Kauhava
Town
Kauhavan kaupunki Kauhava stad
The Kauhava library
Coat of arms
Location of Kauhava in Finland
Coordinates: 63°06′N 023°04′E / 63.100°N 23.067°E / 63.100; 23.067
Country	Finland
Region	Southern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Seinäjoki sub-region
Charter	1867
City rights	1986
Government
• Town manager	Vesa Rantala
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,328.09 km2 (512.78 sq mi)
• Land	1,313.85 km2 (507.28 sq mi)
• Water	14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi)
• Rank	52nd largest in Finland
Population  (2024-10-31)[2]
• Total	15,076
• Rank	73rd largest in Finland
• Density	11.47/km2 (29.7/sq mi)
Population by native language [2]
• Finnish	94% (official)
• Swedish	0.7%
• Others	5.4%
Population by age [3]
• 0 to 14	15.3%
• 15 to 64	55.4%
• 65 or older	29.4%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.kauhava.fi

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 15,076 (31 October 2024)^[2] 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.^[1] The population density is 11.47 inhabitants per square kilometre (29.7/sq mi).

The popular amusement park, PowerPark, is located in Alahärmä, Kauhava.^[5]

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

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.^{[citation needed]}

The surrounding municipalities of Alahärmä, Kortesjärvi and Ylihärmä were consolidated with Kauhava on 1 January 2009.

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.^{[citation needed]}

The puukko (one of the styles of Finnish knife) made in Kauhava are sometimes referred to as being in the Ostrobothnian style.^{[citation needed]}

Each June sees the Kauhava International Knife Festival, lasting a couple of days and including knife exhibitions, knife making and knife throwing.^{[citation needed]}

As with many Finnish localities, there are museums in Kauhava (Kauhava-Seura). One in the center of town features both the knifemaking tradition as well as the local textiles. An out-of-place fishing lure is one interesting feature of this museum. Another museum on the outskirts of Kauhava features the 19th century home and farm of Iisakin Jussi. It provides a view of late 19th century life in Western Finland. The Iisakin Jussi House is not open during the winter months.^{[citation needed]}

Kauhava is twinned with:

• Rapla, Estonia
• Rygge, Norway
• Skærbæk, Denmark
• Vimmerby Municipality, Sweden
• Þorlákshöfn, Iceland

• Finnish national road 19
• Jussi Pernaa, professional ice hockey player born in Kauhava

Media related to Kauhava at Wikimedia Commons

• Town of Kauhava — Official website