Kultaranta, Naantali, Finland

Kultaranta (Golden beach) is the summer residence of the President of Finland. The granite manor house was built by Alfred Kordelin in 1913-16. Kordelin was an industrialist, businessman and one of the richest Finnish entrepreneurs of his time. He was kidnapped by a group of Red Guards and murdered by a Russian sailor on 7 November 1917. Kordelin was childless and the manor's ownership shifted to the University of Turku. In 1922, the Finnish Parliament voted to acquire it for use as the president's summer residence.

Kultaranta was designed by the famous architect Lars Sonck. It’s surrounded by 560,000 square metres of park, belonging to the property. The parks around the manor, containing approximately a thousand square metres of greenhouse and a garden with 3500 roses called Medaljonki ('medallion'), are open to the public. Tours in the garden are organised by the City of Naantali's tourist service.

Reference: Wikipedia

User Reviews

Charles Beresford (2 years ago)
Was a great privilege to visit the summer home of Finland's president. Beautiful place and relaxing environment, even though you have small window of time there and feel like you are entering a secure compound you do feel like you entered the grounds of the Whitehouse. Also don't be freaked out if you see plain clothed men in bushes they are the security police watching your every move. ☺️

Sami L (2 years ago)
5/5

Niko Sipola (3 years ago)
Closed often and at winter, but looks cozy from distance

Mikko Immonen (3 years ago)
The tour around the park is recommended!

Dmitry Cherkas (3 years ago)
Very nice park with awesome atmosphere you 100% like if will stop for a second, hold your breath, close your yeas... Sorry, but my bad pictures not even touch that feeling... need to come and try yourself!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright bialobrody

Historic Site of the week

Strekov Castle

Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.

Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.

Kultaranta

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Strekov Castle