Ylivieska

Ylivieska (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈyliˌʋie̯skɑ]) is a town and municipality of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. It has a population of 15,375 (30 June 2025),^[2] and it serves as the administrative centre for Kalajokilaakso and Pyhäjokilaakso, an area with a population of about 90,000 inhabitants. Ylivieska is also the commercial center of the Oulu South region, the southern part of the late Oulu province.

Ylivieska, Finland
Town
Ylivieskan kaupunki Ylivieska stad
The second oldest concrete bridge in Finland, built in 1912 and named humorously as Savisilta ("clay bridge") is located in Ylivieska.
Coat of arms
Location of Ylivieska in Finland
Coordinates: 64°04.5′N 024°32′E
Country	Finland
Region	North Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Ylivieska
Charter	1867
Market town	1965
City rights	1971
Government
• Town manager	Maria Sorvisto
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	573.42 km2 (221.40 sq mi)
• Land	569.83 km2 (220.01 sq mi)
• Water	4.56 km2 (1.76 sq mi)
• Rank	150th largest in Finland
Population  (2025-06-30)[2]
• Total	15,375
• Rank	71st largest in Finland
• Density	26.98/km2 (69.9/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	97.4% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	2.4%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	21%
• 15 to 64	58.6%
• 65 or older	20.5%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.ylivieska.fi/en/

The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The word Yli means "upper", while the word Vieska is supposed to mean a "shallow ford".^[5]

Geography

Ylivieska is located in Northern Ostrobothnia about 130 kilometres (80 mi) south of the city of Oulu. Other close cities near Ylivieska are Vaasa (199 km or 124 mi) and Kokkola (79 km or 49 mi); the neighbouring municipalities are Oulainen, Haapavesi, Nivala, Sievi, Kalajoki, Alavieska and Merijärvi.

The town is characterized by the Kalajoki River, which runs SE–NW through the town centre. The agricultural and economical area of the Kalajoki river basin is known as Kalajokilaakso.

Ylivieska is situated along the Ostrobothnia railway, which leads from Helsinki, the national capital, to Rovaniemi in the north of the country. The railway was opened in 1886 and it has had a significant role in the town's economical development. Ylivieska is junction station with services to Iisalmi and other Eastern Finland. There are also coach services to Jyväskylä and Kajaani.

Climate

Ylivieska has a subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc).

Climate data for Ylivieska
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−5.3 (22.5)	−4.1 (24.6)	0.6 (33.1)	7.3 (45.1)	14.1 (57.4)	18.6 (65.5)	21.2 (70.2)	19.3 (66.7)	13.7 (56.7)	6.2 (43.2)	0.9 (33.6)	−2.8 (27.0)	7.5 (45.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−7.7 (18.1)	−7.1 (19.2)	−3.4 (25.9)	3.0 (37.4)	9.4 (48.9)	14.2 (57.6)	16.9 (62.4)	14.8 (58.6)	9.7 (49.5)	3.6 (38.5)	−0.9 (30.4)	−4.9 (23.2)	4.0 (39.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−10.5 (13.1)	−10.4 (13.3)	−7.6 (18.3)	−1.6 (29.1)	3.9 (39.0)	8.6 (47.5)	11.7 (53.1)	10.1 (50.2)	5.9 (42.6)	1.0 (33.8)	−2.9 (26.8)	−7.2 (19.0)	0.1 (32.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	38.6 (1.52)	34.6 (1.36)	29.3 (1.15)	35.6 (1.40)	55.6 (2.19)	68.2 (2.69)	85.7 (3.37)	84.1 (3.31)	60.4 (2.38)	58.3 (2.30)	49.7 (1.96)	47.6 (1.87)	647.7 (25.5)
Source: Weather.Directory[6]

History

Ylivieska is the home of a spreading agricultural technology called moist grain crimping, developed in the late 1960s by two local brothers.

Its church burned down on 26 March 2016.

Economy

Kärkkäinen discount store in Ylivieska

Employment by industry (2005)

• Services 66.1%
• Industry 28.5%
• Agriculture and forestry 5.4%
• Unemployment 11%

Agriculture and animal husbandry, mainly milking cows, used to be the main sources of livelihood in Ylivieska. In recent decades, the role of agriculture has reduced following the development of industry and services. Currently, Ylivieska is home to about 30 industrial enterprises, some of which are also internationally recognized in their respective niche markets.

Regionally, Ylivieska has become an important place for car buyers. There are several stores and agents selling new and used cars, and purchases average about 6,000 cars per year. Thus, the local car sales entrepreneurs have created the concept of Ylivieska being the "Autolaakso" or "car valley" of the Kalajokilaakso and neighbouring regions.

Culture

The Ylivieska City Library operates through the library building, the bookmobile, the home library and the Joki Libraries online library and other offices.^[7]

The Culture Center Akustiikka is a cultural center in the town center. There is a 405-seat concert hall, an exhibition hall, a recording studio, and meeting and video conference rooms. There are many different concerts and events in Akustiikka, 15 exhibitions a year in the exhibition hall. Akustiikka also serves as Ylivieska's cinema.^[8]

The Pro Ylivieska Medal is a recognition given to a person or community in Ylivieska in recognition of merit in the field of science, sports, art or other cultural work for long-term and significant work in society or significant national achievements.^[9]

The Home Region Museum of Ylivieska features traditional countryside lifestyle, some old buildings, and as a curiosity, a 700-piece collection of milk jugs, with jugs from 15 countries.

The specialty foods of Ylivieska are maitorieska, a simple flat bread made of barley flour, milk and salt, and pepu, which has the same ingredients as the maitorieska, but instead of being formed into flat breads and baked, is boiled and pan fried. At the neighbouring municipality Sievi, a specialty food is mutti [fi], which is unfried pepu.

Notable people

President Kyösti Kallio

• Kyösti Kallio (1873–1940), the 4th President of Finland, was born in Ylivieska.
• Hannu Kivioja (born 1963), actor
• Juha Kärkkäinen (born 1967), owner of Kärkkäinen (chain store), which started in Ylivieska, and recipient of the Pro Ylivieska medal in 2014.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — sister cities

Ylivieska is twinned with:^[10]

• Voss, Norway

Friendship

• Viimsi, Estonia

See also

• Ylivieska Airfield
• Ylivieska railway station
• Alavieska