Kyrönmaa
Pietarsaari	Jakobstad	19,287	56.4%	40.2%	Jakobstad
Kaskinen	Kaskö	1,263	28.1%	68.1%	Sydösterbotten
Mustasaari	Korsholm	19,430	70.2%	28.7%	Vaasa
Korsnäs	Korsnäs	2,114	91.2%	3.2%	Vaasa
Kristiinankaupunki	Kristinestad	6,599	56.6%	42.2%	Sydösterbotten
Kruunupyy	Kronoby	6,503	83.3%	15.6%	Jakobstad
Laihia	Laihela	8,079	1%	98.3%	Kyrönmaa
Luoto	Larsmo	5,348	92.5%	6.5%	Jakobstad
Maalahti	Malax	5,463	88.2%	9.1%	Vaasa
Närpiö	Närpes	9,489	88.4%	5.8%	Sydösterbotten
Uusikaarlepyy	Nykarleby	7,456	89.3%	8.1%	Jakobstad
Pedersören kunta	Pedersöre	11,051	90.1%	9%	Jakobstad
Vaasa	Vasa	67,588	24.8%	69.8%	Vaasa
Vöyri	Vörå	6,607	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.

Politics

Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in Ostrobothnia:

• Swedish People's Party 47.23%
• Social Democratic Party 15.09%
• Finns Party 11.19%
• National Coalition Party 7.38%
• Christian Democrats 6.74%
• Centre Party 4.16%
• Left Alliance 3.54%
• Green League 3.51%
• Seven Star Movement 0.24%
• Blue Reform 0.20%
• Other parties 0.72%

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

References

1. Väestö iän ja sukupuolen mukaan alueittain 31.12.2008. Tilastokeskus: demography.
2. "Aika, kallioperä ja jääkaudet » Merenkurkun saaristo". www.merenkurkku.fi. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
3. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Tammikuu 2019" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
4. "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

Media related to Ostrobothnia at Wikimedia Commons

• Regional Council of Ostrobothnia