The largest city in Karelia. Republic of Karelia. How to get to Karelia
Karelia and its regions have long attracted tourists from all over the world. And it attracts vacationers not only beautiful landscapes and architectural monuments, but also that the tourist season in the Karelian regions lasts all year round. Both active tourists and lovers of a relaxing family holiday will find entertainment here.
The largest cities in Karelia that attract tourists are Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga.
Capital of the Republic Karelia is a city Petrozavodsk, located on the shores of Petrozavodsk Bay of Lake Onega. Lakes also flow through the city: Dennoye, Lamba, and Chetyrekhverstnoye. The capital is home to the bulk of the inhabitants of this region, representatives of different nationalities: Russians, Vepsians and Karelians. The beginning of Petrozavodsk dates back to the time of Peter I, when, by his decree, the construction of an arms factory began on the banks of Onega.
It is from Petrozavodsk that many tourist routes of the region originate. There are a lot of operating museums in this historical city: the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum-Reserve located on the island of Kizhi, the State Museum of Local Lore, which has been operating since 1871 in an ancient building - the provincial chancellery, see the oldest collection of icons in Karelia, you can visit a private art gallery " Doll's house or puppet theater.
Near the city there is the Kivach nature reserve with a flat waterfall of 11 meters and the unique balneological and mud resort “Marcial Waters”, founded by Peter I. Currently it has the status of a museum-reserve. The capital has a ski center for children, equestrian and water sports centers. There are a lot of churches, parks, and public gardens in Petrozavodsk. The most famous throughout Russia is Petrovsky Park.
Relatively young industrial city Kondopoga located near the capital on the shore of Kondopogozhskaya Bay of Lake Onega. The first settlements in this place were in the 15th century, but Kondopoga acquired the status of a city only in 1938, after deposits of marble were discovered here, which were sent for the construction of St. Petersburg.
The main pride of the city is its carillon bells brought from Holland. These belfries can be controlled using a computer, thanks to which all kinds of melodies are reproduced. The most noticeable 14-meter carillon in the form of an arch was erected near the Ice Palace. It has 23 bells and weighs 500 kg.
Vintage celebrity Kondopoga is also the modest Assumption Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose height is 42 meters. This “swan song” of wooden architecture was built during the era of the completion of Russian wooden architecture. The church has an iconostasis and is decorated with paintings.
Vacationers are also attracted by the Kondopoga Museum of Local Lore, the collection of which includes more than 2,000 items. Various items of Karelian everyday life, documents about the history of the city, paintings and graphics by masters are collected here. major cities Karelia, archaeological excavations and much more.
Where to find cheap tours?
It’s better to look for profitable tours through a service that compares prices from more than 120 tour operators and allows you to find the cheapest offers. We do this ourselves and are extremely happy :)
The Republic of Karelia in northern Russia is attractive to tourists for its archaeological, historical and cultural monuments, pristine nature and low population density. There are 13 cities and about 800 towns and villages in the republic. The population of Karelia is 618 thousand people. About 80% are urban residents. A third of them live in the capital – Petrozavodsk.
Also major cities and tourist centers include Kostomuksha, Kondopoga, Olonets, Sortavala. Some of them date back to the Middle Ages, and cities such as Sortavala, Kem, Olonets, Petrozavodsk have historical status Russian cities. In a few settlements Karelia has a famous tourist route connecting Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. It's called "Blue Road".
The largest cities of Karelia
List of the largest cities in the region by population.
1. Petrozavodsk
By decree of Peter the Great it was founded in 1703. The capital and the only one in Karelia Big City. Located on Lake Onega. It has access to 5 seas thanks to a system of canals and rivers. There are many lakes and springs within the city. Onezhskaya embankment with its park is attractive for tourists modern sculptures, Kamenny Bor, Holy Cross and Alexander Nevsky Cathedrals. Granted the status of a city of military glory and a historical city.
Population – 279 thousand people.
2. Kondopoga
It is located 46 km from Petrozavodsk, on Lake Onega. First mentioned in 1495. In the 18th century, deposits of marble and ore were discovered. A hydroelectric power station was built in 1929. City status was granted in 1938. In 2001, the Ice Palace was opened - the only one in Karelia. In the surrounding area there is the Kivach waterfall and the Marcial Waters resort. The city's attractions include two carillons, with 18 and 23 bells.
Population – 30 thousand people.
3. Kostomuksha
The city is 30 km from the Russian-Finnish border. The history dates back to the 70s of the last century, when the development of a new ore deposit and the construction of a mining and processing plant began. Has the status of a city since 1983. The main attractions are the Kostomuksha Nature Reserve, national park“Kalevalsky”, ethnic villages famous for the art of rune singing. Every year the city hosts festivals of chamber and rock music and original songs.
Population – 29 thousand people.
4. Segezha
A city on the river of the same name, near Vygozero. The name translates as “light, pure.” It was founded in 1914 as a small railway station on the Murmansk road. In 1943 it was given city status. Since the 30s, a plant producing paper containers has been operating in Segezha - a city-forming enterprise. The Voitsky Padun waterfall, the archaeological monument - the village of Nadvoitsy, and the Museum Center are attractive for tourists.
Population – 26 thousand people.
5. Sortavala
Founded by the Swedes in 1632, although a Karelian settlement existed on this site back in the 12th century. Until 1918 - Serdobol. Until 1940 – part of Finland. Located on Lake Ladoga. The only city in Karelia with surviving ancient buildings. On the list of historical cities. Of interest are the Ladoga Museum, the modern gallery of Kronid Gogolev, a wood carver, and the Ruskeala Natural Park. Valaam Island is 40 km away.
Population – 18 thousand people.
6. Medvezhyegorsk
A city on the coast of Lake Onega. It was created in 1916 as a village near the railway under construction. Until 1938 it was called Bear Mountain. The railway station is still called that way. In the 30s, the construction management of the White Sea Canal was located here, and 3 prison camps were created. The Sandarmokh tract is located 15 km away - former place execution of prisoners. The area is famous for its shungite deposits.
Population – 14 thousand people.
7. Kem
The title translates as " big river" It was founded in the 14th century. Received city status in 1785. Located on the Kem River. Attractive for tourists by the Kem skerries - a group of rocky sea islands. Among the valuable architectural monuments are the Assumption Cathedral, built 3 centuries ago from wood, and the Annunciation Cathedral of the beginning of the last century. The Pomorie Museum is opened in the building of the former treasury.
Population – 11 thousand people.
8. Pitkäranta
Until 1940 it was part of Finland. In the same year it was given city status. The name translates as “Long Shore”. Located on Lake Ladoga. Founded in the 15th century. It developed rapidly in the 19th century after the discovery of ore deposits. It is famous for the beauty of the Ladoga skerries, the Uksinskaya ozovaya ridge, and the Yukankoski waterfall - the highest in Karelia. Of interest are fragments of the Mannerheim Line and a local history museum.
Population – 10 thousand people.
9. Belomorsk
It is located on the White Sea coast, at the mouth of the Vyg River. The first mention was in 1419. In 1938 it was given city status. Large railway junction and seaport. Part of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. Water tourism on the Shuya, Okhta, and Suma rivers is popular. The main attraction is the Neolithic petroglyphs. The city has many monuments and memorials from the Soviet period. Located nearby Solovetsky Islands.
Population – 9600 people.
10. Suoyarvi
It was founded in the 16th century. Located on the coast of the lake of the same name. The name translated from Finnish means “Swamp Lake”. Until 1940 it was part of Finland. Railway junction. In the surrounding area there is the Talvojärvi nature reserve with an extensive network of lakes and swamps. Historical objects include the railway station building at Kaipa station and the building of the House of Creativity, built in the 1920s.
Population – 8900 people.
Karelia is an amazingly beautiful region that has long become a coveted place of pilgrimage for many tourists from all over the world. They are attracted not only by magnificent landscapes, but also by architecture, as well as the sights of cities that are unique and homely. Let's talk about them.
Large cities of Karelia: list
In total, there are 13 cities in Karelia with a relatively low population density. Topping the list is the capital of the region - Petrozavodsk, located on the shores of Lake Onega and occupying 135 square meters. km.
It begins long before 1777, when a small village became a city. It flourished since the time of Peter the Great, by whose decree an arms factory was erected on the banks of the Onega. Picturesque lakes within the city, an abundance of museums, including the famous Kizhi Island, and art galleries make the city amazing and unique. The most tempting tourist routes begin here. capital - 277.1 thousand people
The second largest city (31.2 thousand people) is a fairly young city Kondopoga(1938), located not far from the capital. Mentions of the first settlements in these places date back to the 15th century, and since the 40s of the twentieth century, marble deposits have been discovered here. Unusual belfries - Dutch carillon bells - give the city a special flavor.
Cities of Karelia
The list will continue with Kostomuksha, a city with a population of 29.5 thousand people, formed in 1983 on the site of an ancient village of the same name. Kostomuksha is located on the shore of Lake Kostomuksha, and the Karelsky Okatysh mining and processing enterprise became the city-forming enterprise.
Another city that emerged in 1943 and forms the Segezha urban settlement is Segezha with a population of 27.5 thousand people. Its location is Lake Vygozero, 267 km from Petrozavodsk.
The small but wonderful cities of Karelia are beautiful and attractive, a list of which is presented below:
Sortalava, included in the list of historical cities of Russia, was founded in 1632. Number of people: 18.7 thousand people. Sortalava is the second tourist center after the capital of the republic. This is the starting point of water routes to the famous Valaam.
Medvezhyegorsk is a city with a population of 14.5 thousand people, located 152 km from Petrozavodsk, formed as a settlement of builders railway to the bays of the Barents Sea. Recognized as a city in 1938.
Ancient Kem, located on and founded in 1785, and previously a former posadnitsa volost donated to the Solovetsky Monastery in 1450. Today the population of the town is 11.8 thousand people.
Small towns
The smallest entities include the following cities of Karelia (list):
Pitkäranta (1940) - a settlement with 10.7 thousand inhabitants;
Belomorsk (1938) - 10.1 thousand people;
Suoyarvi (1940) - 9.1 thousand people;
Pudozh (1785) - 9.2 thousand people;
Olonets (1649) - 8.2 thousand people;
Lahdenpokhya (1945) - 7.5 thousand people.
The cities of Karelia, the list of which we have presented, are unique and amazing. All of them - both ancient and recently emerged - leave a wonderful mark on the soul and make you return to Karelia again and again.
Basic moments
Karelia, northern pearl international tourism Russia, is a link in the Blue Road tourist route, connecting the country with Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
The delightful nature of Karelia, the original culture of the peoples inhabiting it, architectural masterpieces and religious shrines attract travel lovers and admirers of beauty here at any time of the year. Here you can ski and sled, kayak and raft, hunt, fish, and get acquainted with unique architectural, cultural and historical sights. IN last years“Green” ecological routes are very popular, including visits to national parks and protected areas, as well as ethnographic tours that provide the opportunity to visit Karelian, Pomeranian, and Vepsian settlements that have a centuries-old history.
History of Karelia
Back in the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. people began to settle on the territory of Karelia. This is evidenced by the world famous Karelian petroglyphs discovered on east coast Lake Onega, near the village of Besov Nos. There are ancient images in the Belomorsky region of Karelia, at the mouth of the Vyg River. It is known that in the 1st century BC. e. Finno-Ugric tribes, Karelians, Vepsians and Sami lived here. At the beginning of our era, Slavic tribes appeared on the shores of the White Sea, bringing here the culture of cultivating the land.
With the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century, the Karelian lands found themselves in its sphere of influence. After the breakup of this ancient state Karelia became part of the Novgorod Republic, and in 1478, together with other lands of Veliky Novgorod, became part of the Russian state.
In the 16th-17th centuries, the Swedes, who laid claim to this territory, undertook another expansion to the east, and, as a result of the three-year Russian-Swedish war, in 1617, under the Treaty of Stolbovo, Russia ceded the Karelian Isthmus to Sweden. In the next century, according to the Treaty of Nystadt (1721), which ended the Northern War, this part of the land returned to Russia.
Since 1923, Karelia had the status of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1990, the Supreme Council of Karelia adopted a declaration on the state sovereignty of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the following year it was renamed the Republic of Karelia. On March 31, 1992, the Republic of Karelia, having signed a federal agreement, became a full subject of the Russian Federation and became part of the Northwestern federal district Russia.
Karelia has its own coat of arms, anthem and flag, and its capital is the city of Petrozavodsk.
Capital of Karelia
The emergence of the main city of the Republic of Karelia is associated with the name of Peter the Great and the dramatic historical events of the early 18th century: Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea, the reorganization of the state in a “European manner,” and the rapid development of industrial production.
In 1703, at the mouth of Lake Onega, on the banks of the Lososenka River, they began to build the Petrovsky plant, which became the largest weapons factory in Russia. The Petrovskaya Sloboda arose around it, where artisans, soldiers, and officials of the mining department lived. According to the decree of Catherine II, in 1777 this settlement received the status of a city, and in 1781 Petrozavodsk became the center of the Olonets province. The first governor of the region was the poet and nobleman Gavrila Derzhavin.
Business card of Petrozavodsk – Old city, where architectural buildings of the 18th-19th centuries are located. Among the most famous are the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1823), the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral (1852), the Solomensky Pogost with the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul (1781), and the Stretenskaya Church (1798).
The capital of Karelia is the central hub of the republic’s tourism infrastructure. From here, roads and railways diverge, leading to the main attractions of the region.
Petrozavodsk station
Historical and cultural sights
The uniqueness of the culture of Karelia is a symbiosis of the heritage of four indigenous peoples who have lived together on this land for ten centuries - Karelians, Finns, Vepsians, and Russians. Many architectural and historical sights located in the Republic of Karelia have the status of national heritage of Russia, and some are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The three main treasures in the treasury of Karelia are Kizhi, Valaam and the Solovetsky Islands. These cultural and spiritual centers of world significance annually welcome hundreds of thousands of guests who want to get acquainted with the vibrant and original historical sights of the republic, visit unique museums, and learn about the artistic and folklore traditions of Karelia.
Kizhi
Kizhi is one of one and a half thousand islands located in Lake Onega. On the island there is the Kizhi Pogost, an outstanding monument of ancient wooden architecture in the north of Russia, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
This architectural ensemble was created in the 18th century. In 1714, local residents, using their own funds, built a magnificent twenty-two-domed Church of the Transfiguration here. Half a century later, the Church of the Intercession grew not far from it, and then a slender bell tower, which gave the ensemble integrity and completeness. Art historians believe that this composition probably embodied the believers’ idea of the essence of the divine universe.
The architectural ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost, located in the southern part of the island, became the basis on which a huge museum-reserve was created under open air. It presents monuments of ancient architecture, household items (about 30 thousand exhibits), religious relics, including 500 icons of the 16th-19th centuries. All this was created over the centuries in Russian, Karelian, Vepsian villages located in different regions of Obonezhye and in the villages of South and North Karelia.
In addition to the monuments that represent the main exposition of the complex, there are several ancient villages.
Kizhi shrouded in evening haze
Over the half-century of its existence, the museum has been replenished with unique exhibits: one of the oldest surviving wooden churches in Russia - the 14th-century Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus, several chapels, and more than twenty peasant houses - were transported here. Among the transported structures were barns, barns, bathhouses and other outbuildings.
In the central part of the island there are the villages of Yamka and Vasilyevo, in the north there is an exhibition center, the exhibition of which introduces tourists to the culture of the Russian population of Pudozh, a separate sector is dedicated to the culture of the Pryazha Karelians.
The museum-reserve is not only a repository of masterpieces with a century-old history, but also a research center where they are engaged in the revival of folk traditions. The museum hosts folk festivals, folk games, and Days of Folk Crafts.
Today, divine services are held in ancient temples, and bells ring in Kizhi belfries.
Infrastructure facilities - a cafe, a bar, souvenir kiosks, a post office and a first-aid post - are located in the southern part of the island. There is also a pier from where you can go on a boat trip along the route called “Kizhi Necklace”. During the trip, you will be able to see the peculiar round dance of ancient chapels scattered in different parts of the island of Kizhi and on neighboring islands. Each of them is unique, different from the other, and located in its own natural and historical environment.
The tour takes 3 hours. Cost: 100 rubles per person.
Kizhi Island, Karelia
Recently a new one appeared on the island of Kizhi excursion route– ecological trail. Considering that the museum-reserve is located in a unique natural region of Karelia, it was stretched for almost 3 km and equipped with viewing platforms, from where magnificent panoramas of the territory, cut by traces of ancient earthquakes and a glacier that descended about 12 thousand years ago, open up. From here you can watch rare birds and admire the mixed-grass meadows of Kizhi Island. Along the route there are information stands and places for rest.
The entire island is under the jurisdiction of the museum-reserve, and for an individual visit you need to pay 500 rubles to enter it. A ticket for pensioners costs 300 rubles, for students – 200 rubles, children under 16 years old can visit the island for free.
You can book a tour right on the spot. The choice of excursion programs is large, their duration is from a quarter of an hour to three hours, the cost is from 200 to 1000 rubles per person.
Balaam
In the northern part Lake Ladoga The Valaam archipelago is located, the name of which was given by the island of Valaam. The world-famous monastery built on it also bears this name. The history of the Valaam Monastery dates back to the 10th-11th centuries. Since then, an outstanding landscape and architectural complex has gradually formed around it.
These places in Karelia were inhabited back in the 10th century, and around the same time the first Orthodox monks appeared here. It is reliably known that in the 14th century there was already a monastery here. In 1611 it was devastated by the Swedes, and stood in ruins for more than a hundred years. Restoration of the monastery began only in 1715, but the wooden buildings were destroyed by fires in the mid-18th century. Large-scale construction of monastery buildings made of stone began in 1781. Churches, chapels, and outbuildings were erected here. Over time, roads were laid on the lands belonging to the monastery, dams were poured, canals were dug, bridges were erected and drainage structures were equipped.
The Christianly persistent and patient Valaam monks literally manually created a fertile soil layer on the rocky slopes of the island, adding soil brought from the mainland. Here they began to grow trees and garden crops that were unusual for these places.
The architectural decoration of the monastery and the man-made beauty of the surrounding landscape form a single whole with unique nature Valaam. It is so impressive that in the 19th century the island became a kind of workshop where Russian artists honed their skills in painting landscapes. Thus, the Valaam Monastery and the island itself were depicted in many paintings kept today in famous museums.
The magnificent stone monastery complex is the high-rise and semantic dominant of the entire Valaam archipelago. The central monastery estate includes the Transfiguration Cathedral, the cell buildings that frame it, hotels for pilgrims, the Holy Gate with the gateway church of Peter and Paul, the temples of the Assumption and the Life-Giving Trinity.
Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, Karelia
The central estate is surrounded by the Intercession Chapel, the Church of the Reverend Fathers, near the walls of which lie the remains of the abbots of the monastery, monasteries and other buildings.
Operating temples are open to the public, but you must be dressed appropriately. Women wearing trousers, shorts, short skirts and bare heads will not be allowed entry. Shorts, T-shirts and tracksuits on men are also not acceptable.
Excursions to Valaam depart from Petrozavodsk and Ladoga region. As a rule, buses go to the city of Sortavala, from where in the warm season there are daily flights on the Meteor ship. Travel time by water is 1 hour.
When ordering an excursion in this city, you can choose one of two options: a short program, which includes a transfer, a walking tour of the monastery estate (from 2,300 rubles per person) or full program, which additionally includes a tour of a large territory called “New Jerusalem”, a visit to Nikon Bay, lunch in the refectory, as well as the opportunity to listen to church spiritual chants (from 3170 rubles per person).
If you are traveling by personal or rented water transport, you can moor at the pier in Monastyrskaya Bay.
In winter, travel companies on Valaam organize ski tours and snowmobile trips.
Valaam Island in winterSolovki
The Solovetsky Islands administratively belong to the Arkhangelsk region, but historically they are connected with Karelia and are located at its northern administrative borders in the White Sea. The shortest route to Solovki lies just from the Karelian coast, and most of the tourist routes in Karelia include a visit to the Solovetsky archipelago.
It is located near the Arctic Circle and includes six big islands and about a hundred - less. The coastline of Solovki is uniquely picturesque: it impresses travelers with boulder deposits along the sea, similar to the ruined walls of ancient cities, a wide strip of mixed forests and lakes scattered among them.
The archipelago has the status of a specially protected area, a historical, architectural and natural museum-reserve.
The architectural complex of the museum, the basis of which is the Solovetsky Monastery, is included in the list of the World cultural heritage UNESCO.
The most famous among the islands of the archipelago is Bolshoi Solovetsky Island. It is here that the only village of the archipelago and the main historical, spiritual and natural attractions of the museum-reserve are located: the monastery itself, the Ascension monastery on Sekirnaya Mountain, the Savvatievsky monastery, as well as the Isaac, Filipovskaya and Makarievskaya hermitages.
Some other shrines of the Solovetsky Monastery - monasteries, deserts, as well as Stone labyrinths are located on the islands of Bolshaya Muksalma, Anzer and on Bolshoi Zayatsky Island.
The Solovetsky Monastery, one of the largest spiritual and cultural centers in Russia, was founded in the 15th century by the monks Zosima and Herman. The monastery is known for its outstanding role in the history of the strengthening of the Russian state in the northern territories.
The monastic architectural ensemble includes archaeological complexes of the pre-Christian era, the grandiose Kremlin - a powerful fortress built from wild boulders, monumental white-stone temple buildings, a system of man-made canals connecting the island lakes, and an ancient botanical garden.
In the 20s of the last century, the Bolsheviks considered the construction of the monastery to be a very suitable place for arranging places of detention for criminals and “unreliable” citizens. It should be said that criminals and heretics were previously isolated within the walls of the Solovetsky Monastery. But if over the previous four centuries about 300 prisoners languished here, then in less than two decades in the prison cells of the “Solovetsky camp” located here special purpose“More than one hundred thousand people visited, most of whom never left Solovki. Their ashes rest in unmarked mass graves.
In 1990, the Solovetsky Monastery returned to the fold Orthodox Church, gradually restoring its role in the spiritual life of Russia. Tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists come here every year to see the majestic monastery complex covered in legends.
It is most convenient to get to the Solovetsky Islands from the cities of Kem and Belomorsk.
From the pier of the village of Rabocheostrovsk, located 12 km from Kem, motor ships depart twice a day from June to September. The cost of a one-way ticket is 1,500 rubles for an adult, 750 rubles for children from 3 to 10 years old, for children under three years old the trip is free. Travel time – 2 hours.
The same cost of tickets for passengers traveling to the Solovetsky Islands from the Fishing Port in Belomorsk. The ship, which sails daily from June to September, travels for 4 hours, and has 4 comfortable passenger lounges, a cafe, a promenade deck and even a library on board.
In the kingdom of northern nature
Karelia is a kind of georeserve. This pristine region preserves traces of the geological history of Northern Europe. Here you can see the consequences of cataclysms that shaped the appearance of the planet long before the appearance of people. Local landscapes, preserving the memory of prehistoric earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and falls of giant meteorites, make a tremendous impression on tourists, and geology students come to these areas to study the classic traces of glaciers that once advanced onto the continent from the North Sea. Colossal masses of ice that melted about 12 thousand years ago left their “ Business Cards" - huge boulders, deep grooves in the rocks, and ridges of stones, as if collected by the bucket of a giant bulldozer - moraines. All these titanic transformations of the earth's surface exposed many placers of useful minerals and even precious stones.
Almost half of Karelia is covered by forests, a quarter of its area is occupied by numerous lakes. The landscape is complemented by swamps and picturesque rocks covered with moss.
The main natural wealth of Karelia is forest. Coniferous and mixed taiga forests are the habitat of reindeer, bears, wolves, lynxes, moose, wild boars, and there are about 270 species of birds.
Under the green canopy of pine trees, bushes of blueberries, lingonberries, wild rosemary, crowberries, forest herbs and mosses, including many medicinal ones, grow luxuriantly. These pine forests - best places for collecting porcini mushrooms. In the undergrowth grow willow, bird cherry, rowan, juniper, alder, including a valuable species with black wood.
Another rare tree, the Karelian birch, is found in small areas in the forests of the southern region of the country. This short tree, recognizable by its uneven, bumpy or ribbed trunk, is one of the most valuable tree species on the planet. Its distinctive feature is its very beautiful patterned wood. Products made from Karelian birch decorate both simple Karelian houses and the most famous palaces in the world.
There are 27 thousand rivers in Karelia, and more than 60 thousand lakes. Figuratively speaking, each Karelian family owns one lake. Someone “got” Ladoga, and someone is the “owner” of the lambushka - that’s what the Karelians call forest lakes without sources.
The country's lake-river system is unique: there is no such ratio of land and water surface anywhere else.
Lake Ladoga (17.7 thousand km²) and Lake Onega (9.9 thousand km²), most of whose water area is located in the Republic of Karelia, are the largest in Europe. The northern coasts of these lakes are incredibly picturesque - the Kizhi and Ladoga skerries - rocky islands separated by narrow straits and making up archipelagos.
The largest rivers of Karelia are Vodla, Vyg, Kovda, Kem, Suna, Shuya. Karelian reservoirs are home to 60 species of fish, including whitefish, pike perch, trout, brown trout, salmon, pike, bream, and burbot.
The only inland sea in Russia, the White Sea, is located on the territory of the Republic of Karelia. In ancient times it was called “Snake Bay” due to its curved, serpentine coastline. The picturesque rocky coastline, covered with beautiful deciduous and coniferous forests, healing air, and excellent fishing attract romantics, yachtsmen, and sports fishermen to the shores of the harsh White Sea. Unfortunately, holidays here are available only during the short summer; most of the year the sea is covered with ice.
It is best to travel around Karelia in summer or winter, but it is worth considering that the weather here is unstable at any time of the year, since the territory of the republic is located in a cyclone zone. During the summer months there is good shipping traffic, and at this time it is pleasant to see the sights, many of which are located in rather “wild” corners. Another highlight summer holiday in Karelia there are white nights; in June the sun does not set 22 hours a day.
Summer in Karelia is usually cool: in July in the north of the republic the average is +14 °C; in the southern regions - about +18 °C, but here, sometimes, heat reigns for 2-3 weeks, and the temperature can exceed +30 °C. You need to be prepared for such a whim of nature as prolonged rains - they are not uncommon in the summer.
During the winter season, the weather can also be capricious. The Karelian winter can be called mild (the average temperature of the coldest months is about -13 °C), but there is always a chance that frost will strike and the temperature will drop to -35 °C.
Natural attractions of Karelia
In Karelia, almost a million hectares (5% of the republic’s territory) are occupied by state-protected national parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries.
Near the Arctic Circle, on the border of Karelia with Finland and Murmansk region, Paanajärvi National Park spreads over an area of 104 thousand hectares. Travelers are drawn to this remote corner virgin forests occupying most the territory of the park, the purest forest air, clear waters of rivers and lakes and the opportunity to be alone with nature.
In the park you can climb to the top of Mount Nuorunen - the most high point Karelia (576.7 m), go on a trip to the small but deep-water lake Paanayavari (124 m), hidden in a deep gorge, admire the view of the Olanga River with its delightful cascading waterfall Kivakkakoski, consisting of seven ledges. There are three more amazing waterfalls here - Mutkakoski, Mäntykoski, Selkäkoski, which also deserve attention.
For tourists, the park has ecological trails equipped with bridges over streams and swamps. Information signs and signs will guide you along the way.
Here you can rent a wooden house (without amenities) with a stove, bunks; in the yard you will find a place for a fire, a woodpile with firewood, boilers, and axes.
Camping sites and, of course, bathhouses are available for tourists. There is parking (vehicles are not allowed in other places). You can rent a motor boat, kayak, or snowmobile.
Nearby is the village of Pyaozersky, where the park’s visitor center operates. Here you can get permission to fishing, picking berries and mushrooms, a walk on Lake Paanajavari on a boat or wooden sailing boat “Nadezhda”.
Hunting, river rafting, and collecting medicinal plants are prohibited in the park. Minerals and rocks cannot be removed from here either.
There is no electricity or cell phone service in this protected area.
Vodlozersky National Park
In Vodlozersky national park, which was awarded the status of a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, each guest can spend time according to their ideas about relaxation. Fans of leisurely educational trips can stay in cozy houses scattered on the banks of a lake or river, and from time to time take excursions on a motor boat around the islands of Vodlozero, admiring the boundless Vodlozero expanses, spread out under the low-hanging sky. During your trip, you can visit villages located on the islands with a centuries-old history, where today the ancient rituals of local residents are being revived, and ancient temples are being restored to their former appearance.
Fans of active recreation can go on specially laid routes for hiking and skiing, they also have snowmobile safaris and sport fishing at their disposal.
The unique Kalevala National Park was created to preserve a large tract of natural forests and the natural and cultural landscape, which became the environment in which the plot of the world famous Karelian epic “Kalevala” develops.
The local landscape is like a mosaic created from forests, swamps and lakes, the largest of which is Lake Lapukka, where game and fish have been hunted for centuries. Here you can see smokehouses for fish and bait holes for martens sunk into the ground.
The reserve is home to bears, and in the summer you can watch reindeer and their cubs mincing along the path along the river bank.
Reserve "Kivach"
In the southern part of Karelia there is the Kivach Nature Reserve, the oldest in Russia. 85% of its territory is occupied by specially protected forests; hunting and fishing are prohibited here, but you can pick mushrooms and berries for your own consumption (commercial picking is prohibited here).
The reserve is named after the waterfall, which for centuries has attracted travelers to this place with its beauty. Approaching the waterfall, you will see how the waters of the Suna River, bursting out of the basalt rocks through which it flows, thunder down from an eight-meter height in a heavy cast stream, forming a grandiose foaming whirlpool.
Waterfall "Kivach"Today this natural miracle is the main attraction of the reserve and is part of the main excursion programs in Karelia.
The waterfall owes its fame to the famous Russian poet and first Karelian (at that time Olonets) governor Gabriel Derzhavin, who after visiting this place wrote an ode, which he called “Waterfall”. Today, not a single description of the Kivach waterfall is complete without the first lines of the work: “The mountain is falling like diamonds.”
Emperor Alexander II also honored the waterfall with his presence. On the occasion of his visit to Kivach, a road was paved. A bridge was built across the Suna, below the waterfall, for the distinguished guest, and near the waterfall itself, on the right side, a gazebo and a house for the night.
A visit to the waterfall, as well as the Nature Museum and Arboretum of the reserve will cost you 150 rubles (free admission for children, schoolchildren and students). You will have to pay an additional 65 rubles for the excursion.
Many people believe that best time for an excursion to this protected place it is winter, so the museum staff have prepared a special program “Fairy Tales” for the winter season Reserved forest" It includes open-air theatrical performances, games, competitions, and sleigh rides. For children - tea with Santa Claus, meeting fairy tale characters, sweet gifts.
The cost of visiting a two-hour show is 350 rubles.
The first Russian resort, Marcial Waters, is located 54 km north of the capital of Karelia. It was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by order of Peter I.
ABOUT healing power ferruginous mineral springs, on the basis of which the resort was built, local residents was known for a long time, and in 1719 medicinal properties waters were confirmed by research by court doctors.
The emperor, accompanied by his retinue, came here more than once for treatment. For his first visit, three wooden palaces were built here and large building with two dozen rooms, along a long corridor of which one could go to the springs.
From pre-revolutionary times, pavilions built over the springs and the building of the Church of Peter and Paul have been preserved here. On their basis, in 1946, the Museum of the History of the first Russian resort “Marcial Waters” was created.
Today you can also spend time here with health benefits. The modern balneological resort “Marcial Waters” is the largest health complex in the north of Russia, where there are well-equipped hydropathic clinics, mud baths with healing Gabozero mud, physiotherapy and other departments.
The sanatorium is surrounded by a forest, three sections of which are unique: a reserve where Karelian birch grows, a grove of elms and a deciduous forest with giant linden trees.
Active recreation in Karelia
The expanses of Karelia are a paradise for travelers who love thrills and seek individual acquaintance with unexplored corners of the Earth, as well as fishermen, hunters and simply sports lovers who flock here from all regions of Russia and neighboring northern countries.
For extreme sports enthusiasts and those who prefer leisure tourists - all-terrain vehicles and boats, ATVs, off-road bicycles, snowmobiles, helicopters. River rafting routes, horseback riding and skiing routes have been developed for them, as well as skating rinks, paintball fields and vast areas for hunting wild animals.
Lake Onega, Ladoga skerries, lakes Sandal, Segozero, Keret - the reservoirs through which they pass water routes for tourists traveling on kayaks, boats, boats, yachts.
An exciting and exciting adventure - rafting on the rivers of Karelia. Desperate tourists raft on catamarans, kayaks, rafts - small inflatable rafts. Beginners are offered easy, short routes (3-5 hours), usually along the Shuya River, overcoming simple rapids, which end with a picnic with a well-deserved “fighting 100 grams”. This extreme entertainment will cost you at least 3,100 rubles.
Rafting on the rivers of KareliaRafting on the Umba and Keret rivers with access to White Sea, during which, in the intervals between overcoming the rapids, you will be able to admire the changing landscapes and even have time to catch fish, will require you to part with an amount of 10,000 rubles.
The best cycling routes run around Lakes Onega and Lake Ladoga, in the Ladoga region, South and Central Karelia.
The winter season is the time for ski trips and snowmobile safaris, which give the opportunity to visit the hard-to-reach sights of Karelia, located, for example, in Zaonezhie, and most importantly - to fully enjoy the wonderful beauty of the snow-covered Karelian expanses.
Most of the routes are designed so that they can be completed by a person with average physical fitness: there are points for a planned stop where you can rest and have a snack. If you go on a long journey, you will always have the opportunity to stay at one of the recreation centers or guest houses located along your route.
This same high-speed transport that overcomes snow barriers will take you to one of the most famous islands Karelia - Kizhi Island. A two-day snowmobile tour from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi with one night in a hotel will cost from 26,400 rubles.
Karelian cuisine
From time immemorial, Karelians consider fish to be the most respected food item. The most popular is lake fish, which in Karelia is sold steamed, fried, salted, dried, dried and even fresh. First and second courses are prepared from it, and added to salads.
The most revered dish of Karelia is fish soup, which you should definitely try. Here it is called "Kalaruokka". There are countless recipes for its preparation, but most often fish soup is cooked from whitefish, adding milk, cream, and butter.
A traditional stew made with white fish meat is called “Kalakeitto” in restaurant menus. Red fish soup (salmon) is a festive option, it is called “Lohikeitto” and is world famous. This dish, thanks to the addition of cream, has an excellent velvety flavor and is devoid of fishy smell. In a good restaurant this treat will cost you approximately 800 rubles.
Karelians often eat fish soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the range of second courses here is not so wide. Mainly among them are products made from rye and wheat flour, potatoes and all kinds of cereals. Pancakes and flatbreads made from unleavened dough are served with porridge and mashed potatoes, generously flavored with butter.
In Karelia, porridge pies and fish pies are very popular, the unleavened dough for which is made from rye flour.
Delicious dishes here are prepared from the meat of wild animals - deer, elk, bear and forest products - mushrooms, berries. Be sure to try local berry fruit drinks, kvass, and delicious liqueurs. You should also treat yourself to aromatic Karelian honey.
The best restaurant in the Republic of Karelia serving National dishes, is considered the “Karelian Upper Room”, located in the center of Petrozavodsk. Many even call it a city landmark.
In remote corners of Karelia, as a rule, small establishments are available to tourists, where, however, as in any tourist region, international cuisine is presented: local, traditional European, Russian, Italian, Oriental, Mexican, fast food. Prices depend on the class of the establishment and the choice of dishes; a hearty lunch or dinner will cost from 500 to 3,000 rubles.
Where to stay
Living in Karelia has its own nuances. Large hotels can only be found in the capital. Stop here business people and tourists who have chosen Petrozavodsk as their base and go on excursions from here. There are premium hotels here, where you will have to shell out tens of thousands of rubles for a night’s stay, but you can find a cheaper hotel - about 2,000 rubles per day, or choose one of the motels - about 1,000 rubles per day.
Mostly, tourists prefer to stay in tourist complexes located in nature. For an elite holiday, you can choose camp sites that are located directly on the territory of nature reserves or historical monuments. And the most budget option in Karelia is to spend the night in tents in places specially designated for such recreation.
In general, tourist complexes have a wide price range of rooms from economy class to luxury class.
One of the largest hotel complexes Karelia is located in the village of Aleksandrovka (50 km from Petrozavodsk) and is located on the coast of Petrozero. Not far from it are two attractions - the Kivach nature reserve and the Marcial Waters resort. The complex includes a hotel and several cottages. Cost of living in a comfortable double room hotel room– 2500 rubles per day (for two). A day in a luxury cottage will cost 6,400 rubles. (for four).
The tourist base "The Thirteenth Cordon" attracts travelers with its location on the shores of the magnificent Lake Ladoga. Here you can stay in two-story cottages, divided into categories “economy” (from 1,500 rubles per person/day) and “luxury” (from 2,000 rubles per person/day).
The Kanapelka camp site, located on the coast of the Rasinselka Strait, is called a heavenly place where you can feel complete unity with the nature of Karelia. Tourists have access to fishing equipment, a sauna, boats, and a fire pit equipped with everything necessary. You can pick berries and mushrooms right on the premises, and you will be fed with products from your own eco-farm. The cost of living in a comfortable cottage is from 6,000 to 9,000 rubles per day.
Recently, so-called farmsteads have become popular. One of them is the Karelian farm, which is often called a men's settlement. Avid fishermen love to stay here. All conditions have been created for them, and the place itself is located in a pine forest on the banks of the Syapsi River, not far from a large reservoir - Syamozero. Guest houses with all amenities and individual parking are available to vacationers. The cost of living is from 3000 rubles/day.
Karelia is one of the most beautiful regions of Russia, a land of taiga forests, lakes and ancient monuments
How to get there
The main airport of Karelia is located 12 km from Petrozavodsk and is named after the city (the old name was Besovets). It receives planes from different cities Russia and foreign countries. The cost of a flight on the Moscow – Petrozavodsk route starts from 3,600 rubles; travel time will be 1 hour 30 minutes – 1 hour 45 minutes. The airport accepts helicopters; there are also sites for them located in small towns in Karelia.
A railway line runs through the territory of Karelia from south to north. Trains from St. Petersburg to Petrozavodsk travel through the Karelian Isthmus and the stations of the Northern Ladoga region. The St. Petersburg – Kostomuksha train will take you to the west of the republic.
Bus traffic is well developed in Karelia. There are routes to St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Vologda and other cities.
The main highway passing through the territory of Karelia is the M18 highway St. Petersburg - Murmansk. The road surface is well-surfaced, but secondary roads are often bumpy dirt roads.