Kesäranta
History
History
-------

### Pre\-government ownership

Kesäranta was built in 1873 as the summer villa of architect [Frans Ludvig Calonius](/wiki/Frans_Ludvig_Calonius "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](/wiki/Carl_Robert_Ignatius "Carl Robert Ignatius"), a cashier at the [Bank of Finland](/wiki/Bank_of_Finland "Bank of Finland"), the building was altered to the designs of [Elia Heikel](/wiki/Elia_Heikel "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](/wiki/Governor-General_of_Finland "Governor-General of Finland"). Architect [Jac Ahrenberg](/wiki/Jac_Ahrenberg "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](/wiki/Franz_Albert_Seyn "Franz Albert Seyn").

### Kesäranta during Finnish independence

Following Finland's [declaration of its independence](/wiki/Finnish_Declaration_of_Independence "Finnish Declaration of Independence") in 1917 and the [Finnish Civil War](/wiki/Finnish_Civil_War "Finnish Civil War") in 1918, the German general [Rüdiger von der Goltz](/wiki/R%C3%BCdiger_von_der_Goltz "Rüdiger von der Goltz") lived in Kesäranta briefly. [Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim](/wiki/Carl_Gustaf_Emil_Mannerheim "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](/wiki/Finnish_Government "Finnish 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](/wiki/Aimo_Cajander "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.


What changes were made to the building in 1887?