Kenozero National Park in the southwestern part of the Arkhangelsk region of Russia. Kenozerye in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia included in the UNESCO World Heritage List Culture and education
The “Kenozero Cultural Landscape” in the Russian Federation has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The decision to do so was made by the participants of the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which is being held from 21 to 31 July 2024 in New Delhi, India.
The site is located in the Kenozersky National Park in the northwest of the European part of the Russian Federation. The local cultural landscape was formed from the 12th century as a result of gradual Slavic colonization and has survived to this day. There are several traditional rural settlements with original monuments of Russian wooden architecture here.
They reflect the peculiarities of communal land ownership and nature management, formed due to the fusion of the traditions of Finno-Ugric forestry and Slavic field crop farming. The main attractions of the site are wooden churches and other religious buildings decorated with painted ceilings known as “heavens”.
“The inclusion of Kenozero in the World Heritage List is a tribute to the memory of our ancestors, who with an amazing sense of proportion and beauty created villages, churches, chapels with beautiful ceiling paintings-heavens in the harsh northern regions. This is a tribute to the researchers, scientists, restorers who have studied and carefully preserved the cultural heritage of Kenozero for centuries,” said Rinat Alyautdinov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to UNESCO.
During the session in India, sites in Romania, Iran, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and a number of other countries were also included in the World Heritage List. The World Heritage Committee is one of the two governing bodies of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is composed of representatives from 21 states, elected from among the 195 states parties to the Convention.
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