Presidential Palace

The Presidential Palace is used for official state receptions, and is particularly famous for the one held on Independence Day (December 6). The main entrance is on the North Esplanade overlooking the Market Square and the sea.

To the east of the Palace are the Katajanokka headland and the Greek Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral (1868), the biggest of its kind in the Nordic countries. Alongside the canal is a white building designed in the early 1960s by Alvar Aalto (1898-1976). This is the head office of the forest giant Enso-Gutzeit (now Stora Enso).

The Presidential Palace was originally built in 1820 as the home of the merchant and ship-owner J.H. Heidenstrauch, at a time (1809-1917) when Finland was an Autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. It was soon bought as the official residence of the Grand Duke on his visits to Helsinki. In 1921, by which time Finland had become an independent republic, it was refurbished as the official residence of the Finnish President, who nevertheless now lives at Mäntyniemi, a modernistic residence in the Meilahti district of the city.