Construction of the visitor center of the Belomorskie Petroglyphs Museum will be completed in the fall
The progress of work at the site was inspected by the First Deputy Head of Karelia – the Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic Alexandr Chepik.
Today, the Karelian company “Development Group” is completing the building facade. The contractor's representatives reported that the stained glass system is 99% complete. The installation of internal and external engineering systems is also almost complete, and heating boilers are being installed. The builders have begun land improvements of the area around the building.
The visitor center includes a hotel with 40 rooms, including for people with limited mobility, a restaurant, a museum exposition, a conference hall, and large spacious lobbies. Partition walls have been installed inside the building. Interior decoration and equipment installation are planned to be completed in the next month and a half.
– The Belomor petroglyphs are recognized by the UNESCO as a heritage of humanity. It is a serious point of attraction for both tourists and private investors. The new visitor center is another growth point for the economy of the Belomorsky District. There is a small amount of work left to be done at the site. The main construction is complete, the finishing is on schedule. All equipment, e.g. ventilation, climate control, kitchen, has been purchased and is in the contractor’s warehouse. There will be no problems in terms of implementation deadlines, – said Alexandr Chepik. – The landscaping has not yet been completed, but the contractor assured us that the entire scope of work will be completed by October 1.
The Prime Minister also noted that facilities like the visitor center or the previously opened museums of the Karelian Front, gold embroidery, and the indoor pavilion for preserving the “Besovy Sledki” petroglyphs in the Belomorsky District make it possible to make the tourist destination an all-season one.
After inspecting the construction site, Aleksandr Chepik assessed the bridge built across the Kisly Pudas channel and the improvement of the tourist eco-trail to the archaeological monument "Petroglyphs of Zalavruga". The first deputy minister of economic development of Karelia, Aleksandr Lomako, spoke about the comfortable conditions created for visitors:
– The territory is fully landscaped: there is the open-air museum itself, gazebos, a road, a pedestrian route, toilets, a parking lot, information stands along the entire route of tourists. In the main complex, in the area of rock carvings, the keeper's house has been restored, a recreation area with the opportunity to buy souvenirs has been created. Wooden bridges with lighting have also been made both for convenience and recreational load relief in the territory of the monument.
The number of tourists coming to the Belomorsky District is growing rapidly every year.
– A huge number of people are interested in the history of human civilization and life of primitive people. The rock paintings in Karelia in the Belomorsky and the Pudozhsky districts are unique. It is important to ensure that they are protected from recreational loads, on the one hand, and to create all the conditions for their comfortable visiting, on the other, - emphasized Alexandr Chepik.
