Laihia ( sv, Laihela) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, founded in 1576 through a separation from

Isokyrö Isokyrö (; sv, Storkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . In the name of th ...

and

Korsholm Korsholm (; fi, Mustasaari) is a municipality of Finland. The town of Vaasa was founded in Korsholm parish in 1606 and today the municipality completely surrounds the city. It is a coastal, mostly rural municipality, consisting of a rural landscap ...

. It is located in the Ostrobothnia

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Laihia consists of 37 villages. Laihia is within the economical region of the neighbouring city

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

. The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. Only people speak Swedish as a native language. Most inhabitants speak Finnish or a dialect typical of this region. The municipal manager is Juha Rikala. There are a total of 469 farms in the municipality.. Laihia is located along the international tourist route

Blue Highway Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include ''Wondrous Love'' (2003), ''Marbletown'' (2005), and '' Original Traditional'' (2016). Background After helping found th ...

, which goes from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

via

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and Finland.

People

In Finland, Laihians are renowned for their stinginess ( fi, nuukuus, , , or ) and there are hundreds of jokes told about them. However, Laihians are not usually offended by it. To the contrary, they are proud of their frugality and even have a Museum of Stinginess (''Nuukuuren museo''). In any case, Laihia has high-level public services for education, health, sports, seniors etc.

Notable people

Santeri Alkio Santeri Alkio (born Aleksander Filander; 17 June 1862 – 24 July 1930) was a Finnish politician, author and journalist. He is also considered to be the ideological father of Finnish Centre Party. History Alkio was born in Laihia; his parent ...

, politician and journalist *

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album. ...

(born 1972), American singer and musician, of Finnish descent through great-grandparents who emigrated from Laihia *

Toivo Kärki Toivo Pietari Johannes Kärki (; 3 December 1915 – 30 April 1992) was a Finnish composer, musician, music producer and arranger. He is especially remembered for his collaboration with Reino Helismaa. Kärki composed approximately 1400 recor ...

, musician * Matti Vanhala,

Bank of Finland The Bank of Finland ( fi, Suomen Pankki, sv, Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's Riksbank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France. History ...

Governor 1998–2004 * Keijo Suila, former CEO of

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...

Johan Laibecchius
(born in Laihia on 19 March 1658), vicar
Kristian Chyraeus
(died in Laihia in 1687), vicar
Samuel Backman
(died in Laihia 3 April 1712), vicar
Jonas Lagus
(died in Laihia 22 April 1798), vicar and dean

Surnames

The most common surnames in Laihia and their frequencies as of 2014:Most common surnames in Laihia
/ref> * 1.

Kallio Kallio (; sv, Berghäll; literally " the rock") is a district and a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, located on the eastern side of the Helsinki peninsula about one kilometre north from the city centre. It is one of the mo ...

(1:112) * 2.

Puska Puska is a village in Croatia. Puska is a bread popular during Easter. Populated places in Sisak-Moslavina County {{SisakMoslavina-geo-stub ...

(1:121) * 3. Kinnari (1:135) * 4.

Koskela Koskela ( sv, Forsby, lit. "rapids village") is a district in the city of Helsinki, Finland. There are about 3 300 inhabitants. The borough is surrounded by Käpylä, Kumpula, Vanhakaupunki, and Oulunkylä. Koskela is located in the subdivisi ...

(1:137) * 5. Luoma (1:142) * 5. Niemelä (1:142) * 7.

Kauppi Kauppi is a Finnish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Emil Kauppi (1865–1930), Finnish composer *Kalle Kauppi (1892–1961), Finnish legal scholar and politician * Waino Kauppi (1898-1932), musician *Raili Kauppi (1920–1995), ...

(1:145) * 8. Mäkinen (1:156) * 9. Mäkelä (1:159) * 10. Kankaanpää (1:163)

Transport

The private

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

company

OnniBus OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011. History In 2011, OnniBus was founded by Pekka Möttö, Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pertti Möttö. In May 2014, Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport p ...

route Helsinki—Seinäjoki—Vaasa has a stop at Laihia.

References

External links

Municipality of Laihia
– Official website
Laihia Energy-saving Village
publication of European Commission Municipalities of Ostrobothnia (region) Populated places established in 1576 {{WesternFinland-geo-stub