Kinerma Village

Kinerma is a Karelian village first recorded in the sixteenth century, and it survives because almost nothing happened to it - about a dozen wooden houses, several of them over two hundred years old, arranged around a chapel of the Smolensk icon standing in a grove of old spruce, which is the traditional Karelian layout with the sacred grove at the centre. Fewer than ten people live there permanently. A family from the village has spent decades restoring houses, running guided visits, cooking Karelian food for guests and letting rooms, which is the only reason it has not gone the way of the surrounding villages; it was named among the country's most beautiful villages in 2016, and the attention brought both money and visitors. The houses are the northern type with living quarters and farm building under one roof. The last kilometres of road are unpaved and the village has no shop.

What you actually see

• The sacred grove - the chapel standing in old spruce at the centre of the village.
• The old houses - about a dozen wooden buildings, several over two hundred years old.
• The Karelian layout - the traditional village plan preserved rather than reconstructed.
• The family restoration - decades of private work keeping the village standing.

When to go

June to September. Two hours. Visits and meals are arranged in advance with the family.

Honest expectations

You cannot simply turn up - visits are arranged and paid for, since people live there. There is no shop, cafe or accommodation beyond what the family offers. The last road is unpaved and hard in spring. It is genuinely small; two hours is enough.

Nearby

Vedlozero is the nearest settlement; Petrozavodsk is about two hours north.