Kauhava

Kauhava is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, 400 kilometres (250 mi) northwest of Helsinki and by the main railway from Helsinki to Oulu. The town has a population of 15,093 (28 February 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,328.09 square kilometres (512.78 sq mi) of which 14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 11.49 inhabitants per square kilometre (29.8/sq mi).

Kauhava
Town
Kauhavan kaupunki
Kauhava stad
The Kauhava library
The Kauhava library
Coat of arms of Kauhava
Coat of arms
Location of Kauhava in Finland
Location of Kauhava in Finland
Coordinates: 63°06′N 023°04′E
Country Finland
RegionSouthern Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionSeinäjoki sub-region
Charter1867
City rights1986
Government
 • Town managerVesa Rantala
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,328.09 km2 (512.78 sq mi)
 • Land1,313.74 km2 (507.24 sq mi)
 • Water14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi)
 • Rank52nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-02-28)[2]
 • Total15,093
 • Rank72nd largest in Finland
 • Density11.49/km2 (29.8/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish98.8% (official)
 • Swedish0.5%
 • Others0.7%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1415.3%
 • 15 to 6455.4%
 • 65 or older29.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.kauhava.fi

The popular amusement park, PowerPark, is located in Alahärmä, Kauhava.[5]

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Geography

The surrounding country is flat and well suited to agriculture, alternating between fields and forests. The town probably takes its name from the small river which passes through it.

History

Kauhava was the home of the Finnish Training Air Wing from 1929 until the end of 2014.

The surrounding municipalities of Alahärmä, Kortesjärvi and Ylihärmä were consolidated with Kauhava on 1 January 2009.

Knife making

A traditional industry in Kauhava is knife making, and many Finns recognize the name of this small town because of knives made there. At one time, as many as five different knife-making enterprises were underway in the town, but today there is only one – Iisakki Järvenpää Oy, which has been making knives in Kauhava since 1879.

The puukko (one of the styles of Finnish knife) made in Kauhava are sometimes referred to as being in the Ostrobothnian style.

Each June sees the Kauhava International Knife Festival, lasting a couple of days and including knife exhibitions, knife making and knife throwing.

Museums

As with many Finnish localities, there are museums in Kauhava (Kauhava-Seura). One in the center of town features both the knifemaking tradition as well as the local textiles. An out-of-place fishing lure is one interesting feature of this museum. Another museum on the outskirts of Kauhava features the 19th century home and farm of Iisakin Jussi. It provides a view of late 19th century life in Western Finland. The Iisakin Jussi House is not open during the winter months.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kauhava is twinned with:

See also

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Preliminary population structure by area, 2022M01*-2023M02*". StatFin (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. PowerPark - Official website in English

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