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Kesäranta Villa Bjälbo
Kesäranta is the residence of the Prime Minister of Finland.
KesärantaLocation in Helsinki, Finland.
General information
Status	In use
Type	Official residence
Address	Kesärannantie 1 00250 Helsinki
Town or city	Helsinki
Country	Finland
Coordinates	60°11′04″N 24°54′22″E / 60.184544°N 24.906152°E / 60.184544; 24.906152
Current tenants	Prime Minister of Finland
Completed	1873
Inaugurated	1904
Owner	Finnish Government
Technical details
Floor count	2
Website
valtioneuvosto.fi/en

Kesäranta (lit. 'summer shore', Swedish: Villa Bjälbo) is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Finland, located in Helsinki in the neighborhood of Meilahti, overlooking Seurasaarenselkä.

The residence is owned by the Finnish Government through Senate Properties. The Meilahti neighborhood where Kesäranta is located is a zone of prohibited airspace.

History

Pre-government ownership

Kesäranta was built in 1873 as the summer villa of architect Frans Ludvig Calonius, under the Swedish name, Bjälbo. At the time of its construction, Meilahti lay outside the boundaries of Helsinki. Initially, Kesäranta was a two-storey wooden villa, but in 1887, after it was acquired by Carl Robert Ignatius, a cashier at the Bank of Finland, the building was altered to the designs of Elia Heikel, who added a 20-metre tower and a bayside veranda to the building.

Finland's Governor-General's residence

In 1904, Kesäranta was purchased by the State to serve as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Finland. Architect Jac Ahrenberg was commissioned to make the necessary changes to the building and its furnishings. A new kitchen wing was attached to the main building and a glazed veranda was built on to the side of the building facing the sea. The villa served as the summer residence of Governor-Generals Obolenski, Gerhard, Boeckmann, and Seyn.

Kesäranta during Finnish independence

Following Finland's declaration of its independence in 1917 and the Finnish Civil War in 1918, the German general Rüdiger von der Goltz lived in Kesäranta briefly. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim also used Kesäranta as an occasional residence during his term as Regent, or Protector of State, from 1918 to 1919.

Since 1919, Kesäranta has served as the Prime Minister's official residence.

In the summertime, the government holds its informal evening sessions at Kesäranta. These take place on Wednesday evenings and date back to the 1930s, when Prime Minister Aimo Cajander adopted the practice of inviting ministers to Kesäranta to discuss and prepare matters to be handled in the Government plenary session on Thursday.

A thorough renovation of the main building took place first in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. The main building was restored to look as it did in the beginning of the century, including the rebuilding of the tower and the veranda, which had been removed in the 1950s. The courtyard of Kesäranta includes a seaside sauna, a maintenance building, a guard's house, a pavilion, a jetty, and a tennis court.

In 2017, a blue sign reading "100" was installed on the yard of Kesäranta to commemorate the centennial year of Finnish independence.

Prime ministers who have resided in Kesäranta

• Aimo Cajander
• Jukka Rangell
• Edwin Linkomies
• Urho Kekkonen
• Mauno Koivisto
• Esko Aho
• Paavo Lipponen
• Matti Vanhanen
• Mari Kiviniemi
• Sanna Marin
• Petteri Orpo

See also

• Kultaranta
• Mäntyniemi
• Tamminiemi
• Prime Minister of Finland
• Finnish Government
• Politics of Finland

References

1. "Where is flying prohibited?". Droneinfo | Finnish Transport Safety Agency. 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
2. "Prime Minister's Official Residence". Valtioneuvosto. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
3. "Meilahden huvila-alueen ympäristöhistoriallinen selvitys, osa II: Huvilapalstat" (PDF). Maisemasuunnittelu Hemgård. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
4. ^ "Harvoin tarjolla: 900 m² Helsingissä, rantasauna". Suomen Kuvalehti. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
5. ^ "Pääministerin virka-asunnon korjaustyöt valmistuivat". 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
6. "Kiviniemi muuttaa perheineen Kesärantaan". Keskisuomalainen. 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
7. "Pääministerin painajainen". Helsingin Sanomat. December 4, 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
8. "Pääministeriksi nouseva Orpo muuttaa Kesärantaan – paljastaa nyt puolisonsa reaktion". 19 June 2023.

60°11′05″N 24°54′22″E / 60.18468°N 24.90600°E / 60.18468; 24.90600

v t e Helsinki Cityscape
Buildings	Parliament Helsinki Central railway station Helsinki City Hall Old Market Hall Library Oodi Majakka Olympic Stadium Pasilan linkkitorni Presidential Palace Mäntyniemi Kesäranta
Places of worship	Temppeliaukio Church Helsinki Cathedral Uspenski Cathedral St. Henry's Cathedral St. John's Church St. Mary's Church St. Paul's Church Mikael Agricola Church Holy Trinity Church Church of Christ Finnish Methodist Church Luther Church Old Church Kallio Church Kulosaari Church Suomenlinna Church Töölö Church Viikki Church Kamppi Chapel
Monuments and memorials	Statue of Alexander II Sibelius Monument Aleksis Kivi Memorial Statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg Freemason's Grave Hietaniemi Cemetery Three Smiths Statue Equestrian statue of Marshal Mannerheim East and West Eino Leino Statue The Stone of the Empress Havis Amanda The Lantern Bearers
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Islands	Harakka Korkeasaari Kulosaari Lammassaari Lauttasaari Liuskasaari Lonna Mustikkamaa Pihlajasaari Santahamina Suomenlinna Seurasaari Tervasaari Vallisaari
City squares	Eliel Square Erottaja Hakaniemi Market Square Helsinki Railway Square Senate Square Hietalahdentori Market Square Tallinnanaukio Viiskulma Töölöntori
Tourist attractions	Allas Sea Pool Korkeasaari Zoo Linnanmäki Löyly SkyWheel Helsinki Suomenlinna
Hotels	Clarion Hotel Helsinki Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa Hotel Kämp Hotel Marski Hotel Torni Palace Hotel
Museums	Art museums Finnish National Gallery Ateneum Kiasma Sinebrychoff Art Museum Amos Rex Cygnaeus Gallery Didrichsen Art Museum Helsinki Art Museum Kirpilä Art Collection Kunsthalle Helsinki Other museums Design Museum Finnish Museum of Natural History Helsinki City Museum Helsinki University Museum Hotel and Restaurant Museum Mannerheim Museum Military Museum of Finland Museum of Finnish Architecture Museum of Technology National Museum of Finland Natural History Museum of Helsinki Seurasaari Tamminiemi
Performing arts	Theatres Alexander Theatre Finnish National Opera Finnish National Theatre Helsinki City Theatre Swedish Theatre Music venues Helsinki Music Centre Finlandia Hall Kaivohuone Kulttuuritalo Tavastia Club
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• Official residences in Finland
• Buildings and structures in Helsinki
• Prime ministerial residences
• Meilahti
• Houses completed in 1873