Kultaranta

Naantali, Finland

Kultaranta (Golden beach) is the summer residence of the President of Finland. The granite manor house was built by Alfred Kordelin in 1913-16. Kordelin was an industrialist, businessman and one of the richest Finnish entrepreneurs of his time. He was kidnapped by a group of Red Guards and murdered by a Russian sailor on 7 November 1917. Kordelin was childless and the manor's ownership shifted to the University of Turku. In 1922, the Finnish Parliament voted to acquire it for use as the president's summer residence.

Kultaranta was designed by the famous architect Lars Sonck. It’s surrounded by 560,000 square metres of park, belonging to the property. The parks around the manor, containing approximately a thousand square metres of greenhouse and a garden with 3500 roses called Medaljonki ('medallion'), are open to the public. Tours in the garden are organised by the City of Naantali's tourist service.

Reference: Wikipedia

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Kordelininkatu, Naantali, Finland
See all sites in Naantali

Details

Founded: 1913-1916
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Finland
Historical period: Russian Grand Duchy (Finland)

More Information

www.naantalinmatkailu.fi
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Naantali Church (0,9 km)
Stenberga Castle Ruins (7,4 km)


Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova (15,2 km)
Turku Cathedral (15,4 km)
Turku Castle (13,1 km)
Forum Marinum (13,3 km)
Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum (15,4 km)
Vartiovuori Observatory (15,4 km)
Koroinen Church (15,8 km)
Lieto Old Castle (20,8 km)
Archangel Michael's church (13,8 km)

User Reviews

JF GARDAIRE (12 months ago)
Bon, nous n'avons pas pu prendre le café avec le président mais la visite était très intéressante et nos guides bilingues, voire trilingues étaient très agréables et disponibles
Aino Turunen (12 months ago)
Puutarha oli kaunis mut tosissaan voisi vähän enemmän panostaa opastukseen. Vaikutti että opas opetellut muutamat lauseet ulkoa eikä osannut mihinkään kysymyksiin vastata. Kokonaisuudessaan ainoa tieto minkä sai oli, että jokainen presidentti tuonut alueelle omia juttujaan. Ei pahemmin muuta. Aika pettymys..
Javier Campos (2 years ago)
Kultaranta, residencia veraniega de la presidenta del país, con grandes jardines llenos de flores (en verano).
Oki Ukkola (2 years ago)
e h (2 years ago)
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Best of Middle Rhine Valley, Germany
Photo from Flickr, copyright rick ligthelm

Historic Site of the week

Het Steen

Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp. Built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages as the first stone fortress of Antwerp, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building and used to be its oldest urban centre.

Previously known as Antwerpen Burcht (fortress), Het Steen gained its current name in around 1520, after significant rebuilding under Charles V. The fortress made it possible to control the access to the Scheldt, the river on whose bank it stands. It was used as a prison between 1303 and 1827. The largest part of the fortress, including dozens of historic houses and the oldest church of the city, was demolished in the 19th century when the quays were straightened to stop the silting up of the Scheldt. The remaining building, heavily changed, contains a shipping museum, with some old canal barges displayed on the quay outside.

In 1890 Het Steen became the museum of archeology and in 1952 an annex was added to house the museum of Antwerp maritime history, which in 2011 moved to the nearby Museum Aan de Stroom. Here you’ll also find a war memorial to the Canadian soldiers in WWII.

There are some beautiful plaques on the back side of the Steen Castle at Antwerp. Canadian visitors will especially want to see the plaques thanking the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry for their part in the liberation of Antwerp, in 1944.

At the entrance to Het Steen is a bas-relief of Semini, above the archway, around 2nd century. Semini is the Scandinavian God of youth and fertility (with symbolic phallus). A historical plaque near Het Steen explains that women of the town appealed to Semini when they desired children; the god was reviled by later religious clergy. Inhabitants of Antwerp previously referred to themselves as 'children of Semini'.

At the entrance bridge to the castle is a statue of a giant and two humans. It depicts the giant Lange Wapper who used to terrorise the inhabitants of the city in medieval times.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2019 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.