Construction of the road to the White Sea petroglyphs completed in Karelia
The new route has linked two groups of ancient rock art sites — Zalavruga and Besovy Sledki — into a single track, Artur Parfenchikov, the head of the republic, announced on VKontakte on Friday.
25 August 2021'The road to the petroglyphs has been completed in the Belomorsky District. It linked two groups of rock art — the Besovy Sledki and Zalavruga — into a single circular route. The contractor, Tekhnostroy, carried out the work well and on time,' the report said, as quoted by TASS.
The length of the track is 840 m. The next step in the development of infrastructure for the White Sea petroglyphs, which at the end of July were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the petroglyphs of Lake Onega, will be the construction of a bridge over the Kisly Pudas brook. The authorities expect that all this together will lead to an increase in tourist traffic to the Belomorsky District, which will allow the service sector here to be developed, and create new jobs for local residents.
Earlier, it was reported that the protective pavilion above the Besovy Sledki petroglyph group opened after renovation in May. The government also plans to improve the hiking trail that leads directly to the petroglyphs, repair bridges, create lighting and provide rest and parking areas. The caretaker's lodge will be renovated in line with the overall concept. A visitor's centre with a hotel and café will be set up on a vehicle turning area. In total, Karelia will receive RUB 630 mn from the federal budget over four years for the creation of a modern complex near the White Sea petroglyphs under the programme for the individual development of the region.
The petroglyphs of Karelia are unique examples of primitive monumental rock art. The group of petroglyphs on the White Sea — the Besovy Sledki — was discovered in 1926 and contains 470 figures, several hundred more images were later discovered next to the Besovy Sledki. Another large group of petroglyphs is located on the eastern shore of Lake Onega, near Cape Besov Nos, in the Pudozhsky District, and contains over 1,200 images.
On 28 July 2020, at the 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a unanimous decision was taken to inscribe the Russian site of the Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea on the UNESCO World Heritage List.