Finland Guide
Helsinki and the south
Kekkonen Museum
Opening time: Mid-May to mid-Aug daily 11am–5pm; mid-Aug to mid-May Wed– Sun 11am–5pm
Price: €5, includes guided tour
Website: www.nba.fi
Address: Seurasaari
A long driveway leads to the Urho Kekkonen Museum at Tamminiemi, the villa where the esteemed president lived until his death in 1986. Whether they love him or loathe him, few Finns would deny the vital role Kekkonen played in Finnish history, most significantly by continuing the work of his predecessor, Paasikivi, in the establishment of Finnish neutrality. He accomplished this largely through delicate negotiations with Soviet leaders – whose favour he would gain, so legend has it, by taking them to his sauna (open for viewing in summer only) – narrowly averting major crises and seeing off the threat of a Soviet invasion on two separate occasions. Kekkonen often conducted official business here rather than at the Presidential Palace in the city, yet the feel of the place is far from institutional, with a light and very Finnish character, filled with birchwood furniture, its large windows giving peaceful views of surrounding trees, water and wildlife.