Kultaranta

The President of the Republic of Finland’s summer residence, Kultaranta, is located on the island of Luonnonmaa in Naantali.

History

Kultaranta and its garden were originally commissioned by the businessman Alfred Kordelin. After his death, Kultaranta was acquired by the Finnish government. On the highest point of the area stands the granite main building, designed by Lars Sonck in the National Romantic style and completed in 1916. The tower of the building offers magnificent views over Naantali and the nearby archipelago.

Buildings

In addition to the main building, Kultaranta has more than 40 buildings and structures within its 55-hectare grounds. There are 32 hectares of forest, and parkland covering 15 hectares, including around seven hectares of lawn. There is around half a hectare of cultivated fields and 1,000 square metres of greenhouses, supplying fruits, berries and vegetables as well as cut and summer flowers.

Garden

Kultaranta’s garden is one of Finland’s first and best-preserved formal gardens in the architectonic style, which includes, for example, trimmed shrubs and neoclassical garden buildings. The garden was designed by Svante Olsson, Helsinki’s first city gardener, and his son, Paul Olsson, a garden architect.

The garden is a combination of varied Finnish terrain, northern nature and European design ideals. The original archipelago nature can be seen in the rocky slopes and old pine trees. In connection with a restoration of the park in the 1960s, a modernist new section, Ketju (Chain), designed by landscape architect Maj-Lis Rosenbröijer, was added to the formal garden.

Renovation of Kultaranta

The main phase of the renovation of Kultaranta has began on 1 September 2022. Due to the renovation, Kultaranta’s park and main building will be out of service in 2023–2024.