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 (2 years 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 (2 years 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 (2 years 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 (3 years ago)
Stopped by the cafe which is nice. Good views of the water.

Senne Marquenie (3 years ago)
I had no idea president Kekkonen was such a style icon. Definitely worth a visit.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Klearchos Kapoutsis

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