Abstract. The article analyzes the circumstances of the introduction into circulation, existence and transformations of the legislative nomination «historical settlement», considers the problem of the absence of norms establishing the identity of concepts denoting historical populated areas, and the continuity between previously approved lists of such and currently valid lists of historical settlements; It was established that the lack of a meaningful and comprehensive definition of a historical settlement as a cultural heritage phenomenon and the inferiority of its conservation status in comparison with cultural heritage sites largely determine the problem of ensuring the preservation and implementation of socio-cultural functions of both the entire array and individual historical settlements of the country. As a conclusion, the need was stated, firstly, to endow historical settlements with the significance of cultural heritage sites, and secondly, to conceptualize the concept, giving it the meaning of a universal term equivalent for the legal, administrative, scientific and practical spheres.

Key words: historical settlement, historical city, cultural heritage site, historical and cultural monuments, cultural heritage protection, monument protection legislation, conceptualization.