Vaasa, Finland

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of the Gulf of Bothnia, sheltered by a girdle of skerries, the archipelago of the Valsöarna and the islands of Vallgrund and Björkö. The shortest route between Finland and Sweden is the Vaasa-Umeå ferry.

History

The town, named after the Swedish royal house of Vasa, was founded in 1606 at Mustasaari, now 6km/4mi inland but then on the coast. Vaasa was twice destroyed by war (1714, 1800) and again by a great fire in 1852. Thereafter, from 1862 onwards, it was rebuilt on the new coastline, which had moved west as a result of a rise in the level of the land. The rebuilding was directed by the provincial architect, Carl Axel Setterberg; and, as at Pori, the new town was laid out with broad avenues (puistikko) to reduce the fire hazard. Setterberg favored the neo-Gothic style; other architects built in a variety of styles.

In December 1917, after the proclamation of Finnish independence, Vaasa became the temporary capital of the country when the socialist militia seized control of Helsinki and the Senate took refuge in Vaasa. From here General Mannerheim directed operations against the Red Brigades and the Russian forces supporting them. Hence the cross of freedom which figures in the town's coat of arms, as it does in that of Mikkeli.