The memorial, created by sculptor Pekka Kauhanen, was unveiled in the fall of 1990. It is located in Urho Kekkonen Park in Kajaani.
Suuri Aika (Great Time) is the first nationwide memorial erected to a president outside Helsinki. In his book “Vuosisatani”, President Urho Kekkonen wrote in 1981: ‘I feel the strongest connection with Kainuu. I went to school in Kajaani, and I also had my first summer jobs there. I grew up and spent my youth there. I feel that the landscapes and language of Kainuu are my own.’
The Suuri Aika sculpture was chosen as the winner of an open design competition for the UKK (Urho Kekkonen) memorial. President Urho Kekkonen is also commemorated in Kajaani by a street named after him and a relief created by Matti Hynynen on the wall of his childhood home at Kalliokatu 7.