Vaasa

Vaasa (Finnish: [ˈʋɑːsɑ]; Swedish: Vasa, Finland Swedish: [ˈvɑːsɑ] ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (Finnish: Nikolainkaupunki; lit. 'city of Nicholas'), is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Vaasa is approximately 70,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 111,000. It is the 14th most populous municipality in Finland, and the tenth most populous urban area in the country. Vaasa was granted its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden, and is named after the Royal House of Vasa. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Vaasa was briefly the capital of the White Finland and hosted the Senate of Finland. The city is home to several institutions of higher education: the University of Vaasa, the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, the Novia University of Applied Sciences, and some faculties of the Åbo Akademi University, the University of Helsinki, and the Hanken School of Economics. Vaasa is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 63% Finnish speakers, 23% Swedish speakers, and 14% speakers of other languages. The municipalities surrounding Vaasa, such as Korsholm and Malax, have a clear majority of Swedish speakers. As a result, the Swedish language maintains a strong position in the city, making it the most significant cultural center for Swedish-Finns.