List of World Heritage Sites in Ukraine

Kyiv

Chernivtsi

Lviv

Chersonesus

Struve Geodetic Arc

Location of World Heritage Sites in Ukraine. Grey dots indicate the Wooden tserkvas sites, blue are the sites of the Struve Geodetic Arc, and green the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests.

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, 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[]

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[]

In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site has previously been listed on the tentative list.^[12] As of 2021, Ukraine had 17 such sites on its tentative list.^[3]

Tentative sites

Site	Image	Location	Year listed	UNESCO criteria	Description
Historic Centre of Tchernigov, 9th-13th centuries		Chernihiv Oblast	1989	i, ii, iv (cultural)	This nomination comprises the historic centre of Tchernigov, or Chernihiv, that dates to the 9th to the 13th centuries. The nomination mentions the Transfiguration Cathedral from the 11th century and the Borissoglebsky Cathedral from the 12th century (pictured).[13]
Cultural Landscape of Canyon in Kamenets-Podilsk		Khmelnytskyi Oblast	1989	i, ii, iv (cultural)	This nomination comprises the castle (pictured) and the historic centre of the city Kamianets-Podilskyi, dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries.[14]
Tarass Shevtchenko Tomb and State Historical and Natural Museum - Reserve		Cherkasy Oblast	1989	(mixed)	No description provided in the nomination documentation.[15]
National Steppe Biosphere Reserve "Askaniya Nowa"		Kherson Oblast	1989	x (natural)	No description provided in the nomination documentation.[16]
Dendrological Park "Sofijivka"		Cherkasy Oblast	2000	(mixed)	The construction of the English landscape park started in 1796 by Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki. It is a representative example of the landscape gardening architecture at the turn of the 18th century and is home to over 2 thousand plant species. Since 1955, it has been managed by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.[17]
Bagçesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans		Bakhchysarai Raion	2003	i, iii, v, vi (cultural)	The palace was constructed in the first half of the 16th century in the local period style. It served as the residence of Crimean Khans for around next 250 years. The complex comprises two mosques, official buildings, living quarters of the khans and their families, as well as auxiliary buildings and inner courtyards and parks.[18]
Archaeological Site "Stone Tomb"		Zaporizhzhia Oblast	2006	iii, vi (cultural)	This archeological site encompases a large mound, up to 12 metres (39 ft) tall, made up of individual sandstone blocks. There are several petroglyphs on the stones, some dating to the Neolithic period while most were created in the Bronze Age. Remains of settlements from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods have been found in the area.[19]
Mykolayiv Astronomical Observatory		Mykolaiv Oblast	2007	ii, iv (cultural)	The observatory in Mykolayiv was founded in 1821 as a naval observatory. The complex comprises the Classicist main building, astronomic pavilions from the early 20th century, and three modern pavillions that are in use for research.[20]
Complex of the Sudak Fortress Monuments of the 6th - 16th c.		Sudak Municipality	2007	ii, iv, v (cultural)	The fortifications at Sudak, or Sugdeia, were constructed by the Byzantines in the Early Middle Ages and then by the Genoese who built most of the extant structures in the 14th and 15th centuries. Sudak declined in the importance in the 17th century and the fortress became a museum in 1958.[21]
Astronomical Observatories of Ukraine*		Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Odessa, Yalta	2008	ii, iv, vi (cultural)	This is a transnational nomination that brings together the important astronomical observatories. Four observatories from the 19th and 20th centuries in Ukraine are included in the nomination: Mykolaiv Observatory (pictured), Astronomical Observatory of Kyiv National University, Astronomical Observatory of Odessa National University, and Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.[22]

No.	Image	Name	Location	Time of creation	Time submitted	Reference	UNESCO Category	UNESCO Criteria
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[]

• List of historic reserves in Ukraine

References[]