A Look at UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Sunday July 12, 2009
Over the past 33 years, UNESCO has designated 890 world heritage sites based on cultural or natural heritage and having outstanding universal value, including 16 new sites just added last month. Italy, with 44 designated world heritage sites, has more than any other country. Here's a look at UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world, covered by our about.com travel guides.
Photo of Valcamonica, Italy's first UNESCO site © James Martin
Europe:
- Austria has 7000 years of salt mining in Hallstatt.
- Belgium sites include Brussels' Grand Place, historic center of Bruges, and Flemish Béguinages.
- France's first sites were Chartres Cathedral, the isolated island of Mont Saint Michel, and the Palace of Versailles.
- Germany's sites include the Cathedral of Cologne, Wartburg Castle, Berlin Museums Island, and Wieskirche pilgrimage church and Wuerzburg Residence Palace on the Romantic Road.
- Italy has 18 sites in Northern Italy including Italy's first and most recent inscriptions, 12 sites in Central Italy including those in Rome and Tuscany, and 14 sites in Southern Italy including those on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
- Ireland has three sites - Brú na Boinne, Passage Tombs of Newgrange and Knowth includes the massive tumuli of Newgrange and Knowth, both open to visitors on guided tours. A natural heritage site lies at the tip of Northern Ireland, the Giant's Causeway.
- The historic centers of Evora and Porto are two of Portugal's sites.
- Scandanavia has world heritage sites in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.
- Switzerland has the castles of Bellinzona and the old city of Berne with its impressive medieval architecture.
- United Kingdom has 27 world heritage sites, from castles and factories to prehistoric landscapes and islands in the South Pacific. Our UK guide covers 15 of them.
United States and Canada:
- Florida Everglades is a national park and International Biosphere Reserve.
- Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of an Alaskan cruise.
- Glacier National Park in Montana has jagged peaks with snow-covered glaciers.
- Monticello - The Historic Home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, is the only house in the United States to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The University of Virginia, also in Charlottesville, was inscribed with Monticello.
- Olympic National Park in Washington is home to diverse ecosystems, including lush temperate rain forests with world-record-sized trees.
- San Juan, Puerto Rico has two historic sites: Castillo de San Cristóbal and El Morro.
- Southwest US has five world heritage sites including the Grand Canyon and Taos.
- Volcanoes National Park is on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- Yellowstone National Park is cherished for its geothermal features and wildlife
- Canadian Rockies boast great national parks. Our budget travel guide covers Banff, Glacier, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho.
- Quebec City in French-speaking Canada is the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts.
Mexico, Central, and South America:
- Mexico has 25 cultural and 4 natural sites.
- Muyil including the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, Mayan Forest and Lagoons is a top site in Mexico.
- Belize, also known as Temptation Island, is a tropical vacation spot.
- Antigua Guatamela, or ancient Guatamela, is in the Guatamela highlands.
- Tikal in Guatemala is home to fantastic Mayan ruins .
- Iguazu National Park and Falls is on the border of Argentina and Brazil.
- Olinda is a pretty city known for a top Carnival in Brazil.
- Machu Picchu, Peru, is one of the world's great wonders.
Asia and the Middle East:
- China has 26 ancient places being preserved including the Great Wall, Peking Man site, gardens, and several sites in Beijing.
- Japan has 14 world heritage sites, including 11 cultural and 3 natural sites.
- Angkor Wat is an archeological national park with Khmer temples and a river village nearby in Cambodia
- Jerusalem was one of the world's first travel destination.
- Petra, Lost City of Stone in the Jordanian Desert, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World
Australia and New Zealand:
- Australia has 17 world heritage sites including fossils, rainforests, national parks and the Sydney Opera House.
- New Zealand, a country of 268,000 square kilometres, is the location of three of the world's United Nations-inscribed Heritage sites.
South Africa:
- Robben Island near Cape Town has an interesting history including being used as an infamous prison.
- Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park or iSimangaliso is a wetland park in South Africa
India's sites include:
- Ellora & Ajanta Caves
- Taj Mahal
- Fatehpur Sikri
- Khajuraho Temples
- Mountain Railways of India (toy trains)
- Sunderbans National Park
- Valley of Flowers National Park
- Bodhgaya
Comments
… and “dishonourable mention” should go to Dresden (Germany), where the Elbe Valley has just been delisted due to some “improvements”. Can’t help but wonder how many of the listed sites are in danger of being destroyed as well …
Interesting that Dresden would never even get inscribed under US law which requires that all private owners within a site agree to such inscription. But UNESCO bullied its way past the democratically expressed wishes of the citizens of Dresden for a new bridge to relieve its traffic problems. So Dresden got “expelled” on the basis of votes from such well known “democratic” countries and guardians of the environment as Madagascar, Cuba, Kenya and Nigeria! Even then it struggled to get the necessary 2/3rds majority and, in order to get enough support, had to state that Dresden could apply again later!
Regard it as a “Badge of Honour” Dresden – you are still “world class” – as UNESCO itself recognises! UNESCO’s application of concepts such as “authenticity” and “conservation” is muddled – read what the Frankfurter Rundschau said “It would be disingenuous to attribute this situation exclusively to the complications of a democratic process…. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee also played a clear role; it sat back and watched Dresden squirm while placing a questionable emphasis on purism. Behind this behavior is an attitude which holds that only the untouched have the right to claim the title of being part of the world’s cultural heritage; that culture is a sacrosanct remnant from the past. Early on, UNESCO put its foot down and insisted that the only alternative would be to build a tunnel running under the Elbe. The committee emerged as the Keeper of the Grail for whom the only cultural goods that have value were those of museum quality. But cultural goods are also invigorated when they are called upon to stand as a witness to a past that is re-integrated into everyday life. … UNESCO might have reached a decision, but it didn’t find a solution.”
Beware USA as you re-engage with this scheme!