Cultural heritage

The landscape around us is full of thousands of heritage culture objects – you need only notice them. We invite you to pay attention to cultural signs in nature and enrich your nature journey with them!

What is heritage culture?

Heritage culture is defined as signs left behind in the works and activities of our ancestors in the landscape. For example, when moving in the forest, you may find an abandoned farm site, find boundary markers on mossy stones, or notice traces of resin on a pine tree. Heritage culture is an important part of our culture, a piece of our national identity.

Where is the heritage culture?

The heritage culture database provides information on nearly 44,000 objects of heritage culture. Approximately one-fifth of them are located on RMK’s land, either in whole or in part. In the forest landscape, heritage culture is better preserved than in arable land, where soil management and land improvement have damaged it more.

How to find heritage culture?

The map application in the Land Board’s Geoportal will guide you to heritage culture objects in nature. This is a good opportunity to get acquainted with the history of your home country or get inspiration for a nature trip.

Heritage culture is introduced in RMK’s visitor centres and on many hiking trails. The Oandu Visitor Centre has a special focus on forestry heritage culture, where you can also find a thematic study trail, on which you can play an interactive smart game of heritage culture.

In cooperation between Estonians and Latvians, the Koiva heritage culture maintenance and conservation area has been established through Valga and Valka counties. You can get acquainted with its diverse heritage culture on the 2-kilometre circular trail , the 20-kilometre Koiva Cycling Trail or the 60-kilometre Estonian-Latvian joint trail .

Who Mapped the Heritage Culture?

The heritage culture database was created on the initiative of RMK. We launched a comprehensive mapping of heritage culture sites in 2005, involving local experts, hundreds of volunteers, RMK forest managers and dedicated local history researchers. In total, the extensive work took six years and the database is still being updated to a lesser extent.

In the course of mapping, we focused primarily on cultural signs found in nature; cities and settlements were left out of our focus. We mapped heritage culture regardless of its form of land and ownership, and brought forgotten cultural landmarks back to the spotlight.

If you know of any interesting places, buildings, or natural objects in Estonia that deserve to be highlighted as heritage culture, please let us know in the map application for heritage culture (an icon with an exclamation mark on the right side of the map window).

Who ensures the protection of heritage culture?

Heritage culture objects are not under state protection and there are no plans to place them under protection. Ownership – awareness and care of landowners and landscape operators – is essential for the preservation of heritage culture. You can only keep what is known and valued.

For example, the map layer of heritage culture is used in the planning of all works in the state forest. RMK’s crackers and forest growers have undergone training to make it easier to notice objects in nature and take them into account during work.

Gallery

View photos of heritage culture objects and videos of the most common types of heritage culture objects. More in-depth reading, such as the small heritage culture handbook and county heritage culture overview books, can be downloaded free of charge here.

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