LAKES AS A PHENOMENON OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Abstract

Aim. The purpose of the paper is to develop an approach to the consideration of lakes as objects of cultural heritage. Methodology. The materials of the study included numerous works on the geography and ethnography of lakes. The main method of research is to establish the influence of the natural features of the lake on historical and cultural phenomena (geographical name of the lake, traditions about it, etc.). A systematic approach revealed the factors that determine and enable some lakes to be considered as objects of not only natural, but also cultural heritage. Results. It is found that a geo-cultural space can be formed around the lakes, based on the natural features of the lake, with which historical and cultural events that took place on its shores or on the lake itself are closely related. Such lakes have long been part of the mentality of its inhabitants. It is in this way that individual lakes become iconic for the population of certain regions of the country and in some cases even acquire national symbolic significance. Research implications. A systematic assessment of the lakes was undertaken in order to determine signs and indicators that allow one to classify lakes as cultural heritage sites. Among the signs identified, mention should be made of the following: toponyms, traditions, and man-made structures on the coast and on the islands, inextricably connected with their natural basis - the lake itself, including sacred objects and the display of the lake and natural and cultural events in the mirror of writers and artists. The new approach to lakes expands opportunities and puts forward additional requirements for their protection and organization of tourism.