The Province of Vaasa ( ; , , Sweden ) was a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

, established in 1775 when Finland was an integrated part of Sweden from the southern part of

Ostrobothnia County Ostrobothnia County (, ) was a county of the Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the ...

and disbanded in 1996. The province was named after the city of

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

. 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, fi, Nikolainkaupunki). In 1960 the eastern part was separated as the

Province of Central Finland The Central Finland Province ( fi, Keski-Suomen lääni, sv, Mellersta Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997. The area of the Central Finland Province was the same as the area of Central Finland region. The 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 Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

. The former province corresponds to the current regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia and

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

Maps

Municipalities in 1997 (cities in bold)

Alahärmä Alahärmä is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Kortesjärvi and Ylihärmä, to Kauhava on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. ...

Alajärvi Alajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The town is unilingually Finnish; there are fe ...

Alavus Alavus ( sv, Alavo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, southeast of Seinäjoki, north of Tampere and north of Helsinki. The town has a populati ...

Evijärvi Evijärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Kauhava, Kr ...

Halsua Halsua ( sv, Halso) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of about 1200 in 2019's and covers an area of of which is water ...

Himanka Himanka ( sv, Himango) is a former municipality of Finland. Himanka was consolidated with the neighboring town of Kalajoki on January 1, 2010. It is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 3,123 (31 Dec ...

* Ilmajoki *

Isojoki Isojoki ( sv, Storå; lit. "Big River") is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The city of Pori is located south of Isojoki. The population of Isojoki is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is ...

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 ...

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The ...

Jalasjärvi Jalasjärvi is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the town of Kurikka on 1 January 2016. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Jalasjärvi was (30 Jun ...

Jurva Jurva is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Kurikka on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 4,611 (2003) an ...

Kannus Kannus is a town and municipality of Finland. It is situated in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The population den ...

Karijoki Karijoki ( sv, Bötom) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The population of Karijoki is (), which makes it the smallest municipality in South Ostrobothnia in terms of population. The municipality covers an ...

Kaskinen Kaskinen (; sv, Kaskö) is a town, municipality and island of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kaskinen is () and the municipality covers an area of (excluding ...

* Kauhajoki *

Kauhava Kauhava is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, northwest of Helsinki and by the main railway from Helsinki to Oulu. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The pop ...

Kaustinen Kaustinen ( sv, Kaustby) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population about 4300 and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities ...

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipali ...

Korsnäs Korsnäs is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. Geography Korsnäs is the most western mainland municipality in Finland. It covers an area of of which is water. It has a long, rocky coastline along the Gulf ...

* Kortesjärvi *

Kristinestad Kristinestad (, Sweden ; fi, Kristiinankaupunki ; la, Christinea) is a town and a municipality in Finland. It is located in the western part of Finland on the shore of the Bothnian Sea. The population of Kristinestad is () and the municipality ...

Kronoby Kronoby ( fi, Kruunupyy) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populatio ...

Kuortane Kuortane is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighboring municipalities of Kuortane are Al ...

* Kurikka *

Kälviä Kälviä ( sv, Kelviå) is a former municipality of Finland. Kälviä was consolidated with the city of Kokkola on Jan 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The former municipal ...

Laihia Laihia ( sv, Laihela) is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. Th ...

Lappajärvi Lappajärvi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland in Southern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. It is from Lappajärvi to Seinäjoki, to Kokkola and to Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...

Lapua Lapua (; sv, Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

Larsmo Larsmo ( fi, Luoto) is a municipality of Finland, located in the Ostrobothnia region. ''Larsmo'' is also the name of one of the villages in the municipality of Larsmo. The municipality is bilingual with Swedish as the majority language and Finn ...

Lehtimäki Lehtimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Alajärvi on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 1,850 (200 ...

Lestijärvi Lestijärvi is a municipality of Finland. There is also the Lake Lestijärvi in the area. Lestijärvi is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of (), which m ...

Lohtaja Lohtaja ( sv, Lochteå) is a former municipality of Finland. Lohtaja was consolidated with the city of Kokkola on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The former mun ...

Malax Malax (; fi, Maalahti) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population dens ...

* Maxmo *

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 ...

* Nurmo *

Nykarleby Nykarleby (; fi, Uusikaarlepyy) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality is bilingual, with the majority speaking Swedish () and the minority Finnish (). The largest employers in the to ...

Närpes Närpes (; fi, Närpiö ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia (region), Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. T ...

Oravais Oravais ( fi, Oravainen) is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 2,189 (31 October 2010) and covered a land area of . The p ...

Pedersöre Pedersöre ( fi, Pedersören kunta, before 1989 ) is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Bennäs. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers a ...

Perho Perho is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The distance between Perho and the regional center Kokkola is about . The municipality has a population of () and ...

* Peräseinäjoki * Seinäjoki * Soini *

Teuva Teuva ( sv, Östermark) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The population of Teuva is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is . The municipali ...

Toholampi Toholampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Kannus, Kokk ...

Töysä Töysä is a former municipality in Western Finland. It was consolidated to Alavus on 1 January 2013. It is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of (31 December 2012) and covered an area of of which was w ...

Ullava Ullava is a former municipality of Finland. Ullava was consolidated with the city of Kokkola on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The former municipality had a po ...

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

Veteli Veteli ( sv, Vetil) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of almost 3200 in 2019. and covers an area of of which is water. ...

Vimpeli Vimpeli (; sv, Vindala) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, northeast of Seinäjoki and northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...

* Vähäkyrö *

Vörå Vörå (; fi, Vöyri) is a municipality of Finland. In 2011, it was created from the municipalities of Vörå-Maxmo and Oravais. Vörå-Maxmo was created in 2007 from the municipalities of (old) Vörå and Maxmo. It is located in the province ...

Ylihärmä Ylihärmä is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Alahärmä and Kortesjärvi, to Kauhava on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The ...

Ylistaro Ylistaro is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Nurmo to Seinäjoki on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a po ...

Ähtäri Ähtäri ( sv, Etseri) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Ähtäri is located southeast of ...

Former municipalities (disestablished before 1997)

* Bergö *

Björköby Björköby is a village and a former municipality now part of Korsholm, Finland. It is the chief settlement on the island of Björkö. The harbour of the village is called Svedjehamn. Björköby was an independent municipality until 1973. His ...

Esse Esse may refer to: Places * Essé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France * Esse, Charente, a commune in the Charente department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France * Esse, Cameroon, a town and commune ...

* Jeppo * Karleby landskommun *

Kvevlax Kvevlax ( fi, Koivulahti) is a church village in the municipality of Korsholm, Finland. It is located approximately north of the city of Vaasa. Kvevlax became an independent parish in 1857. Until 1 January 1973 it was an independent municipalit ...

* Lappfjärd * Munsala *

Nedervetil Nedervetil (Finnish: ''Alaveteli'') is a former municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is now part of Kronoby municipality. It has given its Finnish name to Alaveteli, open source software to help in Freedom of Information enquiries, because ...

* Nykarleby landskommun * Petalax *

Purmo Purmo is a former municipality of Finland. It was incorporated into the rural municipality of Pedersöre (currently the municipality of Pedersöre) in Ostrobothnia in 1977. Purmo is home to a wooden church built by Antti Hakola in 1772. Approxi ...

* Pörtom *

Replot Replot ( fi, Raippaluoto) is an island in the Kvarken ("The Throat"), the narrowest part of the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern part of the Baltic sea. It has about 2,100 inhabitants, almost only Swedish-speaking. The size is about , one of the lar ...

* Seinäjoen mlk * Sideby * Solf * Terjärv * Tjöck * Öja * Övermark

Governors

* Bror Cederström 1775–1785 * Adolf Tandefeldt 1785–1794 * Carl Fridrik Krabbe 1794–1805 * Magnus Wanberg 1805–1808 * Nils Fredric von Schoultz 1808 * Carl Constantin de Carnall 1808–1822 * Herman Henrik Wärnhjelm 1822–1830 * Gustaf Magnus Armfelt 1830–1832 * Carl Gustaf von Mannerheim 1832–1833 (acting) and 1833–1834 *

Carl Olof Cronstedt Carl Olof Cronstedt the elder (3 October 1756 – 7 April 1820) was a Swedish naval commander responsible for the overwhelming Swedish victory at the Second Battle of Svensksund, one of the largest naval battles in history. He is often better reme ...

1834–1837 (acting) and 1837-1845 * John Ferdinand Bergenheim 1845–1847 *

Berndt Federley Berndt is a surname and can refer to: * Arthur Berndt *Bruce C. Berndt *Catherine Berndt * Doug Berndt * Jerry Berndt * John Berndt * Jule Berndt, American Lutheran clergyman and politician * Helmut Berndt * Marianne Berndt *Ronald Berndt Ronald ...

1847–1854 *

Alexander von Rechenberg Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

1854–1858 * Otto Leonard von Blom 1858–1861 * Carl Gustaf Fabian Wrede 1862–1863 (vt.) and 1863–1884 * Viktor Napoleon Procopé 1884–1888 * August Alexander Järnefelt 1888–1894 * Fredrik Waldemar Schauman 1894–1898 * Gustaf Axel von Kothen 1898–1900 * Fredrik Geronimo Björnberg 1900–1903 * Theodor Knipovitsch 1903–1906 * Kasten Fredrik Ferdinand de Pont 1906–1910 * Bernhard Otto Widnäs 1910–1913 * Nikolai Sillman 1913–1916 * Leo Aristides Sirelius 1916–1917 * Juho Torppa 1917 (acting) * Teodor August Heikel 1917–1920 *

Bruno Sarlin Bruno Gustaf Willehad Sarlin (8 November 1878 – 6 January 1951) was a Finland, Finnish jurist and politician, born in Viitasaari. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1919 to 1920, from 1930 to 1936 and from 1945 to 1948, repres ...

1920–1930 *

Erik Heinrichs Axel Erik Heinrichs (21 July 1890 – 16 November 1965) was a Finnish military general. He was Finland's Chief of the General Staff during the Interim Peace and Continuation War (1940–1941 and 1942–1944) and commander-in-chief for a short t ...

1930 * Kaarlo Martonen 1930–1938 *

Jalo Lahdensuo Jalo may refer to: * Jalo oasis in Libya * Jalu Jalu, Jallow, or Gialo ( ar, جالو) is a town in the Al Wahat District in northeastern Libya in the Jalo oasis. An oasis, a city, and it is the main center of the oasis region in eastern Libya.� ...

1938–1943 * Toivo Tarjanne 1943–1944 * K. G. R. Ahlbäck 1944–1967 * Martti Viitanen 1967–1977 * Antti Pohjonen 1977–1978 * Mauno Kangasniemi 1978–1991 * Tom Westergård 1991–1997 {{coord, 63.1000, N, 21.6167, E, source:wikidata, display=title Provinces of Finland (1917–97)