Panozero (; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Kemsky District of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

, located along the

Kem River The Kem (, ) is a river in Republic of Karelia, Russia. It starts from Lake Lower Kuyto and flows through a number of lakes into the White Sea. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . There is a cascade of 5 hydroelectric power plants. The tow ...

. Nowadays Panozero belongs to the Krivoy Porog municipality. Panozero is also called Old Panozero to make a difference to the new settlement of Panozero which is located 1.5 kilometers further away. The population of the village was approximately 100 in the year 2000. Panozero has preserved its old Karelian village outlook and is regarded as an important and endangered representative of the old style villages of Karelia. The plans to build the Valkiala hydroelectric power plant would destroy the village under a huge water reservoir. The proposed hydroelectric plant would not inundate New Panozero, but the settlement would become an island. Panozero is one of the most valuable old style villages in Karelia and the only one remaining along the Kem river. In the year 1996 Panozero was selected to the World Monuments Watch (WMW) list of 100 most endangered sites. Panozero village was also on the list from 1998-1999 and 2000-2001, after which the threat was considered to have passed. Due to its endangered status the village has received restoration funds from the Samuel Henry Kress foundation.

History

The village of Panozero was inhabited in prehistoric times. In 1886 J.W. Juvelius brought some Stone Age objects found in the village to the collections in the Finnish National Museum in

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. According to some historical sources the coast of the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

was occupied by

Karelians Karelians (; ; ; ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely ...

as early as the ninth century A. D. Before that time the area was inhabited by

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. According to tradition, Panozero was the oldest village in eastern Karelia and its inhabitants spread from there to Yushkozero and Soposalma villages. Panozero was also the site of the first Christian church built in Viena district, and it was the administrative center of East Viena for centuries. In 1879, Panozero had 64 houses. In 1905, according to the official census, it had 73 houses and 427 inhabitants. At that time, the Panozero district included eight other villages, yielding a total population of 1,029 people. When the Uzhma Rapids, the largest on the Kem River, were harnessed and the village of Poduzhemye inundated, Panozero became the only remaining Karelian village along the river.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Rural localities in the Republic of Karelia Culture of the Republic of Karelia Populated places in Kemsky District