The ruins of the 14th century St Mary's church in the old town of Vaasa.
The entrance to Fabriikki, the part of the University of Vaasa which is housed in the actual old Cotton Mill.
Market place and Finlands Statue of freedom. The market place is the center of the city life in Vaasa. Finlands Statue of Freedom, unveiled in the summer of 1938 is in the northern end of the market square.
Old Vaasa (Vanha Vaasa, Gamla Vasa) is situated about 6km south east of the todays town featuring ruins from the first town of Vaasa that burned down in 1852 and a 18th century court building that survived the destruction but was redone into the Church of Korsholm when the town was rebuilt at a new location closer to the sea. The banks of the 14th century Korsholm castle are still visible and can be found west of the Church of Korsholm.
The campuses of Vaasa. Vaasa has three university level educational institutions with campuses that make use of Vaasa's industrial past. The University of Vaasa has a unique campus that combines modern architectural elements with an old Cotton Mill in the neighborhood of Palosaari. The campus is situated along the waterfront and has park areas all around. Some say it is the most beautiful campus in Finland. South from that campus, closer to the city center but still along the waterfront is Academill, a former grain mill that nowadays houses two faculties of Åbo Akademi university in Vaasa. In the northern end of Kauppapuistikko you will find the campus of the Swedish School of Economics and Business Adminstration, also known as Hanken, which is housed in a former clothing factory.
Söderfjärden. South of Vaasa in the rural area of Sundom is a big cultivated area called Söderfjärden. When seen from the top of Öjberget, a hill right beside the big flat area, you see that the whole area is round. This is because it is an old crater which probably was caused by a meteor millions of years ago.
Waterfront. Take a walk in the park areas along the waterfront. Many sights are along the way, like the neo-gothic Court of Appeals and the 19th century Vaasa prison, which is still in use (though extensivly modernized on the inside) and actually has a shop which sells crafts made by the prisoners.
Trinity Church and surroundings. In the vicinity of the neogothic Trinity Church you will find City Hall, which also houses the Tourist office on the bottom floor. Along Vaasanpuistikko on the south side of the Church is the City Council and close by is Vaasan Lyseon Lukio, which is a Finnish-speaking upper secondary school. West of the church is a another school building with the text Lyceum. This is Vasa Övningsskolas Gymnasium, which is a Swedish-speaking upper secondary school.
Vaasa City Library. Check out what is happening in your corner of the world in the international papers provided in the City Library on Kirjastonkatu 13. If you can't find a suitable paper then try the internet on one of the computers. It's free. And while you are there, breathe in some of the cultural history involved. The first lending library in Finland was established in Vaasa 2.8.1794. The current city library was built in 1936 and in 2001 a extensive renovation and enlargement of the library was complete taking both old and new elements into account.
Contemporary architecture. There are some interesting buildings to see if you are an architecture buff of the modern sort. One interesting area is the Campus of Vaasa university already mentioned above, another is the city's Center City Block, also called Rewell Center, which was designed by architect Viljo Revell and finished in 1963. In the neighbourhood of Huutoniemi (sw: Roparnäs) you'll find Huutoniemi Church, a modernist building finished in 1964 and designed by Aarno Ruusuvuori. Significant industral architecture is well represented in Strömberg Industral Park and the City Library, also mentioned above, is an interesting meld of old and new.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Vaasa
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Vaasa - updated May 2024
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Vaasa Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
