The West Coast of Finland is a geographically flat region bordering the Gulf of Bothnia. Being the westernmost part of Finland, this is where western influences such as Christianity first arrived in Finland. As a result of this, here you can find some of Finland's oldest cities and towns as well as a sizable part of the country's Swedish-speaking minority. This article comprises the pre-1997 Turku and Pori as well as Vaasa provinces.
- Turku./Åbo: the former capital city of Finland
- Naantali./Nådendal: Moomin World, amusement park dedicated to the Moomin characters
- Rauma./Raumo, beautifully preserved old town which is on the UNESCO world heritage list
- Pori./Björneborg
- Vaasa./Vasa
- Kokkola./Karleby
- Seinäjoki.
- Pietarsaari./Jakobstad
- Kristiinankaupunki./Kristinestad
Turku./Åbo: the former capital city of Finland
Naantali./Nådendal: Moomin World, amusement park dedicated to the Moomin characters
Rauma./Raumo, beautifully preserved old town which is on the UNESCO world heritage list
Pori./Björneborg
Vaasa./Vasa
Kokkola./Karleby
Seinäjoki.
Pietarsaari./[[Jakobstad]]
Kristiinankaupunki./[[Kristinestad]]
- Närpes. (Närpiö), tomato capital of Finland with their own special Swedish dialect
Närpes. (Närpiö), tomato capital of Finland with their own special Swedish dialect
The West Coast is a region with long-standing agricultural traditions. The southwest is the "breadbasket of Finland". Vast expanses of flat land with cultivated fields characterize the Ostrobothnian (Finnish: Pohjanmaa, Swedish: Österbotten) region, in obvious contrast to the heavily forested inland Finland. Coastal traditions, fishing and boating are also a part of the tourism scene in the region. As an exception, the hinterlands of Satakunta between Pori and Tampere are densely forested, sparsely populated and can be relatively hard to reach.
In Finnish ethnography, the west coast does not form a unified entity, but is divided between Ostrobothnia and the Southwest, which have different dialects. Furthermore, in the inland, there is a small region of Savo dialect speakers (savolaiskiila) in southeastern Ostrobothnia and Häme dialect speakers in eastern Satakunta. Owing to old traditions of agricultural land ownership, both cultures place a high value on honesty, the Protestant work ethic and property ownership. Distinctively, as compared to the rest of Finland, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises that result in a high level of economic development. Religious awakening or revival movements with a lay preacher tradition, such as Laestadianism, are particularly popular in the Ostrobothnia region.
A second major feature of the region are the Swedish-speakers. Swedish-speakers are often in the majority in the countryside along the coasts, and much of the archipelago is more or less exclusively Swedish-speaking. Cities and towns are bilingual with Finnish as the majority language, with the exception of some small towns in Ostrobothnia like Kristinestad, Jakobstad and Nykarleby, and Pargas in Finland Proper, where Swedish is the majority language.
The region Ostrobothnia, as well as the southern archipelago (bordering to Åland), has a Swedish speaking majority. Also Turku is bilingual, with the only Swedish university in Finland.
- Turku castle and cathedral.
- The old town of Rauma, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Bronze Age burial site in Sammallahdenmäki, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Kvarken Archipelago, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Giant kettle Pirunpesä in Jalasjärvi, the deepest earth erosion in Europe.
- The plains of Southern Ostrobothnia.
- Kultaranta, the summer residence of the President of Finland in Naantali.
- Alvar Aalto center, the administrative and cultural center of Seinäjoki, designed by Alvar Aalto in the late 1950s.
- Sail around the archipelago near Turku.
- Go swimming at Yyteri sand beach near Pori.
- Enjoy music at Finland's oldest rock festival Ruisrock in Turku each July.
- Meet the characters from the Moomin stories in the theme park Muumimaailma in Naantali and relax at the Naantali Spa.
- Dance tango at the yearly Tangomarkkinat festival in Seinäjoki.
- Celebrate the ending of the summer cottage season with fireworks in Kokkola.
- Watch a local hockey derby in Rauma or Pori
The Archipelago Sea is, unsurprisingly, famous for seafood dishes. Also, juice and jam of sea buckthorn (Finnish: tyrni) is generally associated with the West Coast. A fast food speciality from Pori (available elsewhere in the country too) is porilainen — a kind of a "hamburger" made with two slices of white bread, between them a thick slice of sausage and onion dices, pickled cucumber, ketchup and mustard.