Tamminiemi

Tamminiemi (Swedish: Villa Ekudden) is a villa and house museum located in the Meilahti district of Helsinki, Finland. It was one of the three official residences of the President of Finland, from 1940 until 1981. From 1956, until his death, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. Since 1987, it has been the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It is located in a park by the sea. Tamminiemi's floor area is about 450 square metres (4,800 sq ft); living quarters comprise the first two floors while the third floor is dedicated to office space.[1]

Tamminiemi
Villa Ekudden
Tamminiemi in 2013
Location in Helsinki Tamminiemi (Finland)
Alternative names	Urho Kekkonen Museum
General information
Type	Museum (since 1987)
Architectural style	Jugend
Location	Helsinki, Finland
Address	Seurasaarentie 15
Coordinates	60.18963°N 24.88311°E
Current tenants	Urho Kekkonen Museum
Completed	1904
Opened	1987 (as a museum)
Renovated	2009–2012
Owner	Government of Finland
Technical details
Floor count	3
Floor area	450 square metres (4,800 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Sigurd Frosterus Gustaf Strengell
Website
Urho Kekkonen Museum

Designed by architects Sigurd Frosterus and Gustaf Strengell, the Jugendstil villa was built in 1904 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.

The sauna of Tamminiemi

Although Presidents Risto Ryti (1940–1944) and C. G. E. Mannerheim (1944–1946) did reside at Tamminiemi, while President J. K. Paasikivi preferred to use the Presidential Palace as his official residence during his presidency (1946–1956), the villa is particularly associated with President Kekkonen—due in large part to the fact that it was his official residence and home for around thirty years; during his period in office between 1956 and 1981, before becoming his private nursing home until his death in 1986.

In 1987, Tamminiemi was transformed into the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It is furnished the way it was in Kekkonen's time in the 1970s. In 1989, construction of the new presidential residence called Mäntyniemi started. An extensive renovation of Tamminiemi began in 2009 and was completed in 2012.[1] The renovation restored the original exterior colouring and decorative motifs of the 1904 villa. Building technology was renewed, interior surfaces were cleaned and broken spots repaired, while preserving the minor signs of age-related wear, emphasizing the patina of Urho Kekkonen's time.[2]

Tamminiemi also has a famous sauna in a separate building which Kekkonen built after being elected president in 1956. The sauna also includes a swimming pool and a recreation room with a fireplace. Kekkonen used the sauna facilities to entertain his domestic and foreign guests, including the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.[3] Nowadays the sauna can be rented for private events but availability is very restricted due to the sauna's cultural and historical value.

Presidents who have resided in Tamminiemi

• Risto Ryti (1940–1944)[4]
• Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1944–1946)[4]
• Urho Kekkonen (1956–1986)[4]

References

1. "Tamminiemi palautettiin Kekkosen valtakauden asuun". Projektiuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
2. "Tamminiemen avajaisissa kaikki neljä presidenttiä". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
3. "Tamminiemen saunassa". Yle.fi (in Finnish). 6 June 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
4. "Tamminiemen historiaa". Kansallismuseo. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

External links

• Urho Kekkonen Museum

Media related to Tamminiemi at Wikimedia Commons