Struve Geodetic Arc added to the World Heritage List

At its session in Durban, South Africa, on July 15, 2005, the World Heritage Committee approved inclusion of the Struve Geodetic Arc in the World Heritage List. The Struve Geodetic Arc is Finland's sixth World Heritage Site.

The Struve Geodetic Arc was laid out and measured in 1816-1855 under the direction of F. G. W. Struve, a German astronomer, with the aim of determining the size and shape of the Earth. The Arc is a scientific and technological landmark, a category that up to now has been under-represented in the World Heritage List.

The Struve Geodetic Arc now included in the World Heritage List comprises station points in ten countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova). The six station points in Finnish territory are located in Pyhtää, Lapinjärvi, Korpilahti, Tornio, Ylitornio and Enontekiö.

At its 29th session, the World Heritage Committee added 17 cultural sites and 9 natural sites to the World Heritage List, including the residence of the Radziwill family in Belarus and the fjords of western Norway. Sites in Bahrain and in Bosnia-Herzegovina are now included in the List for the first time.

The List currently comprises a total of 812 sites (628 cultural sites, 160 natural sites and 24 mixed sites). These are located in 137 countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention.

Finland already has five cultural sites on the World Heritage List (Suomenlinna Fortress, Old Rauma, the old church of Petäjävesi, Verla groundwood and board mill, and the Bronze Age burial site at Sammallahdenmäki). Finland has also proposed inclusion of the Kvarken land uplift archipelago in the List as Finland's first natural site. The World Heritage Committee will probably discuss the Finnish application at its next session, in 2006.

The UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) was adopted in 1972 and Finland acceded in 1987. The purpose of the Convention is to protect the cultural and natural heritage of mankind. Altogether 180 countries have joined the Convention.

National Land Survey of Finland(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)

World Heritage Finland(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)