Tamminiemi

About this site

The Tamminiemi villa, situated on the Meilahti villa area in Helsinki adjacent to Seurasaari, served as the official residence of President Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986) from 1956 to 1981 and as his private home from 1981 to 1986. Since then Tamminiemi has been the Urho Kekkonen Museum. The large, rendered main building, constructed as a private villa for year-round residential use in the early 20th century, stands on a fine plot by the seashore. In addition to the main building, the plot contains a wooden outbuilding which housed staff accommodation. At its end are a log-built sauna and an indoor swimming pool constructed for Urho Kekkonen. Next to the main gate is a guardhouse built in 1944, designed after the model of a garden pavilion erected approximately a hundred years earlier on the Tamminiemi grounds. Adjacent to the service gate is an unheated outbuilding constructed in the early 2010s. Until the 1880s Tamminiemi was part of the Meilahti manor park. The name Tamminiemi came into use in the 1940s when the villa passed into state ownership. Its Swedish equivalent Ekudden was given to the plot by the first villa's builder, Helsinki's municipal mayor Elias Åhman, in the 1880s. The manor park has, in addition to many other tree species, particularly on this section bordering the shore, had oak trees growing in it. The plot separated from the old manor park and gradually transformed into a villa garden was converted during the latter half of the 20th century into a park dominated by lawn, trees and shrubs. Tamminiemi's buildings underwent a comprehensive renovation in the early 2010s. The most outwardly visible change was the replacement of deteriorated render on the walls and the change of facade colour: the red colour used since 1974 was replaced with the walls' original colouring, a very pale pink with white and red details. The roof has always had a red tile covering. Tamminiemi is part of the nationally significant built cultural environment of Meilahti villa area (RKY site).

Official description (Museovirasto) — machine-translated from Finnish

Tamminiemi 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 to 1982. From 1956, until his death in 1986, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. Since 1987, it has been the Urho Kekkonen Museum. Tamminiemi is located in a park by the sea. Its 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.

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Municipality

Helsinki