The Cultural And Natural UNESCO World Heitage Sites Of The Ukraine

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January 7, 2023

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries that are signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage is defined as 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. Ukraine officially adopted the UNESCO Convention and became an independent member in1988, while still officially being a Union Republic of the Soviet Union (prior to its dissolution in 1991).


As of 2022, there are seven World Heritage Sites listed in Ukraine, six of which are cultural sites and one of which, the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, is a natural site. The first site 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 17 countries. In addition, Ukraine has 17 sites on its tentative list.
As of 28 November 2022, UNESCO has verified damage to 221 sites since February 24th – 98 religious sites, 17 museums, 78 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 18 monuments, and 10 libraries. By the time we go to print, there are almost certain to be more. (See a regularly updated report at https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/damaged-cultural-sites-ukraine-verified-unesco ) UNESCO is conducting a preliminary damage assessment for cultural properties by cross-checking the reported incidents with multiple credible sources. UNESCO, with its partner organizations, is also developing a mechanism for independent coordinated assessment of data in Ukraine, including satellite image analysis, in line with provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.


1 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 Ukrainian Baroque style. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is a monastic ensemble which was developing from the 11th to the 19th centuries. It is comprised of churches, monasteries, and caves where saints were buried. It was an important center of Eastern Orthodox Church. (Photo credit: Paweł “pbm” Szubert / Wikipedia, licencja: CC-BY-SA-3.0)

2 The City of Lviv was founded in the late Middle Ages and still preserves its medieval topography. The city has been shaped by the interactions of the different communities that have lived there through centuries, including various Christian groups, Muslims, and Jews. The architecture of the city represents a fusion of styles from Eastern Europe with the influences coming from Italy and Germany. Several buildings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods have been preserved.

3 The Struve Geodetic Arc is a series of triangulation points, stretching over a distance of 1,750 miles 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 Earth. Originally, there were 265 station points. The World Heritage Site includes 34 points in 10 countries (North to South: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), four of which are in Ukraine. (Pictured is a site marker in Felshtyn.)

4 The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational site encompassing 94 component parts (forests of European beech trees in 18 European countries. In many of these stands (especially those in the Carpathians), these forests were allowed to proceed without interruption or interference since the last ice age. They document the undisturbed postglacial repopulation of the species.

5 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 and built in the historicist style—combining the 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.

6 The Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora was founded by Dorian Greeks in the 5th century BCE on the coast of the Black Sea in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula.. In the following centuries, the city saw the interactions of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine communities in the 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.

7 This property comprises 16 wooden churches (tserkvas) in the Carpathian Mountains, eight of which are in Ukraine. (The others are in Poland.) 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.)

The 17 sites that are on the tentative list can be viewed <HERE>.

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