Seinäjoki
Seinäjoki | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Seinäjoen kaupunki Seinäjoki stad | |
Location of Seinäjoki in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°47.5′N 022°50.5′E / 62.7917°N 22.8417°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | South Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Seinäjoki |
| Charter | 1868 |
| Market town | 1931 |
| Town | 1960 |
| Government | |
| • City manager | Jaakko Kiiskilä |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• City | 1,469.23 km2 (567.27 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,431.77 km2 (552.81 sq mi) |
| • Water | 37.59 km2 (14.51 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 52.78 km2 (20.38 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 48th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• City | 66,738 |
| • Rank | 16th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 46.61/km2 (120.7/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 46,639 |
| • Urban density | 883.6/km2 (2,289/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 94.4% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Others | 5.3% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 17.1% |
| • 15 to 64 | 62.5% |
| • 65 or older | 20.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Seinäjoki (Finnish: [ˈsei̯næˌjoki] ⓘ; lit. "Wall River"; Latin: Wegelia, formerly Swedish: Östermyra) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the River Seinäjoki. The population of Seinäjoki is approximately 67,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 132,000. It is the 16th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 13th most populous urban area in the country.
Seinäjoki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Vaasa, 178 kilometres (111 mi) north of Tampere, 193 kilometres (120 mi) west of Jyväskylä and 324 kilometres (201 mi) southwest of Oulu.
Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bruk iron and gunpowder factories founded in 1798. Seinäjoki became a municipality in 1868, a market town in 1931, and a town in 1960. In 2005, the municipality of Peräseinäjoki was merged into Seinäjoki, and at the start of 2009, the neighbouring municipalities of Nurmo and Ylistaro were amalgamated with Seinäjoki. The city itself is growing steadily from year to year, but the population of the surrounding municipalities is correspondingly decreasing.
The city hall, city library, Lakeuden Risti Church and other public buildings were designed by Alvar Aalto. Seinäjoki was historically called Östermyra in Swedish. Today, this name, which was never official, is very seldom used even among Swedish speakers. Seinäjoki Airport is located in the neighbouring municipality of Ilmajoki, 11 kilometres (10 mi) south from the Seinäjoki city centre. Seinäjoki railway station in city centre was opened in 1883 and until 1897, it carried the name Ostermyra station.