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Vörå

Coordinates: 63°08′N 022°15′E / 63.133°N 22.250°E / 63.133; 22.250
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Vörå
Vörå – Vöyri
Municipality
Vörå kommun
Vöyrin kunta
Coat of arms of Vörå
Coat of arms
Location of Vörå in Finland
Location of Vörå in Finland
Coordinates: 63°08′N 022°15′E / 63.133°N 22.250°E / 63.133; 22.250
Country Finland
RegionOstrobothnia
Sub-regionVaasa
Charter1868 (Vörå)
Re-established2007 (Vörå-Maxmo)
Re-established2011 (Vörå)
Government
 • Municipal managerJan Finne
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total
1,499.91 km2 (579.12 sq mi)
 • Land782.13 km2 (301.98 sq mi)
 • Water718.6 km2 (277.5 sq mi)
 • Rank107th largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-12-31)[2]
 • Total
6,209
 • Rank149th largest in Finland
 • Density7.94/km2 (20.6/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Swedish80.9% (official)
 • Finnish12.2%
 • Others6.9%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.vora.fi

Vörå (Finland Swedish: [ˈvœːro]; Finnish: Vöyri; Finnish: [ˈʋøy̯ri]) is a municipality in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Vörå is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Vaasa and about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Kokkola. The population of Vörå is approximately 6,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 111,000. It is the 149th most populous municipality in Finland.

Vörå is a bilingual municipality with Swedish and Finnish as its official languages. The population consists of 12% Finnish speakers, 81% Swedish speakers, and 7% speakers of other languages.

Etymology

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The name Vörå was first mentioned in documents in 1367 and the parish of Vörå was first mentioned in 1443. The parish name has been the subject of both historical and toponymy research since at least 1734. It has been debated whether the name is originally Swedish Vörå or Finnish Vöyri and what the basis for the name was. The parish of Vörå is located on a historical language border. Its village names and many family names are undoubtedly of Finnish origin. It is estimated that the population only became Swedish during the 16th century. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the parish name itself is of Finnish origin. Lars Huldén believed that the original name is Finnish and one-part, possibly derived from the word vieru. Its diphthong reverts to a long e and is seen in the old spelling Weru. Huldén believed that the factual basis for the name was it's topography: an edge, a cliff, or a place from which the earth has rolled away.[6]

History

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Former coat of arms of Vörå

The first church in Vörå was built in the Middle Ages. The church was built on the hill in the early 16th century, and the current church was completed in 1627.[7]

The current church in 2017

The oldest livelihoods of the people of Vörå were agriculture, fishing and sailing. In the 18th century, tar making also became common. Agriculture developed considerably in the 19th century, when the municipality began to industrialize.[7]

The Battle of Oravais during the Finnish War (1808-1809) took place in Vörå on 14 September 1808.[8]

The former municipality called Old Vörå had a population of 3,524 (2003) and covered an area of 427.50 square kilometres (165.06 sq mi) of which 2.38 square kilometres (0.92 sq mi) is water. The population density was 8.3 inhabitants per km2. The majority were speakers of Swedish (85%) and the minority speakers of Finnish (14%).[8] In 2011, Vörå was formed by merging the municipalities of Vörå-Maxmo and Oravais.[9] Vörå-Maxmo, in turn, was established in 2007 by merging the municipalities of (old) Vörå and Maxmo.

Economy

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As an economic region, Vörå belongs to the Vaasa sub-region, whose regional gross domestic product per capita was €47,978 in 2022. The regional GDP is higher than the national average and the 11th largest among the regions.[10]

As of 2014, primary industries in Vörå employ "15.5 per cent of the population, 32.9 per cent of people work in the industrial sector, and 50.3 per cent of people work in the service sector."[8]

Education

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Vörå idrottsgymnasium, a Swedish-language sports high school, operates at the Campus Norrvalla camp center in Vörå.[11]

Culture

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Vörå has its own Swedish dialect, which is part of the Ostrobothnian Swedish dialects.[12]

In the 1980s, a clot soup called vöråsoppan was named the traditional dish of Vörå.[13]

Notable people

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KAJ, a music group from Vörå

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Population increased most in Uusimaa in 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 23 January 2025. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "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.
  6. ^ Paikkala, Sirkka (2007). Suomalainen paikannimikirja (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Institute for the Languages of Finland. p. 521. ISBN 978-951-593-976-0.
  7. ^ a b Rikkinen, Kalevi; Sihvo, Hannes (1986). Finlandia: Otavan iso maammekirja 7 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Otava. ISBN 951-1-08930-7.
  8. ^ a b c "Discovering Swedish-speaking municipalities: Vörå". www.helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. ^ "1.1.2011 yhdistyvien kuntien uudet nimet". Kunnat.net (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Bruttokansantuote asukasta kohden alueittain, vuosittain, 2000-2022" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Vörå samgymnasium – Vörå idrottsgymnasium". Vorasamgymnasium.fi. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Äldre inspelning från Vörå (1962)". Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. 1962.
  13. ^ Kolmonen, Jaakko (1988). Kotomaamme ruoka-aitta: Suomen, Karjalan ja Petsamon pitäjäruoat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Patakolmonen. ISBN 951-96047-3-1.
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Media related to Vörå at Wikimedia Commons Vörå travel guide from Wikivoyage

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