Battle of Vaasa

Vaasa (Finnish: [ˈʋɑːsɑ]; Swedish: Vasa, Finland Swedish: [ˈvɑːsɑ] , Sweden Swedish: [ˈvɑ̂ːsa] ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki (Swedish: Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas), is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa. Vaasa has a population of 68,969 (31 December 2023) (approximately 120,000 in the Vaasa sub-region), and is the regional capital of Ostrobothnia (Swedish: Österbotten; Finnish: Pohjanmaa). Vaasa is also well known as a major university and college city in Finland.The city is bilingual with 66.2% of the population speaking Finnish as their first language and 23.4% speaking Swedish. The surrounding Ostrobothnian municipalities (such as Korsholm and Malax) have a clear Swedish-speaking majority, which is why the Swedish language maintains a strong position in the city, making it the most significant cultural center for Swedish-Finns.Vaasa is also known for Tropiclandia Water Park, which is located in the Vaskiluoto Island right next to a local spa hotel. In the immediate vicinity of Tropiclandia was the now deserted Wasalandia Amusement Park, which ceased operations in 2015 due to a small number of visitors.

The Province of Vaasa (Finnish: Vaasan lääni [ˈʋɑːsɑn ˈlæːni]; Swedish: Vasa län, Finland Swedish: [ˈvɑːsɑ ˈleːn], Sweden Swedish: [ˈvɑ̂ːsa ˈlɛːn]) was a province of Finland, established in 1775 when Finland was an integrated part of Sweden from the southern part of Ostrobothnia County and disbanded in 1996. The province was named after the city of Vaasa. On the death of Tsar Nicholas I in 1855, a small group of citizens in the city of Vaasa tendered a petition to change the name of the city after him. The name of the city came from the Royal House of Vasa and despite that only 15 citizens were backing the proposal the name of the city was changed to Nikolaistad (Russian: Николайстада, Finnish: Nikolainkaupunki). In 1960 the eastern part was separated as the Province of Central Finland. In 1997 it was reunited with Central Finland, together they merged with the northern part of the Province of Häme and the Province of Turku and Pori to establish the new Province of Western Finland. The former province corresponds to the current regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia and Southern Ostrobothnia.

The Statue of Liberty (Finnish: Suomen Vapaudenpatsas; Swedish: Finlands frihetsstaty) is a monumental bronze sculpture complex located in the Market Square of Vaasa in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The statue celebrates the victory of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The height of the work with its pedestals is 14 metres (46 ft) and the height of the part on top of the pedestal is 6 metres (20 ft). The sculpture weighs 3.6 tonnes (4.0 tons). The sculpture was designed by Yrjö Liipola and Jussi Mäntynen, and it was unveiled in 1938.

Vaasa Market Hall (Finnish: Vaasan kauppahalli; Swedish: Vasa saluhall) is an Gothic-style market hall in the city center of Vaasa, Finland. The market hall includes seven different shops, such as the fish store Ruostsala Snickars and the café Wasa Konditori.The building was designed by A. W. Stenfors (1866–1952), the province architect of Vaasa, and is built in two parts. The first part, the so-called lower hall, was completed in 1902, and the latter part, the so-called upper hall, which was also built according to Stenfors' drawings, was completed in 1927. The access between the two was opened in 1963. The developer and owner of the market hall is Halli Oy, which was founded by Stenfors, court council Oskar Rewell and bank manager K. H. Majantie in 1900.

The Vaasa railway station (Finnish: Vaasan rautatieasema, Swedish: Vasa järnvägsstation) is located in the city of Vaasa, Finland. It is located along the Seinäjoki–Vaasa railway; it is one of the termini for passenger trains that use the line, and its neighboring station in the east is Tervajoki.

Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (Finnish: Vaasan ammattikorkeakoulu, Vamk, Swedish: Vasa yrkeshögskola) popularly called VAMK, is an international higher education institution in Vaasa, Finland. VAMK educates Bachelors of Business Administration, Engineering, Hospitality Management and Social Services as well as Registered Nurses and Public Health Nurses in Finnish, Swedish and English for the demanding needs of the working life. It has approximately 3,300 students enrolled and a staff of circa 250 members.

Wasa theatre (Wasa Teater) is a professional Swedish-language theatre in the Finnish city of Vaasa. It is the regional theatre of Österbotten and was founded in 1919.

The Ostrobothnian Museum (Finnish: Pohjanmaan museo) is a provincial museum of cultural history, which also serves as provincial art museum and a museum of natural science. The museum building, designed by Eino Forsman in 1927, and the museum’s exhibition wing, planned by architect Erik Kråkström in 1967 are located next to the Marianpuisto park in central Vaasa.A medical doctor from Vaasa, Karl Hedman (1864-1931) was active in creation of the museum. The building was constructed in 1930, and the Hedmans had their own home and collection on one floor. They had no children, and left their collection to fund, which later donated it to the city.

Hietalahti Stadium (Finnish: Hietalahden jalkapallostadion, Swedish: Sandvikens fotbollsstadion), also known as Lemonsoft Stadion for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Vaasa, Finland. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Vaasan Palloseura. The stadium has a capacity of 6,009 spectators.The stadium was originally built in 1935. It was expanded to its current capacity in 2015–2016. Prior to its 2022 Lemonsoft sponsorship deal, the name sponsor of the stadium was the Finnish telecommunications company Elisa.Hietalahti Stadium co-hosted the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in July 2018.

The Vaasa Finnish Baptist Church (also known as the Vaasa Finnish Baptist Congregation; Finnish: Vaasan baptistiseurakunta) is a Finnish Baptist congregation in Vaasa, Finland. It belongs to the Finnish Baptist Church and was founded in 1908. The current congregation building is located in the Palosaari district of Vaasa. Vaasa also has another, Swedish-speaking Baptist congregation.

The Novia University of Applied Sciences (Swedish: Yrkeshögskolan Novia) is an institution of higher professional education (vocational university) in Finland. It offers Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in Swedish in Vaasa, Turku, Raseborg and Jakobstad. The university was formed on August 1, 2008, by the merging of the Sydväst Polytechnic and the Swedish Polytechnic.

The University of Vaasa (Finnish: Vaasan yliopisto, Swedish: Vasa universitet) is a multidisciplinary, business-oriented university in Vaasa, Finland. The campus of the university is situated by the Gulf of Bothnia adjacent to downtown Vaasa. The university has evolved from a school of economics founded in 1968 to a university consisting of four different schools: The School of Accounting and Finance, The School of Management, The School of Marketing and Communications and the School of Technology and Innovations. University of Vaasa is one of the largest business universities in Finland. The university has personnel of around 500 which includes a teaching staff of 180 and 54 professors. Around 5000 students are currently studying in various degree programs at the university.