One of these geodetic points on the Struve Geodetic Arc is situated in an apple orchard in the village of Rud, in the Soroka district, a couple of hundred metres from the Soroka–Otach road.
The ‘arc’ runs along the 25-degree meridian of eastern longitude, starting on the coast of the Barents Sea. It then continues southwards through a further eight countries in Northern and Eastern Europe and ends near the Black Sea coast, in the far south-west of Ukraine.
In 2005, the UNESCO committee accepted the scientific community’s proposal to include the Struve Geodetic Arc on the World Heritage List.
UNESCO recognises that this is a unique entry on the World Heritage List: firstly, because it is the only one that involves the interests of so many states (10 in total); and secondly, because prior to 2005, there were no sites on the list so closely linked to the fields of geodesy and cartography.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
The following items from Moldova have also been included on the list of humanity’s cultural traditions and values:
– Traditional carpet-weaving techniques (jointly with Romania) — added to the list in 2016.
– Men’s carolling during the Christmas festivities (also a transboundary element).
The presence of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the country is a powerful factor in attracting tourists. The Moldovan authorities recognise this and are therefore endeavouring to expand this list.
Currently, the following are awaiting consideration for inclusion on the UNESCO list: the Chernozem soils of the Bălți Steppe and the ‘Old Orhei’ archaeological complex.
And what about other countries?
The UNESCO World Heritage List covers 173 countries. It currently comprises 1,273 sites.
Italy ranks first in the world for the number of UNESCO World Heritage sites (62), just ahead of China (61).
Apart from the two leaders, the top five is rounded off by France (56), Germany (55) and Spain (50).
India ranks sixth in the world with 45 UNESCO World Heritage sites — nine more than Mexico (36), the next country outside Europe and East Asia.
Ukraine has 8 sites, and Romania has 11.
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