Europe’s largest natural landscape

The Laponian Area World Heritage Site is a Saami cultural landscape with traces of human activity that are several thousand years old.

At the same time, the Laponian Area is Europe’s largest continuous natural landscape. In 1996, UNESCO designated the Laponian Area as a World Heritage Site because of its culture and its nature.

The designation was based on a combination of its unique nature and the cultural values found in the area. It bears traces of the early history of both our planet and of humanity. The landscape was formed in the interplay with a living Saami tradition, which has pursued reindeer farming for a long time.

Justification of the World Heritage Committee

“The site is an outstanding example of how the Earth has developed, above all geologically, as well as of how ecological and biological changes are occurring today. There are also remarkable natural phenomena of exceptional beauty, and natural sites that are significant for biological diversity. The site, which has been occupied continuously by the Saami since prehistoric times, is one of the best preserved examples of an area of transhumance in northern Scandinavia. It contains settlements and grazing areas for large reindeer herds, a practice that dates back to an early stage in human economic and social development.”

More information:
The Laponian Area World Heritage Site