Tamminiemi

Tamminiemi (Villa Ekudden in Swedish), is a villa located in the Meilahti district of Helsinki. It 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. It is now the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It is located in a park by the sea. Tamminiemi's floor area is about 450 square metres. 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.