Kenozero National Park

Kenozero National Park (Kenozersky National Park) is a national park in the Russian North. It is centered on Lake Kenozero and is located in Kargopolsky and Plesetsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast. The park was established at the behest of Yelena Shatkovskaya (its first and so far only director) on December 28, 1991. Since 2004, the national park has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Since 2024, its cultural landscape has been listed as a World Heritage Site. According to the World Heritage website: The cultural landscape of Kenozero reflects the communal management of agriculture and nature that developed through the fusion and interaction of the Finno-Ugric forest culture and the Slavic field culture. Wooden churches and other religious buildings, originally decorated with painted ceilings, or “heavens”, are the key social, cultural, and visual landmarks of the area. Their spatial organization, together with sacred sites and symbols, highlight the residents’ spiritual connection with this environment. Unlike most areas in the historical core of Russia, this cultural landscape has escaped industrialization / modernization during the Soviet period, preserving much of its original pre-Soviet aspect. The greatest threat to this landscape's integrity is the steady depopulation, as villages are increasingly abandoned.

Park data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).