Russia
Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake
The Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake is renowned for its collection of historic wooden buildings.
They comprise both domestic and religious buildings (some with distinct interior paintings), made by Slavic settlers from the 12th century onwards. Adding to the sacred landscape are wooden crosses, cemeteries and sacred groves. They are located in the scenic landscape of Lake Kenozero.
Community Perspective: Martina found a lovely area geared to ecotourism.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake (ID: 1688)
- Country
- Russia
- Status
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Inscribed 2024
Site history
History of Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Community Information
- Community Category
- Cultural Landscape: Relict
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Most Remote Cultural WHS
hub Arkhangelsk and still a 470 km ride… -
Full White Nights
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Fusion
"It incorporates a number of traditiona…
Connections of Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake
- Geography
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Full White Nights
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Notable lakes
"The high number of waterfowl and the importance of Kenozero Lake for migratory birds led to its recognition as Important Bird Area (260 bird species).
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- History
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Fusion
"It incorporates a number of traditional rural settlements with vernacular wooden architecture and reflects the communal management of agriculture and nature that developed when the indigenous Finno-Ugric forest culture merged with the traditional Slavic field culture."
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- Ecology
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Bird Migrations
Kenozersky Biosphere Reserve in the Arkhangelsk Region in the northwest of the country includes virgin taiga forest and mixed pine-spruce forest ecosystems. The site is a globally important migratory bird habitat, and contains unique swamp and forest ecosystems. Kenozersky Biosphere Reserve "Kenozero National Park has been included in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme since 2004. The nominated property, with unique swamp and forest ecosystems, is recognised as a globally important habitat for migratory birds." - AB Evaluation -
Taiga
"It is situated in the middle subzone of the taiga, at the crossroads of Fennoscandia and the Russian Plain within the watershed of the White and Baltic Seas." IUCN (AB Evaluation)
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- Architecture
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Vernacular architecture
"vernacular wooden architecture" (AB ev) -
Wooden architecture
domestic and religious wooden buildings (AB ev)
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- World Heritage Process
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Inscribed on a single criterion only
Crit iii -
Cultural sites rejected for Natural criteria
Initially on T List as a mixed site in 2014 (Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)), before being revised and nominated as a cultural landscape in 2024.
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- Religion and Belief
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Sacred Forests or Groves
sacred groves (AB ev)
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- Constructions
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Cemeteries
"The religious heritage preserved in the Kenozero cultural landscape, including churchyards and wooden churches, chapels, crosses, cemeteries" (AB ev)
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- WHS on Other Lists
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Cultural WHS set within an IUCN recognised protected area
Kenozersky National Park IUCN Category - II (National Park) -
Most beautiful villages
Vershinino (The Most Beautiful Villages in Russia)See en.wikipedia.org
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World Biosphere Reserves
Kenozersky Biosphere Reserve 2004See www.unesco.org
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- Timeline
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Built in the 12th century
"the peasant cultural landscape that evolved here from the 12th century" (AB ev)
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- Visiting conditions
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Most Remote Cultural WHS
hub Arkhangelsk and still a 470 km ride by rail/car
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- WHS Names
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Named after a Lake
Kenozero Lake -
Name changes
Upon inscription (2024), from "Testament of Kenozero Lake" to "Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake"
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- 18
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Location for a classic movie
The Postman's White Nights - Winner of a Silver Lion in 2014See en.wikipedia.org
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.Community Reviews
Show full reviewsAlexander Barabanov
Cultural Landscape Of Kenozero Lake
Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake (Inscribed)

Visited Kenozero in July 2024 during the days, when it was inscribed (and the news was read out by the guide).
Kenozero National Park is a remote place requiring 1,200 km drive (including 80 km of gravel roads) from Moscow or flight to Arkhangelsk and still 470 km drive by rail / car. This seclusion resulted in the preserved mix of cultural, ethnographic, spiritual and architectural heritage coupled by natural landscape and rich biodiversity of the region. Cultural landscape is integrated with the pattern of lakes and adjacent agricultural and forest lands.
The park is divided into two sectors: Plesetsk sector (northern part) and Kargopol sector (southern part). Plesetsk sector with the visit center in Vershinino is culturally more interesting and provides broader coverage.
The unique local feature of the religious monuments – is “heavens” or “skies”, painted wooden ceiling in the form of celestial sphere with the stars, sun, moon and the kingdom of God. There are 17 complete “heavens” complexes in Kenozero (dating to 18-19th centuries), including 7 in situ in the churches and 10 in the museums. Special museum space with dome-shaped pavilions will be constructed in 3 years to host these 10 “heavens” as ceilings like they were placed originally. A number of churches were restored in 1996-1998 with the generous support of Norwegian specialists and use of their “lifting” technology, when the whole construction is lifted by special jacks and each log is changed / restored staring from the bottom.
Visit center in Vershinino is …

Kenozero National Park was the second tentative site we visited on our weekend stint via night train (for logistic details, have a look at my Lake Onega Petroglyphs review). As an alternative, one can travel to Nyandoma, a regional centre on a train line to Arkhangelsk. From there a transport has to be arranged to Kargopol and one of the local tourist hubs in the National Park - Morschikinskaya on Lake Lyokshmozero, which forms the southern sector of the national park, or to Pershlakta, which is the main entrance point to the northern sector.
The Kenozero park is a lovely place where not only Russian, but foreign tourists as well enjoy spending their holiday. It specializes in ecotourism: you stay either in homestay, rented wooden house or pitch a tent. The main problem is to get there, but once you get to the hubs and manage to find information centre, there are maps available, informing about accommodation, tours, tourist trails and everything else. There is not only splendid nature all around, but the area also contains many wooden houses and churches, which add to the picturesqueness of it all. Some info is available in English, but if you travel by yourself, you might encounter slight communication issues.
We drove from Kargopol, local centre that has exactly one decent hotel and it gets full in season rather fast, so book ahead. I would also recommend stocking up in any food store you can find. We haven't seen any restaurants …
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