Central Sichote-Alin Nature Reserve (World Heritage)
The reserve is located in the Far East of Russia and extends to the coast of the Sea of Japan. Due to its inaccessibility, the landscape is largely untouched. Bears, wolves and the now rare Siberian tiger live in the primeval beech forests.
Central Sichote-Alin Nature Reserve: Facts
| Official title: | Central Sichote-Alin nature reserve |
| Natural monument: | Nature reserve of the Sichote-Alin Mountains, covered with mixed forest; Transition area from the taiga to the subtropics; Species richness and uniqueness, including Siberian tiger, white-breasted bear, brown bear, lynx |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Sichote-Alin Mountains in Eastern Siberia |
| Appointment: | 2001 (expanded to include the bikini valley in 2018) |
| Meaning: | Unique protected area for numerous endangered animal species |
| Flora and fauna: | Siberian tigers, brown bears, Isubra (small deer species), otters, and deer; Black storks, Manchurian cranes, ospreys, nesting of two thirds of all birds in the reserve; Both warm and cold-loving plant communities, including subtropical species; Variety of pine, ash and spruce species; Orchids, rhododendrons, ginseng |
Ferapontow Monastery (World Heritage)
The monastery complex is located about 600 km from Moscow on the Upper Volga. It dates from the 15th – 17th centuries. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin of the monastery has significant frescoes by the painter Dionissij.
Ferapontow Monastery: Facts
| Official title: | Ferapontow Monastery |
| Cultural monument: | Important monastery complex for the political and intellectual development of Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries, founded by the monk Ferapont; several stone churches, including the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God with frescoes by the icon painter Dionisij, an important master of old Russian painting |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Vologda, northeast of Moscow |
| Appointment: | 2000 |
| Meaning: | Extraordinary, completely preserved example of a Russian Orthodox monastery complex from the 15th to 17th centuries. |
Kazan Kremlin (World Heritage)
The Kremlin was created during the Islamic period of the Golden Horde of the Kazan Khanate and documents the common history of the Mongols and Russians in this region. It was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 and then expanded. According to extrareference, the Kazan Kremlin is the last Tatar fortress in Russia.
Kazan Kremlin: facts
| Official title: | Kazan Kremlin |
| Cultural monument: | Ensemble of historical administration and defense buildings of Tartar and Russian origin, enclosed by a white stone wall; including the »leaning« 58 meter high Syuyumbeki Tower (1486–1490, named after the last Queen of Kazan), Spassky Tower (from 1556), the Taynitskaya (Mystery) Tower (destroyed in 1552, rebuilt), Annunciation -Church (built 1556–1562 on the site of a mosque), palace church, presidential palace (19th century) |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Kazan, Republic of Tartastan |
| Appointment: | 2000 |
| Meaning: | Testimony to the centuries-old history of the Tartars and Russians at the interface between Christianity and Islam |
Western Caucasus (World Heritage)
The protected area within the Caucasus is not far from the Black Sea and is one of the few almost completely untouched mountain regions in Europe. The high mountains formed by glaciers offer living conditions that are of great importance for the preservation of threatened and rare plants and animals. These include the mountain wisent, the Caucasian red deer, the West Caucasian tur and the Caucasian brown bear.
Western Caucasus: Facts
| Official title: | Western Caucasus |
| Natural monument: | Almost untouched mountain landscape with a total area of 2,750 km²; alpine and sub-alpine pasture landscape; numerous species of plants found only here; including home of the European bison, which has been released back into the wild here |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Krasnodar region, 50 km northeast of the Black Sea |
| Appointment: | 1999 |
| Meaning: | Outstanding plant diversity; unique, untouched mountain forests |
Derbent (World Heritage)
The old town of Derbent is framed by two parallel fortress walls. They close the gap between the citadel and the Caspian Sea. The plant was built in the 5th / 6th Century and was of great strategic importance. It once belonged to the northern border wall of the Persian Sassanid Empire in today’s Dagestan.
Derbent: facts
| Official title: | Citadel, old town and fortress of Derbent |
| Cultural monument: | Historic old town within two mighty, parallel ramparts (with 73 towers and 14 city gates) in the city that extends over two kilometers; once part of the northern border wall of the Persian Sassanid Empire (3rd to 7th centuries); Defense system founded by the Persians in the 5th and 6th centuries; still of great strategic importance in the 19th century; Old town with baths, cisterns, cemeteries, caravanserai, mausoleum, mosques, citadel, located on a hill |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Derbent, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, Dagestan region |
| Appointment: | 2003 |
| Meaning: | Outstanding evidence of the Persian Sassanid Empire; unique example of a medieval defense system |
Wrangel Island Nature Reserve (World Heritage)
The island is located off the coast of Siberia in the Arctic Ocean. It forms the habitat for arctic mammals such as walruses and polar bears and is a breeding ground for countless migratory birds. In contrast to many other islands in the Arctic Ocean, Wrangel Island is ice-free.
Wrangel Island Nature Reserve: Facts
| Official title: | Wrangel Island Nature Reserve |
| Natural monument: | Nature reserve on the arctic, mountainous islands of Wrangel and Herald in the Polar Sea, northwest of the Bering Strait; great diversity of plants and animals, over 400 vascular plant species, including 23 endemic; Breeding ground for endangered migratory birds; world’s largest population of walruses, greatest density of polar bears; important habitat for gray whales and migratory birds |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Country: | Russia |
| Location: | Wrangel and Herald Islands, Arctic Ocean off the coast of Siberia |
| Appointment: | 2004 |
| Meaning: | Nature reserve with exceptional biodiversity |
