Tamminiemi, Helsinki, Finland

Tamminiemi villa was one of the official residences of the President of Finland from 1940 until 1981. From that date, until his death, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. Designed by architects Sigurd Frosterus and Gustaf Strengell, the jugendstil villa was built in 1903 for the Danish-born businessman Jörgen Nissen. The villa was later owned or rented by a number of individuals, before being acquired by the publisher and artistic patron Amos Anderson in 1924. Anderson donated Tamminiemi to the Finnish State in 1940, to serve as a presidential residence.

Although Presidents Ryti and Mannerheim resided at Tamminiemi, the villa is particularly associated with President Kekkonen - due in large part to the fact that it was his home for around thirty years. President Paasikivi preferred to use the Presidential Palace as his official residence during his presidency. Tamminiemi also has a famous sauna which president Kekkonen used to entertain his guests.

Today Tamminiemi is the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It’s closed due to renovation and will open in 2012.

Reference: Wikipedia

User Reviews

Ville Ojajärvi (16 months ago)
There is a nice cafe behind the actual building in front of the sauna, take time to go there and just sit and imagine that You are Kekkonen.

Juho Äännevaara (16 months ago)
Do you want to see how and where thr Finnish presidents lived until Urho Kaleva Kekkonen? This is your chance to take a look into their life.

dread kev (22 months ago)
After visitings Kekkonens place we ate some runeberg cake and hot chocolate while watching the guys fish in the ice. Nice cozy place.

Justin Cook (2 years ago)
Stopped by the cafe which is nice. Good views of the water.

Senne Marquenie (2 years ago)
I had no idea president Kekkonen was such a style icon. Definitely worth a visit.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

Tamminiemi

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

Bengtskär Lighthouse