World Heritage Identification Number: 719
World Heritage since: 1995
Category: Natural Heritage
WHE Type: Natural Landscapes & Geographic Features
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇷🇺 Russian Federation
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
Map
The Virgin Komi Forests: A Glimpse into Europe's Largest Virgin Forest
The Virgin Komi Forests, encompassing an expansive area of approximately 3.28 million hectares, stands as the largest virgin forest in Europe. Located within the Northern Ural Mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia, this UNESCO World Heritage Site offers a unique insight into the untouched beauty and biodiversity of the taiga.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Virgin Komi Forests cover 3.28 million ha of tundra and mountain tundra in the Urals, as well as one of the most extensive areas of virgin boreal forest remaining in Europe. This vast area of conifers, aspens, birches, peat bogs, rivers and natural lakes has been monitored and studied for over 50 years. It provides valuable evidence of the natural processes affecting biodiversity in the taiga.
Encyclopedia Record: Virgin Komi Forests
The Virgin Komi Forests is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Northern Ural Mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia. At 32,800 km2 it is the largest virgin forest in Europe.Additional Site Details
Area: 3,280,000 hectares
(ix) — Outstanding example representing ecological and biological processes
Coordinates: 63.6258333333 , 58.9525
IUCN World Heritage Outlook
The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Virgin Komi Forests reports the following assessment:
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment
