TopKar

Project "TopKar - Toponymy of Karelia"

Welcome to the geoinformation resource on the toponymy of Karelia (TopKar), developed by a group of researchers from the Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant no. 22-28-00362.
The TopKar resource (Toponymy of Karelia) allows you to save, systematize and explore the names of geographical objects in Karelia and adjacent areas. Toponyms are presented in Karelian, Veps and Russian (both are given if there are official and local variants of the name). Each name is linked to the location of named natural objects — region, district and settlement. Currently, a mechanism is being developed to display the presented toponyms on electronic maps. It is possible to conduct an etymological and structural analysis of the names of natural objects.

To narrow the search area, specify the data from the reference tables: regions, districts, settlements, both modern and according to the data for 1926. It is also possible to search for toponyms using the lists of informants and recorders.
Researchers of the Karelian Research Center collect toponymic and folklore materials during expeditions, decipher them and upload them to the TopKar database. The Scientific Card Index of Toponyms of Karelia and Adjacent Regions The Institute of Language, Literature and History of Karelian Research Center RAS (ILLH KarRC RAS), the Scientific Archive of KarRC RAS and the Phonogram Archive of the ILLH KarRC RAS are the sources for the database.

Website and software TopKar is an open source project (see topkar on GitHub) developed at KarRC RAS. A wide range of users (specialists, local historians and people interested in the toponymy of Karelia) can use the TopKar system. This system can be used in scientific research, education, culture and tourism.