Southern Ostrobothnia - region of Finland

Southern Ostrobothnia (Etelä-Pohjanmaa) is a region of Western Finland. The region is made up of 18 municipalities. Southern Ostrobothnia is truly a region with many attractions and things to do for visitors. The regional center of Southern Ostrobothnia is Seinäjoki, with nearly 60 000 inhabitants.

Regions

• Seinäjoki region – Seinäjoki is the cultural center and biggest city of Southern Ostrobothnia. However neighbouring municipalities Ilmajoki and Isokyrö have longer history as a parish.
• Härmänmaa – Though now officially belonging to Seinäjoki sub-region, this area is known for being the area where knife-fighters (puukkojunkkarit) were most active in the 19th century.
• Järviseutu – Literally Lake region, Järviseutu has most prominent lakes in Southern Ostrobothnia, the biggest of them being Lappajärvi 📍 formed by a crater. Compared to the flatness of Southern Ostrobothnia, the eastern part of Järviseutu, is pretty hilly, especially Soini and parts of Alajärvi.
• Suupohja – Suupohja sub-region is mostly rural area it's only town being Kauhajoki.
• Kuusiokunnat – Southeastern part of Southern Ostrobothnia. Includes two rural towns and one municipality. Has Sports Resort in Kuortane and Zoo in Ähtäri.

Cities

Cities and towns in <span style="color:blue;">blue</span>, rural municipalities in <span style="color:red;">red</span>.

Seinäjoki region

• Seinäjoki
• Kurikka – a town located southwest of Seinäjoki neighbouring Ilmajoki. Jalasjärvi merged with Kurikka in 2016.
• Ilmajoki
• Isokyrö – joined South Ostrobothnia from Ostrobothnia region in 2021.

Härmänmaa

• Kauhava
• Lapua

Järviseutu

• Alajärvi
• Lappajärvi
• Soini
• Evijärvi
• Vimpeli

Suupohja

• Kauhajoki
• Isojoki
• Karijoki
• Teuva

Kuusiokunnat

• Alavus
• Ähtäri
• Kuortane

Get in

There are flights to Vaasa from Helsinki and Stockholm (check if they operate), and the main north-south railroad passes through Southern Ostrobothnia so you can easily get in from places like Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu and Rovaniemi. Buses going east or southeast from Vaasa pass through the region and there are also direct buses to Seinäjoki from Helsinki. There is also a ferry to Vaasa from Umeå, Sweden.

The following OnniBus.com route serves the province:

• M3 (Helsinki—Tampere—Seinäjoki—Vaasa)

Get around

Trains of national operator VR are possible to use for travelling inside province.

Matkahuolto has a dense bus network covering most of the province.

Onnibus offers discount bus service by few routes.

Google Maps includes timetables of trains, long distance buses and local transport of many cities and towns. Other useful route planners are Matka.fi for trains and local buses and Matkahuolto Reittiopas for regional buses.

By taxi

• Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Menevä, Taksini
• Keskustaksi offers taxi service in whole province
• Taksini, +358 100 84999. Also bookable by app. Fixed price based on calculated route and time if destination address given when booking by app or web. Flag fall M–Fri 06:00–20:00: €6.00, Sa 06:00–16:00: €6.00, other times and holidays: €9.20; 1–2 persons €1.66/km, 3-4 persons €1.95/km, 5-8 persons €2.30/km (July 2020) 2020-07-25

See

• Giant kettle Pirunpesä (Devil’s Nest). The deepest earth erosion in Europe, located in the village of Ylivalli, Jalasjärvi manucipality.
• Wildlife at Ähtäri Zoo.
• Alvar Aalto center, the administrative and cultural center of Seinäjoki, designed by Alvar Aalto in the late 1950s.
• Visit the small vodka museum in Koskenkorva, Ilmajoki
• Crater Lake Lappajärvi, created by meteorite impact 77 million years ago.

Do

• Dance tango at the yearly Tangomarkkinat festival in Seinäjoki.
• Be a race driver for a day at PowerPark in Kauhava.
• Shop until you drop at Keskinen's "village store" in Tuuri, Alavus.
• Watch the yearly athletics competition in Kuortane.

Festivals

• Nummirock, Kauhajoki. Month: June. Midsummer's metal festival in late June.
• Rytmiraide, Kurikka. Month: August. Jazz happening in the Old Station of Kurikka cin late August.

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Stay safe

The Southern Ostrobothnia region is generally a safe place. However, there are a few natural risk factors, including the floods that occur in spring due to melting snow and ice, because the region is a low-lying area with many rivers. Travellers are mainly affected through the effects on traffic, such as roads that are covered by water and possibly closed.

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