Kultaranta

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File:SS Ukkopekka Kultaranta 1.jpg

Kultaranta residence of the President of Finland, in the year 2006.

Kultaranta (Swedish: Gullranda; lit. "Golden Beach") is the summer residence of the President of Finland. It is located in the district of Kultaranta on the island of Luonnonmaa, in Naantali. The granite manor house is surrounded by 560,000 square metres of park, belonging to the property.

The President of the Republic's summer residence, Kultaranta, stands in beautiful 54-hectare grounds in Naantali on the southwest coast. As well as the granite-built house, the complex includes numerous outbuildings and greenhouses, and a well-tended park.

Kultaranta's original owner was the businessman Alfred Kordelin, who had a manor house built for himself in 1914. It was designed by the famous architect, Lars Sonck. When Kordelin died in 1917 the manor's ownership shifted to the University of Turku and, in 1922, the Finnish Parliament voted to acquire it for use as the president's summer residence.

The ground floor contains the reception rooms and private apartments. Upstairs are the bedrooms and guestrooms. Marble steps lead from the ground floor to the tower, from which there is a magnificent view of Naantali and the inshore islands.

The parks around the manor, containing approximately a thousand square metres of greenhouse and a garden with 3,500 roses called Medaljonki ('medallion'), are open to the public. The scent and colour of these roses are at their peak in the middle of the summer, when the President and family and their guests come to Naantali for the holidays. Tours in the garden are organised by the City of Naantali's tourist service.

Kultaranta's Park has been described as a "mini-Versailles". The parkland to the north of Kultaranta is in practically a natural state, though a few sandy pathways have been built there, and the woodland is kept in good condition.

Kultaranta has about 1,000 square metres of greenhouses. The garden supplies the President's household with both flowers and vegetables all year round.

External links

• Kultaranta[1], with pictures (in English)