The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.[2] Ukraine officially adopted the UNESCO Convention and become an independent member on 12 October 1988, while still officially being a Union Republic of the Soviet Union.[3]
As of 2021[update], there are seven World Heritage Sites listed in Ukraine, six of which are cultural sites and one, the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, is a natural site.[3] The first site was listed was "Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra", in 1990. The most recent sites listed were the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine and the Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora, in 2013. Three sites are transnational. The Wooden Tserkvas are shared with Poland, the Struve Geodetic Arc is shared with nine countries, and the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests are shared with eleven countries. In addition, Ukraine has 17 sites on its tentative list.[3]
World Heritage Sites[edit]
UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, whereas vii through x are natural.[4]
| Site | Image | Location | Year listed | UNESCO data | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra |  | Kyiv | 1990 | 527bis; i, ii, iii, iv (cultural) | The Saint-Sophia Cathedral was constructed in the 11th century, soon after the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. Mosaics and frescos from that period have been preserved in the interior. Monastic buildings around the cathedral were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Ukrainian Baroque style. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is a monastic ensemble which was developing from the 11th to the 19th centuries. It comprises churches, monasteries, and caves where saints were buried. It was an important centre of Eastern Orthodox Church. The Church of the Saviour at Berestove, adjacent to the Lavra, was added to the site in 2005.[5] |
| L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre | L'viv | 1998 | 865bis; ii, v (cultural) | The city of L'viv was founded in the late Middle Ages and it still preserves its medieval topography. The city has been shaped by the interactions of different communities that have lived there through centuries, including various Christian groups, Muslims, and a Jewish community. The architecture of the city represents a fusion of styles form Eastern Europe with the influences coming from Italy and Germany. Several buildings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods have been preserved.[6] | |
| Struve Geodetic Arc* | Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Odessa Oblast | 2005 | 1187; ii, iii, vi (cultural) | The Struve Geodetic Arc is a series of triangulation points, stretching over a distance of 2,820 kilometres (1,750 mi) from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. The points were set up in a survey by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve who first carried out an accurate measurement of a long segment of a meridian, which helped to establish the size and shape of the Earth. Originally, there were 265 station points. The World Heritage Site includes 34 points in ten countries (North to South: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), four of which are in Ukraine (site marker in Felshtyn pictured).[7] | |
| Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe* | several sites | 2007 | 1133ter; ix (natural) | This site comprises undisturbed examples of temperate forests that demonstrate the postglacial expansion process of European beech from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean, and Pyrenees. The site was originally listed in 2007 as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, shared by Slovakia and Ukraine, extended in 2011 to include the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, and further extended in 2017 to include forests in total of 12 countries. In Ukraine, nine forest reserves are listed (Synevyr pictured).[8] | |
| Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans | Chernivtsi | 2011 | 1330; ii, iii, iv (cultural) | The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans was built for the Eastern Orthodox metropolitan bishop in the late 19th century, when the region was under the rule of Austria-Hungary. It was designed by the Czech architect Josef Hlávka. The ensemble is built in the historicist style and combines features of Byzantine, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. The complex served as the bishop's residence until World War II. In 1955, the property was transferred to Chernivtsi University.[9] | |
| Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora | Sevastopol | 2013 | 1411; ii, v (cultural) | The city was founded by Dorian Greeks in the 5th century BCE on the coast of the Black Sea. In the following centuries, the city saw the interactions of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine communities in the Black Sea region. It was ultimately abandoned in the 15th century. The area around the city was important due to its wine production, and the remains of ancient vineyards have been well preserved.[10] | |
| Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine* | Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Zakarpattia Oblasts | 2013 | 1424; iii, iv (cultural) | This property comprises 16 wooden churches (tserkvas) in the Carpathians, eight of which are in Ukraine. The churches were built between the 16th and 19th centuries by the communities of Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. The designs are based on the Orthodox ecclesiastical traditions with local influences. They feature wooden bell towers, iconostasis screens, and interior polychrome decorations, as well as churchyards, gatehouses, and graveyards. The Holy Trinity Church in Zhovkva is pictured.[11] |
Tentative list[edit]
Ukraine has several submissions on the tentative list. One of the submissions is an extension of the existing site of Kyiv's historical monuments. Mykolayiv Astronomical Observatory has been submitted in 2007, but in 2008 it has been resubmitted as a part of Astronomical Observatories of Ukraine
| No. | Image | Name | Location | Time of creation | Time submitted | Reference | UNESCO Category | UNESCO Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Historic Centre of Tchernigov, 9th -13th centuries | Chernihiv | 907 | 1989 | 668 | Cultural | i, ii, iv | |
| 2 | Tarass Shevtchenko Tomb and State Historical and Natural Museum - Reserve | Kaniv | 1861 | 1989 | 672 | Mixed | ? | |
| 3 | National Steppe Biosphere Reserve "Askaniya Nowa" | Chaplynka Raion | 1874 | 1989 | 673 | Natural | x | |
| 4 | Cultural Landscape of Canyon in Kamenets-Podilsk | Kamianets-Podilskyi | 14th century | 1989 | 670 | Cultural | i, ii, iv | |
| 5 | Dendrological Park "Sofijivka" | Uman | 1796 | 2000 | 674 | Mixed | ? | |
| 6 | Bakhchisaray Palace of the Crimean Khans | Bakhchysarai | 16th century | 2003 | 1820 | Cultural | i, iii, v, vi | |
| 7 | Archaeological Site "Stone Tomb" | Melitopol Raion | 7th century BC | 2006 | 5075 | Cultural | iii, vi | |
| 8 | Mykolaiv Observatory | Mykolaiv | 1821 | 2007 | 5116 | Cultural | ii, iv | |
| 9 | Complex of the Sudak Fortress Monuments of the 6th-16th centuries | Sudak | 6th century | 2007 | 5117 | Cultural | ii, iv, v | |
| 10 | Astronomical Observatories of Ukraine | Kyiv, Southern Ukraine | 18th century | 2008 | 5267 | Cultural | ii, iv, vi | |
| 11 | Historic Center of the Port City of Odessa | Odesa | 1794 | 2009 | 5412 | Cultural | i, ii, iii, iv, v | |
| 12 | St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Church - (extension of Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra) | Kyiv | 12th century – 1754 | 2009 | 5423 | Cultural | i, ii, iii, iv | |
| 13 | Genoese Trade Ports at the Black Sea | Sudak | 3rd – 4th century | 2010 | 5575 | Cultural | ii, iv | |
| 14 | Cultural Landscape of “Cave Towns” of the Crimean Gothia | Bakhchysarai Raion | 5th – 6th century | 2012 | 5773 | Mixed | iii, v, vi, vii | |
| 15 | The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans’ capital in Bakhchysarai | Bakhchysarai Raion | 5th – 6th century | 2012 | 5774 | Mixed | ii, iii, v, vi | |
| 16 | Derzhprom (the State Industry Building) | Kharkiv | 1925 – 1928 | 2017 | 6249 | Cultural | iv | |
| 17 | Tyras - Bilhorod (Akkerman), on the way from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea | Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi | 13th century | 2019 | 6426 | Cultural | ii, iv, vi |
See also[edit]
- List of historic reserves in Ukraine
References[edit]
- ^ "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ a b c "Ukraine". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "UNESCO World Heritage Centre – The Criteria for Selection". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2016-06-12. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ "Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Struve Geodetic Arc". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2020. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2021. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Wooden Tserkvas of Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
