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 15,514 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.
The popular amusement park, PowerPark, is located in Alahärmä, Kauhava.
Culture
Events
During the day of April, the Finnish Championships of Lying will be held in Kortesjärvi, Kauhava. In the area of PowerPark and LSK Business Park, many events are organized, e.g. FHRA acceleration races, the Power Truck Show as well as various trade fairs and hobby events. Traditional summer events include Knife Festivals and Härmälääset Häjyylyt, PowerPark Midsummer and Nordic King.
Attractions
- Fouga statue
- Hawk statue
- Isaac Jussi’s living room
- Fish croft
- Powerpark
- Knife Museum
- Saaremaa observation tower
- Finnish Jaeger Museum
Food
In the 1980s , Kauhava’s parish was named a meatball with pork , peas, carrots, barley groats and pieces of bread cheese .
Sports
Pentti Nikula jumped the pole vault world record in Kauhava in 1962. The martial art of Han Moo Don is considered to be the first home of Kauhava.
A new racetrack near the PowerPark in Auhärmä, Kauhava , was completed in 2016. Nordic King Midsummer races are held annually.
Kauhava sports clubs
- Alahärmän Kisa
- Hela-Kiekko
- Kauhava Cannons
- Kauhava Riding Club
- Kauhavan Wisa
- Lake Kortesjärvi Lake-Veikot
- Lake Mortit of Kortesjärvi
- White Fox
- Ylihärmän Junkkari
- Ylihärmän Pesis-Junkkarit
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.
Geography and history
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.
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.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
