The cultural heritage of our country. What is cultural heritage? The concept and meaning of the cultural heritage of Russia

There are many beautiful buildings, natural phenomena and other unique objects in the world that delight people. And the task of each generation is to preserve this wealth and pass it on to descendants. The most valuable attractions are included in a special list.

About World Heritage Sites

It’s scary to think that descendants won’t see, for example, the Acropolis or Meanwhile, this could happen, if not in the near future, then in a few generations. That is why one of the primary tasks of humanity is to preserve and increase the cultural and natural wealth of the planet.

For this purpose, a special list was created, which includes World Heritage sites located in various countries and regions. There are many of them, they are diverse, and each is unique in its own way.

General information about the list

The idea of ​​a list of the world's most valuable sites was first implemented in 1978, after the UN Convention was adopted six years earlier, declaring a shared responsibility for the preservation of the most significant cultural and natural monuments.

At the end of 2014, the list contained 1007 items. The top ten countries for the number of World Heritage sites are Italy, China, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, India, Great Britain, Russia and the USA. In total, there are 359 items included in the list on their territory.

There are a number of criteria according to which the list is expanded. They include the uniqueness or exclusivity of a particular place or building from different points of view: its inhabitants, construction, evidence of an important stage in the development of civilizations, etc. Therefore, sometimes you can find objects on the list that are quite unexpected for someone.

Categories and examples

The entire diversity of the World Heritage is divided into three conditional groups: cultural, natural and cultural-natural. The first category is the most numerous, it includes 779 items, for example, the building of the Opera House in Sydney. The second group contains 197 objects, including Belovezhskaya Pushcha and the Grand Canyon. The last category is the smallest - only 31 monuments, but they combine both natural beauty and human intervention: Machu Picchu, Meteora monasteries, etc.

For some reason, people are accustomed to primarily admiring buildings and creations of their own efforts, forgetting about natural beauties. But in vain, because in fact this is also a World Cultural Heritage.

In Russia

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are 26 monuments included in the UNESCO list. Of these, 15 are classified as cultural, and the remaining 11 are natural. They are located throughout the country and include truly unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Russia.

For the first time, the Russian Federation added to the list of countries on whose territory there are monuments to human and natural genius in 1990, when the list was also replenished with the Kizhi Pogost and the historical center of St. Petersburg. Subsequently, the World Heritage of Russia was regularly replenished and continues to expand. The list includes nature reserves, monasteries, geological monuments and many other objects. Thus, in 2014, the historical and archaeological complex “Bulgar”, which is located in Tatarstan, was included in the Russian World Heritage List.

Full list

Russia's World Heritage sites are mostly known to many citizens. But someone will also find unfamiliar points that they might want to visit, so it’s better to give a complete list:

• historical center and monuments of St. Petersburg;
• Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow;
• Kizhi Pogost;
• Veliky Novgorod and its surroundings;
• white monuments of Suzdal and Vladimir;
• Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye;
• Trinity-Sergius Lavra;
• Komi forests;
• Lake Baikal;
• Kamchatka volcanoes;
• Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve;
• golden Altai Mountains;
• basin of Lake Uvs-Nur;
• Western Caucasus;
• Kazan Kremlin;
• Ferapontov Monastery;
• Curonian Spit;
• old city of Derbent;
• Wrangel Island;
• Novodevichy Convent;
• historical center of Yaroslavl;
• Struve arc;
• Putorana plateau;
• Lena Pillars;
• complex "Bulgar".

Another point is related to the political events of 2014 - the ancient city of Chersonesus is located on the Crimean Peninsula, which is also included in the World Cultural Heritage. Russia actually has something to strive for, because there are many more unique objects located on the territory of the country, and each of them may eventually be included in the UNESCO list. In the meantime, it’s still worth learning more about those monuments that are already on this list. It’s not for nothing that they were included there, is it?

Natural

Russia is a huge country, the largest on the planet in terms of territory. 9 time zones, 4 climates and a huge number of different zones. It is not surprising that the World Natural Heritage of Russia is quite numerous and diverse - 11 objects. There are huge forests, clean and deep lakes, and natural phenomena of amazing beauty here.

• Virgin forests of Komi. Considered to be the largest intact forests in Europe. Included in the World Heritage of Russia in 1995. Many species of rare representatives of flora and fauna grow and live on their territory.
• Lake Baikal. Is the deepest on the planet. Entered the list in 1996. Many species living in the lake are endemic.
• Volcanoes of the Kamchatka Peninsula. They are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Included in the Russian World Heritage Sites in 1996.
• Altai. On the list since 1998. Include habitats of rare representatives of flora and fauna.
• Caucasian Nature Reserve. Located in three constituent entities of the Russian Federation: Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea. On the list since 1999.
• Central Sikhote-Alin. A nature reserve located in the Primorsky Territory. Many rare species of animals live on its territory. Entered the UNESCO list in 2001.
• Curonian Spit. This unique object is a sand body stretching across the Baltic Sea for almost 100 kilometers. On the territory of the spit there are a large number of interesting places, for example the famous “Dancing Forest”; the seasonal migration route of many birds also lies through it. Included in the list in 2000.
• Uvsu-Nur basin. Located on the border of the Russian Federation and Mongolia. The basin was listed in 2003 according to the criteria of international scientific significance and conservation of biological and landscape diversity.
• Wrangel Island. Divided almost equally between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Most of its territory is occupied by mountains. Rare plants grow here, which was also the reason why the site was included in the UNESCO list in 2004 under number 1023.
• It was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2010. It is home to the migratory routes of large populations of reindeer and hosts a unique combination of ecosystems.
• Lena pillars. At the moment, it is the last World Natural Heritage site in Russia. Was included in the list in 2012. In addition to its aesthetic importance, this object is valuable for the uniqueness of the geological processes occurring here.

Man-made

Objects of the World Cultural Heritage of Russia, of course, include not only natural monuments, but the results of human labor.

• Historical center of St. Petersburg. Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow. The hearts of both capitals were included in the list at the same time - in 1990 - and according to four criteria at once.
• Kizhi. This unique ensemble of wooden buildings was included in the UNESCO list in 1990. This true wonder of the world not only demonstrates the genius of humanity, but also is in amazing harmony with the surrounding nature.
• In 1992, UNESCO added 3 more attractions to its list: monuments of Novgorod, Suzdal and Vladimir, as well as
• The Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye, included in the list respectively in 1993 and 1994, are known to everyone for their beauty - many residents of Moscow and the Moscow region regularly visit there.
• entered the list in 2000, as did
• Monuments of the city of Derbent in Dagestan - 2003.
• in Moscow - 2004.
• Historical center of Yaroslavl - 2005.
• (2 points), which helped establish the shape, size and some other parameters of the planet - 2005.
• Architectural and historical complex Bulgar - 2014.

As you can see, the World Cultural Heritage sites of Russia are mostly concentrated in the European part, which is determined by the peculiarities of the development of the territory.

Contenders

The list of Russia's World Heritage Sites may expand significantly in the coming years. The Government of the Russian Federation regularly offers the UN new applicants, unique and beautiful in their own way. There are now 24 more sites that can be included in the main UNESCO list.

Threat of extinction

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to preserve World Heritage. Russia, fortunately, is not yet in danger of this; all of its monuments included in the list are in relative safety. UNESCO regularly edits and publishes a special list that includes unique sites that are in danger. Now it consists of 38 points. Natural and cultural monuments fall into this “alarming” list for various reasons: poaching, deforestation, construction and reconstruction projects that violate the historical appearance, climate change, etc. Moreover, the worst enemy of World Heritage is time, which is impossible win. And yet, from time to time, monuments are removed from this list, most often due to improvements in the situation. But there are also sad examples when the situation deteriorated so much that objects simply ceased to be included in the World Heritage Site. Russia has nothing to fear yet, although the environmental situation in some parts of the country may affect many natural monuments. And then, perhaps, the “alarming” list will become relevant for the Russian Federation as well.

UNESCO activities

Inclusion in the list is not only and not so much prestige, but also, first of all, increased attention to the safety and condition of certain objects on the part of a larger number of organizations. UNESCO also stimulates the development of eco-tourism and increases people's awareness of the uniqueness of monuments. Among other things, there is a special fund that finances the support of facilities.

World Heritage sites included in the UNESCO special list are of enormous interest to the entire population of the planet. Unique natural and cultural objects make it possible to preserve those unique corners of nature and man-made monuments that demonstrate the richness of nature and the capabilities of the human mind.

As of July 6, 2012, there are 962 sites on the World Heritage List (including 745 cultural, 188 natural and 29 mixed), located in 148 countries. Among the objects there are individual architectural structures and ensembles, for example - the Acropolis, cathedrals in Amiens and Chartres, historical city centers - Warsaw and St. Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square; and there are also entire cities - Brasilia, Venice along with the lagoon and others. There are also archaeological reserves - for example, Delphi; national parks - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Yellowstone (USA) and others. States on whose territory World Heritage sites are located undertake obligations to preserve them.

In this photo collection you will see 29 objects from different parts of our planet that are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

1) Tourists examine the Buddhist sculptures of the Longmen Grottoes (Dragon Gate) near the city of Luoyang in the Chinese province of Henan. There are more than 2,300 caves in this place; 110,000 Buddhist images, more than 80 dagobas (Buddhist mausoleums) containing relics of Buddhas, as well as 2,800 inscriptions on rocks near the Yishui River, a kilometer long. Buddhism was first introduced to China in these places during the reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty. (China Photos/Getty Images)

2) Bayon Temple in Cambodia is famous for its many giant stone faces. There are more than 1,000 temples in the Angkor region, which range from nondescript piles of brick and rubble scattered among rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, considered the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored. More than a million tourists visit them every year. (Voishmel/AFP - Getty Images)

3) One of the parts of the archaeological site of Al-Hijr - also known as Madain Salih. This complex, located in the northern regions of Saudi Arabia, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 6, 2008. The complex includes 111 rock burials (1st century BC - 1st century AD), as well as a system of hydraulic structures dating back to the ancient Nabataean city of Hegra, which was the center of caravan trade. There are also about 50 rock inscriptions dating back to the Pre-Nabatean period. (Hassan Ammar/AFP - Getty Images)

4) "Garganta del Diablo" (Devil's Throat) waterfalls are located in the Iguazu National Park in the Argentine province of Misiones. Depending on the water level in the Iguazu River, the park has from 160 to 260 waterfalls, as well as over 2000 species of plants and 400 bird species.Iguazu National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984. (Christian Rizzi/AFP - Getty Images)

5) The mysterious Stonehenge is a stone megalithic structure consisting of 150 huge stones, and located on Salisbury Plain in the English county of Wiltshire. This ancient monument is believed to have been built in 3000 BC. Stonehenge was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

6) Tourists stroll at the Bafang Pavilion at the Summer Palace, the famous classical imperial garden in Beijing. The Summer Palace, built in 1750, was destroyed in 1860 and restored in 1886. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. (China Photos/Getty Images)

7) Statue of Liberty at sunset in New York. "Lady Liberty", which was given to the United States by France, stands at the entrance to New York Harbor. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984. (Seth Wenig/AP)

8) "Solitario George" (Lonely George), the last living giant tortoise of this species, born on Pinta Island, lives in Galapagos National Park in Ecuador. She is now approximately 60-90 years old. The Galapagos Islands were originally included on the World Heritage List in 1978, but were listed as endangered in 2007. (Rodrigo Buendia/AFP - Getty Images)

9) People skate on the ice of the canals in the area of ​​the Kinderdijk mills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located near Rotterdam. Kinderdijk has the largest collection of historic mills in the Netherlands and is one of the top attractions in South Holland. Decorating holidays taking place here with balloons gives a certain flavor to this place. (Peter Dejong/AP)

10) View of the Perito Moreno glacier located in Los Glaciares National Park, in the southeast of the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. The site was listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1981. The glacier is one of the most interesting tourist sites in the Argentine part of Patagonia and the 3rd largest glacier in the world after Antarctica and Greenland. (Daniel Garcia/AFP - Getty Images)

11) Terraced gardens in the northern Israeli city of Haifa surround the golden-domed Shrine of the Bab, founder of the Baha'i faith. Here is the world administrative and spiritual center of the Baha'i religion, the number of professers of which worldwide is less than six million. The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 8, 2008. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

12) Aerial photography of St. Peter's Square in. According to the World Heritage website, this small state is home to a unique collection of artistic and architectural masterpieces. The Vatican was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984. (Giulio Napolitano/AFP - Getty Images)

13) Colorful underwater scenes of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This thriving ecosystem is home to the world's largest collection of coral reefs, including 400 species of coral and 1,500 species of fish. The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981. (AFP - Getty Images)

14) Camels rest in the ancient city of Petra in front of Jordan's main monument, Al Khazneh or the treasury, believed to be the tomb of a Nabatean king carved from sandstone. This city, located between the Red and Dead Seas, is at the crossroads of Arabia, Egypt, and Phenicia. Petra was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1985. (Thomas Coex/AFP - Getty Images)

15) The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, a symbol of Sydney and one of the main attractions of Australia. The Sydney Opera House was designated a World Heritage Site in 2007. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP - Getty Images)

16) Rock paintings made by the San people in the Drakensberg Mountains, located in eastern South Africa. The San people lived in the Drakensberg region for thousands of years until they were destroyed in clashes with the Zulus and white settlers. They left behind incredible rock art in the Drakensberg Mountains, which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. (Alexander Joe/AFP - Getty Images)

17) General view of the city of Shibam, located in the east in the province of Hadhramaut. Shibam is famous for its incomparable architecture, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Program. All the houses here are built of clay bricks; approximately 500 houses can be considered multi-story, as they have 5-11 floors. Often called "the world's oldest skyscraper city" or "Desert Manhattan", Shibam is also the oldest example of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. (Khaled Fazaa/AFP - Getty Images)

18) Gondolas along the shore of the Grand Canal in Venice. The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore is visible in the background. Island Venice is a seaside resort, a center of international tourism of world importance, a venue for international film festivals, art and architectural exhibitions. Venice was included in the UNESCO World Heritage program in 1987. (AP)

19) Some of the 390 abandoned huge statues made of compressed volcanic ash (moai in Rapa Nui) at the foot of the Rano Raraku volcano on Easter Island, 3,700 km off the coast of Chile. Rapa Nui National Park has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Program since 1995. (Martin Bernetti/AFP - Getty Images)

20) Visitors walk along the Great Wall of China in the Simatai area, northeast of Beijing. This largest architectural monument was built as one of the four main strategic strongholds to defend against invading tribes from the north. The 8,851.8 km long Great Wall is one of the largest construction projects ever completed. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP - Getty Images)

21) Temple in Hampi, near the South Indian city of Hospet, north of Bangalore. Hampi is located in the middle of the ruins of Vijayanagara - the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Hampi and its monuments were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP - Getty Images)

22) A Tibetan pilgrim turns prayer mills on the grounds of the Potala Palace in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. The Potala Palace is a royal palace and Buddhist temple complex that was the main residence of the Dalai Lama. Today, the Potala Palace is a museum actively visited by tourists, remaining a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and continuing to be used in Buddhist rituals. Due to its enormous cultural, religious, artistic and historical significance, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP - Getty Images)

23) Inca citadel Machu Picchu in the Peruvian city of Cusco. Machu Picchu, especially after receiving UNESCO World Heritage status in 1983, has become a center of mass tourism. The city is visited by 2,000 tourists per day; In order to preserve the monument, UNESCO demands that the number of tourists per day be reduced to 800. (Eitan Abramovich/AFP - Getty Images)

24) Kompon-daito Buddhist pagoda on Mount Koya, Wakayama Province, Japan. Mount Koya, located east of Osaka, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004. In 819, the first Buddhist monk Kukai, the founder of the Shingon school, a branch of Japanese Buddhism, settled here. (Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA)

25) Tibetan women walk around the Bodhnath Stupa in Kathmandu - one of the most ancient and revered Buddhist shrines. On the edges of the tower crowning it are depicted the “eyes of Buddha” inlaid with ivory. Kathmandu Valley, about 1300 m high, is a mountain valley and historical region of Nepal. There are many Buddhist and Hindu temples here, from the Boudhanath stupa to tiny street altars in the walls of houses. Locals say that 10 million Gods live in the Kathmandu Valley. The Kathmandu Valley was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

26) A bird flies over the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum-mosque located in the Indian city of Agra. It was built by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The Taj Mahal was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983. The architectural marvel was also named one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2007. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP - Getty Images)

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27) Located in north-east Wales, the 18-kilometre long Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a feat of Industrial Revolution civil engineering, completed in the early years of the 19th century. Still in use more than 200 years after its opening, it is one of the busiest sections of the UK canal network, handling around 15,000 boats a year. In 2009, the Pontkysilte Aqueduct was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a "landmark in the history of civil engineering during the Industrial Revolution". This aqueduct is one of the unusual monuments to plumbers and plumbing (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

28) A herd of elk grazes in the meadows of Yellowstone National Park. Mount Holmes, to the left, and Mount Dome are visible in the background. In Yellowstone National Park, which occupies almost 900 thousand hectares, there are more than 10 thousand geysers and thermal springs. The park was included in the World Heritage program in 1978. (Kevork Djansezian/AP)

29) Cubans drive an old car along the Malecon promenade in Havana. UNESCO added Old Havana and its fortifications to the World Heritage List in 1982. Although Havana has expanded to a population of over 2 million, its old center retains an interesting mixture of Baroque and neoclassical monuments and homogeneous ensembles of private houses with arcades, balconies, wrought iron gates and courtyards. (Javier Galeano/AP)

UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO World Heritage Sites include the most valuable sites (both natural and man-made) in terms of their cultural, historical or environmental significance. Here are twenty uniquely beautiful UNESCO sites located in Europe.

20 PHOTOS

1 Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

Forest reserve in Central Croatia, famous for its cascading lakes, waterfalls, caves and limestone gorges.

The most famous square in Russia, located east of the Kremlin, the official residence of the president. On Red Square there are St. Basil's Cathedral and the State Historical Museum.

A perfectly preserved ethnographic village, which is included in the list of museums of folk architecture in Slovakia. The settlement reflects the traditional features of a Central European village: log buildings, stables with haylofts and a wooden bell tower.

The largest and most famous Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria, founded in the 10th century and rebuilt in the mid-1800s.

A fortified Gothic-style island abbey built between the 11th and 16th centuries in northwestern France.

Roman Catholic church located north of Lisbon. It was built by the Portuguese king Alfonso I in the 12th century.

The central part of the Hungarian capital boasts such stunning architectural masterpieces as the Parliament Buildings, the Opera House, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Market Hall.

The largest wooden sacral buildings in Europe, built in the second half of the 17th century after the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War.

The stave church, located in western Norway, is a superb example of traditional Scandinavian architecture.

A natural monument consisting of approximately 40,000 interconnected basalt columns formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

The tallest surviving ancient Roman aqueduct. Its length is 275 meters and its height is 47 meters.

A Bavarian Rococo church located in a beautiful Alpine valley southwest of Munich.

Located in southwest Norway, Geirangerfjord and Nordfjord are among the longest and deepest fjords in the world.

Center of Catholic Christianity, and residence of the Pope. Also, the Vatican Museums house many of the world's artistic masterpieces.

The monastic community and one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary, was founded in 996.

National park with an area of ​​403 square meters. km, located on three vegetation zones: mountain-forest, subalpine and alpine.

The Old Bridge, built in the 16th century during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the most significant architectural monuments in the Balkans.

A fjord located in western Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle. It includes the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, moving at a speed of 19 meters per day, one of the fastest glaciers in the world.

A famous concert hall, representing one of the best examples of Catalan Art Nouveau. It is also the only concert hall in Europe with natural light.

The list of natural and cultural attractions created by UNESCO is a kind of quality mark, telling the traveler that it is worth seeing. We decided to tell you about those Russian sites that were included in the World Heritage Register. What if you don’t know about some of them?

Architectural and historical complex Bulgar

On the territory of Tatarstan, the ruins of a city founded by the Volga Bulgars (Turkic tribes) have been preserved. In 1361, the city was destroyed by the Golden Horde prince Bulat-Timur - fortunately, not completely. The settlement, which was recognized as a unique monument in 2014, has survived to this day.

Wrangel Island

Wrangel Island is the northernmost of the UNESCO World List sites. It includes not only the island of the same name, but also the neighboring Herald Island, as well as the adjacent waters of the Chukchi and East Siberian seas. The islands are famous for their huge walrus rookeries and the highest density of polar bear dens in the world. The reserve was recognized as a heritage of humanity in 2004.

Historical center of Yaroslavl

One of the dominant features of Yaroslavl is the Spassky Monastery complex, which is often called the Kremlin. Together with other historical buildings of the city, it was included in the World Heritage List in 2005.

Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye

It was built on the royal estate in 1532, when Kolomenskoye was not yet a territory of Moscow. The church was recognized as a heritage of humanity in 1994.

Lake Baikal

Surprisingly, the deepest lake in the world was not recognized as a heritage of humanity among the first natural attractions. UNESCO noted the exclusivity of this reservoir only in 1996.

Architectural ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

In 1993, the list was replenished with the main attraction of Sergiev Posad. The largest monastery in Russia was founded back in 1337, and the laurel acquired its usual appearance by the 18th century, when most of the buildings available to the public today appeared here.

Western Caucasus

The Western Caucasus Mountains, on whose territory, for example, the Sochi National Park and the Ritsa Nature Reserve are located, stretch from Anapa to Elbrus. Here you can find both low-mountain terrain and typically alpine landscapes with numerous glaciers. The mountains were included in the UNESCO list in 1999.

Citadel, old town and fortifications of Derbent

Derbent is considered the oldest city in Russia. The first mention of it dates back to the 6th century BC, when it was called the Caspian Gate. There is a citadel and fortifications here, which are 16 centuries old. In 2003, UNESCO recognized them as an exceptional historical monument.

Golden Altai Mountains

It was under this name that three sections of the Altai Mountains were included in the UNESCO list in 1998: the Altai and Katunsky reserves and the Ukok plateau. Despite the status of specially protected areas, cases of poaching are still common here.

Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery

The construction of the Ferapontov Monastery in the Vologda region began in the 15th century. For centuries it was the most important cultural and religious center of the Belozersky region. Today, in the buildings of the monastery, included in the UNESCO list in 2000, there is a museum and the bishop's courtyard of the Vologda Metropolis.

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

In 1996, the Kamchatka volcanoes were recognized as a World Heritage Site, and five years later UNESCO expanded the protected area. A large number of active volcanoes are concentrated here, which makes this area unique even by global standards.

Historical and architectural complex "Kazan Kremlin"

The only Russian Kremlin, on the territory of which a church adjoins a mosque, is located in Kazan. It began to be built in the 10th century, and it acquired a more or less modern appearance only six centuries later. Today, the fortress, which has been considered a heritage of humanity since 2000, is the main attraction of the capital of Tatarstan and a favorite place for walks for citizens.

Putorana Plateau

Lenta.ru has written more than once about the Putorana Plateau, which was included in the World Heritage List in 2010. This natural reserve, stunning in its beauty, is located in the north of Central Siberia, 100 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle. Here you can see untouched taiga, forest-tundra and arctic desert.

White stone monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal

In 1992, the white stone monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal were recognized as World Heritage Sites. The cities located very close to each other are an ideal weekend route, varied and not tiring.

Moscow Kremlin and Red Square

In 1990, one of the first to be included in the list was the main square of Russia (together with the Kremlin). In total, Moscow has three UNESCO-listed attractions, more than in any other region of the country.

Curonian Spit

Partially located on the territory of Lithuania, the Curonian Spit is one of the main natural attractions of the Kaliningrad region. Its length is 98 kilometers, and its width ranges from 400 meters at its narrowest point to four kilometers at its widest. The spit was included in the UNESCO heritage list in 2000.

Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent

Another Moscow landmark - the Novodevichy Convent - was created in the 16th-17th centuries. The monastery is a prominent representative of the Moscow Baroque and is famous for the fact that women from the royal family were tonsured here as nuns. The importance of the monastery for world culture was recognized in 2005.

Virgin forests of Komi

The largest Russian attraction on the list covers an area of ​​3.28 million hectares, including lowland tundra, mountain tundra of the Urals and one of the largest tracts of primary boreal forests. These territories have been protected by the state for the past 50 years; the forests were included in the UNESCO list in 1995.

Architectural ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost

Many people go to Karelia for the sake of Kizhi and Solovki. Both islands are included in the World Heritage List. Kizhi Pogost, a monument of wooden architecture, was included in the list in 1990.

Lena pillars

Located in the largest region of the country - Yakutia, the pillars are located almost 200 kilometers from the republican center. Excursions here are expensive, but those who have visited the pillars say that they do not regret the money spent. In 2012, the uniqueness of the natural monument was noted by UNESCO.

Historical center of St. Petersburg

One of the most famous attractions not only in Russia, but also beyond its borders is the center of St. Petersburg. The "Venice of the North", with its canals and more than 400 bridges, was included in the UNESCO list in 1990.

Ubsunur Basin

Another attraction that Russia shares with other states (there are three of them in total). The Ubsunur Basin, partially located on the territory of Mongolia, consists of 12 isolated areas, united by a common name. The local steppes are home to a huge number of birds, rare mammals are found in desert areas, and the snow leopard, listed in the Red Book, lives in the highlands. The basin was included in the UNESCO list in 2006.

Khersones is familiar to everyone who has vacationed in Crimea at least once. The ruins of the ancient polis, which is today part of Sevastopol, were added to the UNESCO list in 2013.

Struve geodetic arc

The “Struve Arc” is a chain of triangulation points stretching for almost three thousand kilometers across ten European countries from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. It appeared at the beginning of the 19th century and was used for the first reliable measurement of a large segment of the earth's meridian arc. It was created by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, better known in those days under the name Vasily Yakovlevich Struve. In 2005, the attraction was included in the UNESCO heritage list.

Historical monuments of Novgorod and surrounding areas

In the 9th century, Novgorod became the first capital of Russia. It is logical that it was one of the first to be included in the World Heritage List. UNESCO recognized it as a heritage of humanity in 1992.

Russia is a unique country. It ranks first in the world in terms of territorial area and ninth in terms of population. As of 2012, there are 25 specially protected sites in Russia. Fifteen of them have the status of a cultural attraction, the remaining ten are of a natural nature. Six of the fifteen UNESCO cultural sites in Russia are marked “i”, that is, they belong to the masterpieces of human civilization. Four out of ten natural objects have the highest aesthetic criterion “vii”.

The nature of the country is distinguished by a variety of plant and animal forms: northern mosses and lichens coexist with southern palm trees and magnolias, coniferous forests of the taiga form a striking contrast with the steppe crops of wheat and sunflowers.

Climatic, natural and cultural diversity has led to interest in it from both domestic and foreign citizens. Natural and man-made attractions, river cruises and rail travel, beach and health, sports and extreme tourism make the country attractive to all categories of vacationers.

The main attractions of Russia are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Anyone who wants to discover a great country can start by getting acquainted with twenty-five natural and man-made sites that have a cultural, historical or environmental degree of global significance. and is compiled in order to preserve and show modern people the full depth of our common civilizational heritage.

UNESCO sites in Russia - PHOTO

The northern capital of Russia was included in the UNESCO List of 36 monuments located not only in St. Petersburg itself, but also in its neighbors - Pushkin and Shlisselburg. The palace and park ensembles of the villages of Gatchina and Strelna, the Koltuvskaya and Yukkovskaya uplands, the Lindulovskaya Grove and the Komarovskoye village cemetery - all this constitutes one huge cultural and natural formation, territorially and historically connected with the northern capital of Russia. It itself is represented in the UNESCO List by the historical center and the old part of the city, the Pulkovo Observatory and the palace and park ensembles of Peterhof, Shuvalovsky Park and the Vyazemsky estate, local fairways and numerous city highways.

Two wooden churches and a bell tower, built in the 18th-19th centuries in Kizhi, were included in the UNESCO List in 1990. The cultural heritage of Karelia is known throughout the world for the Church of the Transfiguration, built, according to legend, without a single nail. Since the mid-20th century, the Kizhi State Historical and Architectural Museum has been operating on the basis of the Kizhi Pogost. Along with the ancient original buildings, it includes objects of wooden religious architecture that were brought and erected in the immediate vicinity - for example, an eight-wing windmill built in 1928. The wooden fence of the Kizhi churchyard ensemble was reconstructed in 1959 in accordance with the principles of organizing traditional churchyard fences.

Symbols of an entire country and era - the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square - are among the most significant cultural attractions of Russia and the whole world. It seems that there is not a person on Earth who does not know what they look like. When visiting Russia, most foreigners first go to Red Square. The Moscow Kremlin is one of the oldest architectural monuments in Russia. Its majestic walls and numerous towers, its Orthodox cathedrals and palace buildings, its squares and gardens, the Armory Chamber and the Kremlin Palace of Congresses reflect the centuries-old history of the country. Adjacent to the north-eastern wall of the Kremlin, Red Square is famous not only for the Mausoleum and the Eternal Flame, but also for the numerous events organized there recently. Victory parades, concerts dedicated to Russian Independence Day, New Year's skating rinks - all this can be afforded by one of the largest pedestrian areas in Moscow.

Veliky Novgorod and its surrounding areas are included in the UNESCO list with more than ten cultural sites that are predominantly of a religious nature. Znamensky, Zverin, Antoniev and, the Church of the Nativity on the Red Field, the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa, St. John the Merciful and the Annunciation on Myachina and many other Orthodox buildings belong to ancient periods of Russian history and represent unique architectural complexes. The Novgorod Detinets (that is, the Kremlin) and the part of the city related to it are interesting from the point of view of historical and architectural heritage.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery was built in the 20-30s of the 15th century. It is spread over four islands of the Solovetsky archipelago. The cultural and historical ensemble "Solovetsky Islands" includes the main monastery, the Ascension and Savvatievsky skete, St. Isaac's, Makarievskaya and Filippovskaya hermitages on Bolshoi Solovetsky Island, Sergievsky monastery on the island of Bolshaya Muksalma, Trinity and Golgotha-Ruspyatsky monastery and Eleazar's hermitage on Anzer and St. Andrew's deserts and stone labyrinths on Bolshoi Zayatsky Island. During Soviet times, the largest special-purpose forced labor camp in the USSR, the Solovetsky special-purpose camp, operated on the monastery territory. Monastic life became possible here only at the end of 1990.

Eight architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture, mostly of a white stone nature, were included in the UNESCO list in 1992. All of them are located on the territory of the Vladimir region and belong to the Orthodox culture of Russia. In Vladimir there are three UNESCO-protected sites: the Dmitrievsky Cathedral, built in the 12th century, as well as the Golden Gate. In Suzdal there is a 12th-century Kremlin with the Nativity Cathedral and the Spaso-Efimievsky Monastery, built in the 16th-17th centuries. The village of Bogolyubovo is known to Orthodox pilgrims for the Palace of Andrei Bogolyubsky and the magnificent. The Church of Boris and Gleb in the village of Kideksha is the first white stone building in northeastern Rus'.

Built in the 16th century, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord is the first stone Orthodox church to use a tent instead of a classic dome. According to legend, it was erected on the occasion of the birth of Ivan the Terrible. The place for the temple was chosen on the right bank of the Moscow River, famous for its miraculous spring. The Church of the Ascension of the Lord has the appearance of a centric temple-tower, rising above the ground to a height of 62 meters. The architectural design of the church shows features of the early Renaissance. The temple is surrounded in a circle by a two-tiered gallery-promenade.

The Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius was founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh in 1337. Currently it is the largest Orthodox monastery in Russia. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra is located in the center of Sergiev Posad, a city in the Moscow region. The designation “Laurel” indicates the crowded, large population of the monastery. The architectural ensemble of the monastery consists of fifty buildings of various functional purposes. Among them there are Orthodox cathedrals, numerous bell towers, and royal palaces. Boris Godunov and members of his family found their final refuge in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The virgin forests of Komi are known as the largest intact forests growing in Europe. They occupy an area of ​​32,600 square kilometers in the north of the Ural Mountains, within the Pechero-Ilychsky Nature Reserve and the Yugyd Va National Park. In terms of their composition, Komi forests belong to the taiga ecosystem. They are dominated by coniferous trees. The western part of the forests is in the foothills area, the eastern part is in the mountains themselves. The Komi forest is distinguished by the diversity of not only flora, but also fauna. More than two hundred species of birds live here, and rare species of fish are found. Many forest plants are protected.

For the whole world, Baikal is a lake, for residents of Russia, who are in love with a unique natural object, Baikal is a sea! Located in Eastern Siberia, it is the deepest lake on the planet and, at the same time, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water by volume. The shape of Baikal looks like a crescent. The maximum depth of the lake is 1642 meters with an average depth of 744. Baikal contains 19 percent of all fresh water on the planet. The lake is fed by more than three hundred rivers and streams. Baikal water has a high oxygen content. Its temperature rarely exceeds plus 8-9 degrees Celsius even in summer in the surface area. The water of the lake is so clean and transparent that it allows you to see at a depth of up to forty meters.

The volcanoes of Kamchatka are part of the Pacific volcanic ring of fire - a large chain of the main active volcanoes of the planet. Unique natural sites were included in the UNESCO List in 1996, along with adjacent areas characterized by picturesque views and biological diversity. The exact number of volcanoes on the peninsula is unknown. Scientists talk about several hundred and even thousands of objects. About thirty of them are classified as active. The most famous Kamchatka volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka - the highest volcano in Eurasia and the most active on the peninsula. The volcanoes of Kamchatka have different volcanic origins and are divided into two belts superimposed on each other - the Middle and East Kamchatka.

A large biosphere reserve in the Primorsky Territory was originally created to preserve the sable population. Currently, it represents the most convenient place for observing the life of the Amur tiger. A huge number of plants grow on the territory of the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve. More than a thousand higher species, more than a hundred mosses, about four hundred lichens, more than six hundred species of algae and more than five hundred fungi. The local fauna is represented by a large number of birds, marine invertebrates and insects. Many plants, birds, animals and insects are protected species. Schisandra chinensis and edelweiss Palibina, spotted deer and Himalayan bear, black kite and Japanese starling, Sakhalin sturgeon and swallowtail butterfly - they all found shelter in the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve.

The three most significant areas of the Altai Mountains - the Altai and Katunsky reserves and the Ukok plateau - were included in the UNESCO list in 1998 under the name “Golden Mountains of Altai”. Mount Belukha and Lake Teletskoye were also included in the list of protected geographical sites. The Altai Mountains received the natural criterion “x” for the most fully presented picture of alpine vegetation. In this area, five belts follow one after another: steppe, forest-steppe, mixed, subalpine and alpine. The territory of the golden mountains of Altai is home to rare species of animals - snow leopard, Siberian mountain goat and others.

The basin of Lake Uvs-Nur, located in the Republic of Tyva, belongs to both Russia and Mongolia. On the part of the Russian Federation, it is represented by the Ubsunur Basin biosphere nature reserve, which includes both the waters of the lake itself and the adjacent land areas. The latter is home to a unique and, in many ways, diverse ecosystem of the region - here you can find both glaciers and the northernmost deserts in Eurasia. On the territory of the Ubsunur depression there are taiga zones, forest and classical steppes, alpine tundra and meadows. The area of ​​the reserve is replete with several tens of thousands of unexcavated burial mounds of ancient nomadic tribes.

Located in the Western Caucasus, the natural biosphere reserve belongs to the category of state ones. It is a large natural formation belonging to two climatic zones - temperate and subtropical. More than 900 species of vascular plants and 700 species of fungi grow on the territory of the reserve. Initially, the Caucasian Reserve was called the bison reserve. Nowadays, it was decided to abandon this definition, since, in addition to bison, there are a large number of other mammals in the Western Caucasus, each of which needs state protection. Today, on the territory of the reserve you can find wild boars and roe deer, Western Caucasian tur and brown bear, Caucasian mink and bison.

Not only the Moscow and Novgorod Kremlin are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Kazan Kremlin is also among the culturally significant objects of world significance. Its historical and architectural complex, consisting of a white-stone Kremlin, temples and other buildings, is a monument of three historical periods: XII-XIII, XIV-XV and XV-XVI centuries. The Kremlin territory of Kazan has the shape of an irregular polygon, coinciding in outline with the hill on which the ancient settlement is located. Initially, the Kazan Kremlin was a Bulgarian fortress. Then it came under the rule of the Kazan Khanate. After the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, the first Orthodox churches appeared on Kremlin territory. In 2005, in honor of the millennium of Kazan, the main mosque of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kul Sharif, was built within the Kazan Kremlin.

Currently, the Ferapontov Monastery is one of the inactive monasteries. The Ferapontovsky branch of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve and the unique Museum of Dionysian Frescoes located there became a stumbling block between the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2000, the Ferapontov Monastery was included in the UNESCO List, which finally gave it the status of not so much a religious, but a cultural heritage of humanity. The architectural ensemble of the monastery is represented by the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, painted by the famous Moscow icon painter of the 15th-16th centuries - Dionysius, the monumental Church of the Annunciation, the treasury chamber and service buildings.

The Curonian Spit is a long, narrow strip of sandy land that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. According to its geographical status, this natural object is sometimes classified as a peninsula. The length of the Curonian Spit is 98 kilometers, the width is from 400 to 4 kilometers. The saber-shaped strip of land belongs half to Russia, half to Lithuania. On Russian territory, the Curonian Spit contains the national park of the same name. The original peninsula was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its biological diversity. Numerous landscapes, from deserts to tundra, a large amount of flora and fauna, as well as the ancient migration route of birds make the Curonian Spit a unique natural complex that needs protection.

The southernmost city of Russia, located in the Republic of Dagestan, Derbent, is one of the oldest cities in the world. The first settlements on its territory arose at the end of the 4th millennium BC. The city acquired its modern appearance in 438. In those distant times, Derbent was a Persian fortress, consisting of the Naryn-Kala citadel and double walls descending to the Caspian Sea. The ancient fortress, old town and fortifications of Derbent were included in the UNESCO List in 2003. Naryn-Kala has survived to this day in the form of ruins, an ancient fire-worshipping temple, a mosque, bathhouses and water reservoirs located on its territory.

Wrangel Island, located in the Arctic Ocean, was discovered in 1849. In 1926, the first polar station was created on it, in 1948 the island was inhabited by domesticated reindeer, and in 1975 by musk oxen. The latest event led to the fact that the authorities of the Magadan region decided to establish a nature reserve on Wrangel Island, which also included the neighboring Herald Island. At the end of the 20th century, the adjacent water areas also became part of the Wrangel Island nature reserve. The island's flora consists mainly of ancient plant species. The fauna of the area is poorly developed: most often, birds and walruses are found here, which have established their main Russian rookery on Wrangel Island.

The Novodevichy Mother of God-Smolensk Monastery was founded in 1524 in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria”. The location of the Orthodox women's monastery is the Maiden's Field in Moscow. In the center of the monastery is the five-domed Smolensk Cathedral, from which the creation of the entire architectural ensemble of the religious monument of the Russian capital began. In the 17th century, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church of the Transfiguration, the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a bell tower, a refectory, the Lopukhinsky, Mariinsky and Funeral Chambers were built around it.

The historical center of Yaroslavl, consisting of Rubleny Gorod (the local Kremlin) and Zemlyanoy Gorod, was noted by UNESCO in 2005 as an outstanding architectural example of urban planning reform carried out under Catherine II. Construction from the time of classicism took place near the parish church of Elijah the Prophet, in front of which there was a semicircular square. Streets were drawn to it, each of which ended with an architectural monument that was earlier in construction - the Assumption Cathedral on Strelka, the Znamenskaya and Uglichskaya towers, the Church of Simeon the Stylite.

A network of 265 geodetic reference points, created in the first half of the 19th century to study earth parameters, is currently found in many European cities. On Russian territory it is represented by two points - “Point Mäkipällus” and “Point Z”, located on the island of Gogland. Of more than two hundred objects of the Struve arc, only 34 points have survived to this day, which served as the basis for including a unique scientific monument of humanity in the List of especially valuable cultural objects of our time.

Like many natural sites in Russia included in the UNESCO List, the Putarana Plateau was included in it due to the unique combination of different ecological systems. Located within an isolated mountain range, the Putorana State Nature Reserve combines the subarctic and arctic zones, taiga, forest-tundra and arctic desert within its territory. The Putorana subspecies of the snow leopard, listed in the Red Book of Russia, lives on the territory of the reserve. The world's largest population of wild reindeer also winters on the plateau.

Located on the territory of the Sakha Republic, the Lena Pillars are the most recent Russian site included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012. The geological formation, located on the banks of the Lena, is a multi-kilometer complex of vertically elongated rocks. The basis of this unique natural monument is Cambrian limestone. Scientists attribute the beginning of the formation of the Lena Pillars to the Early Cambrian, a time 560 million years distant from ours. The relief form of the Lena Pillars was formed much later - only 400 thousand years ago. Near the Lena Pillars there is a natural park of the same name. On its territory there are blowing sands and the site of an ancient man. Fossilized remains of mammoths are also found here.