The Lepikko torp (Finnish: Lepikon torppa) is a mid-19th-century torp or croft house located in Pielavesi, central Finland, notable as the birthplace of the 8th President of Finland, Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986).[2]

Lepikko torp
Lepikon torppa
Lepikko torp in 2010
Map
General information
AddressUrho Kekkosentie 121
Town or cityPielavesi
CountryFinland
Coordinates63°13′17″N 26°47′01″E / 63.2214°N 26.7836°E / 63.2214; 26.7836
Current tenantsUrho Kekkonen Birthplace Museum
Year(s) built1860s
Renovated1960s[1]
OwnerLepikko Foundation[2]
Technical details
MaterialTimber
Known forBirthplace of Urho Kekkonen
Website
www.lepikontorppa.fi
Interior of the torp, c. 2010

The building is constructed of rough-hewn logs, and originally consisted of a single room. When the Kekkonens moved in, they modernised the building, including adding a chimney (previously the primitive stove had none).[2]

The Kekkonens were not actually croft farmers; Urho's father, forestry manager Juho Kekkonen, had rented the house, as it was conveniently located for his job at the time.[2][1] Nevertheless, when Urho Kekkonen first ran for the presidency, the cottage featured in his campaign, to support his common-man image as the "boy from the torp"; even the chimney was edited out of a well-publicised photograph of the building, to underline its modest standing.[2]

In 1966, the torp was converted into Kekkonen's birthplace museum.[3]

The building has been designated and protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö).[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Lepikon torppa". RKY.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Heritage Agency. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Häikiö, Martti (26 August 2016). "Kekkonen, Urho (1900-1986)". Suomen kansallisbiografia. Studia Biographica (in Finnish). Vol. 4. Finnish Literature Society. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ Perälä, Reijo (2 September 2020). "Urho Kekkosen syntymäkoti oli vaatimaton Lepikon torppa" [Urho Kekkonen's birthplace was the modest Lepikko torp] (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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