Kesäranta

Kesäranta (in Swedish Villa Bjälbo) is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Finland. It is located in the Meilahti area of Helsinki, overlooking a bay on the north-west side of the city. The Finnish name Kesäranta means "summer shore". The residence is owned by the Finnish state through Senate Properties.

Designed and built in 1873 as the summer villa of architect Frans Ludvig Calonius, the building was originally named Villa 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 Igantius, a cashier at the Bank of Finland, the building was altered to the designs of Elia Heikel, who added a 20-metre tower and a bayside veranda to the building.

In 1904, the villa was purchased by the State to serve as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Finland. Architect Johan Jakob (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 Franz Albert Seyn.