In 1606, Charles IX founded the town of Vaasa around the oldest harbour and trading point in Ostrobothnia. In 1852, Vaasa was burnt to the ground, and in 1862 the new town of Vaasa was built on the Klemetsö headland, 7 km from the old town.

Vaasa is Ostrobothnia's window to the west. The town is the spiritual heart of Ostrobothnia, open to all. As it has good connections with the outside world, international winds of change reach the town quickly. Vaasa is the biggest town in the area with over 57.600 inhabitants 72 % Finnish-speaking, 25 % Swedish-speaking and 3 % with other languages as their mother tongue.

Vaasa is located at the narrowest point of the gulf of Bothnia, only 80 km/50 miles from Umeå in Sweden. By boat the journey takes four hours. The ferry line with traffic between Vaasa and Umeå is RG Line.

The town's leafy avenues, the large parks that surround the public buildings, and the green shoreline, go to make up a restful whole which has as its foundation the Empir-style town plan drawn up by the architect Carl Axel Setterberg in 1855.

In Vaasa the past and the present meet: local enterprises, distinctive cultural life, two languages, international industry and the tranquility of a small town.

A healthy environment is a part of Vaasa. The sea with its countless islands gives Vaasa the authentic feel of a coastal town. Boating, fishing, exploring the archipelago and taking exercise along the beautiful shore are all popular with the townspeople. The warmth of the town's welcome is felt everywhere, in its bustling market, in its business life, in its friendly service. And as Vaasa is Finland's sunniest town, the sun is often shining too.

The surrounding countryside offers another kind of landscape, a culture rooted in the soil, fields stretching across inland plains, close village communities and centres as well as the characteristic life of the archipelago. The marks of ancient settlement - museums, churches, fishing harbours and riverbank life - form an integral part of Vaasa's hinterland.