The Republic of Karelia

Overview

The area of Karelia is 180,520 km² and is comparable to countries such as Syria, Cambodia or Belarus. The length from north to south is 660 km, and from west to east – 424 km.

Nature of Karelia

Karelia is famous not only for its diverse nature, but also for its ecology — it is one of the most ecologically clean territories in the world. Endless coniferous forests, tens of thousands of transparent lakes and rivers. The Nature Reserve Fund of the Republic of Karelia includes 144 specially protected natural territories, as well as two reserves, three national parks and two zoological reserves of federal significance.

What to see in Karelia

Karelia attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. In your life, you should definitely admire Russian architecture and see the monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage List on Kizhi Island; feel the history Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery; explore ancient petroglyphs that are more than 5 thousand years old; feel the beauty of the monument of nature and mining in Ruskeala Park.

The Republic of Karelia is beautiful at any time of the year – in spring to inhale the aromas of flowering of millions of plants, in summer to observe white nights, in autumn the crimson colors of foliage, in winter – white expanses of snow. There are also different activities for each season: from rafting on rivers and fishing on lakes in the warm season, to snowmobiling and dog sledding in winter.

The capital of the Republic of Karelia is the city of Petrozavodsk, where you can visit the Gallery of Industrial History, the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia, the State National Theater of the Republic of Karelia, as well as The Polar Odyssey Maritime Historical and Cultural Center, which will introduce historical wooden sailing ships, the features of their construction and operation.