Una lies at the mouth of the Una River, where it flows into Unskaya Bay of the White Sea, on the Onega Peninsula within Onezhskoye Pomorye National Park. The village’s history centres on salt production, a tradition of collecting, and a historic church building. If you’re looking for a holiday apartment in Una, the village may be especially worth considering if salt-making and local history match your travel interests.

Salt production in Una

The Pomors have long produced salt in Una from seawater and brine springs. According to historians, the earliest known references to Una date from 1326. A charter issued by Grand Prince Vasiliy Dmitrievich in 1397 refers to the Pomor settlement as Usolye, a salt-boiling site. The two dates reflect different aspects of the historical record: 1326 marks the earliest known references, while the 1397 charter links Una with salt boiling under the name Usolye.

The reconstructed saltworks in Una is modelled on old Pomor boiling huts and stands beside a well in the village centre, fed by a mineral-rich brine spring. The site thus combines a historic building style with a specific source of brine. Visitors can arrange an appointment for a tour of the saltworks. If you plan to take the tour, arrange the appointment before your visit.

Museum and the village’s historical past

The “Unskiy Posad” Museum in Una preserves rare objects relating to the history of everyday life, crafts and trades around Unskaya Bay. The collection was assembled by Una residents. While the saltworks focuses on a particular craft tradition, the museum collection covers several aspects of life and work around the bay.

A wooden Klimentovskaya tserkov' stood in Una and was founded in 1501. It adds another historical landmark to the village’s salt-making and museum history: sacred wooden architecture.

Getting there and cultural heritage in the wider destination of Arkhangelsk Oblast

On the Arkhangelsk–Onega road, turn off at kilometre 98 towards Luda and Una; some of the roads there are unpaved. Use the kilometre marker as a reference and check current conditions before setting out.

In the wider destination of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the cultural and historical ensemble of the Solovetsky Archipelago offers a distinct regional heritage context. The ensemble includes a monastery fortress dating from the 15th to the early 20th century, as well as sacred sites and dozens of settlements dating from the 6th to the 1st millennium BC. Its medieval road and irrigation systems blend harmoniously into the surrounding natural and cultural landscape. The Malye Korely Museum also focuses on regional wooden architecture: its architectural and landscape exhibition includes more than 100 wooden architecture monuments from Arkhangelsk Oblast. The museum is included in the state register of especially valuable cultural heritage sites of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

Discover more destinations: Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk, Kargopol, Khozmino, Kapustniki, Velsk, Solovetskiy, Tsimola

Back to the main travel guide: Arkhangelsk Oblast.