Amphitheatre of El Jem

Amphitheatre of El Jem

The impressive ruins of the largest colosseum in North Africa, a huge amphitheatre which could hold up to 35,000 spectators, are found in the small village of El Jem. This 3rd-century monument illustrates the grandeur and extent of Imperial Rome.

Tunisia

El-Mahdia

N35 17 47.004 E10 42 24.984

Date of Inscription: 1979

Minor modification inscribed year: 2010

Criteria: (iv)(vi)

Property : 1.37 ha

Buffer zone: 26 ha

Ref: 38bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Archaeological Site of Carthage

Archaeological Site of Carthage

Carthage was founded in the 9th century B.C. on the Gulf of Tunis. From the 6th century onwards, it developed into a great trading empire covering much of the Mediterranean and was home to a brilliant civilization. In the course of the long Punic wars, Carthage occupied territories belonging to Rome, which finally destroyed its rival in 146 B.C. A second – Roman – Carthage was then established on the ruins of the first.

Tunisia

District of Tunis

N36 51 10.008 E10 19 23.988

Date of Inscription: 1979

Criteria: (ii)(iii)(vi)

Property : 616 ha

Ref: 37

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Djémila

Djémila

Situated 900 m above sea-level, Djémila, or Cuicul, with its forum, temples, basilicas, triumphal arches and houses, is an interesting example of Roman town planning adapted to a mountain location.

Algeria

Wilaya (province) of Setif

N36 19 14.016 E5 44 12.012

Date of Inscription: 1982

Criteria: (iii)(iv)

Property : 31 ha

Ref: 191

Source: whc.unesco.org

Timgad

Timgad

Timgad lies on the northern slopes of the Aurès mountains and was created ex nihilo as a military colony by the Emperor Trajan in AD 100. With its square enclosure and orthogonal design based on the cardo and decumanus, the two perpendicular routes running through the city, it is an excellent example of Roman town planning.

Algeria

Commune of Timgad, Wilaya (province) of Batna

N35 27 0 E6 37 59.988

Date of Inscription: 1982

Criteria: (ii)(iii)(iv)

Property : 91 ha

Ref: 194

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mogao Caves

Brief Description

Situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the 492 cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art.

China

Dunhuang County, Gansu Province. At the eastern foot of Mount Mingsha, 25 kilometres southeast of the County seat.

N40 7 59.988 E94 49 0.012

Date of Inscription: 1987

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)

Ref: 440

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Tipasa

Tipasa

On the shores of the Mediterranean, Tipasa was an ancient Punic trading-post conquered by Rome and turned into a strategic base for the conquest of the kingdoms of Mauritania. It comprises a unique group of Phoenician, Roman, palaeochristian and Byzantine ruins alongside indigenous monuments such as the Kbor er Roumia, the great royal mausoleum of Mauretania.

Algeria

Commune and Wilaya (province) of Tipasa

N36 32 60 E2 22 60

Date of Inscription: 1982

Criteria: (iii)(iv)

Property : 52 ha

Ref: 193

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Western Ghats

Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.

• Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park
• Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
• Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
• Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary
• Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary
• Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
• Periyar Tiger Reserve
• Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary
• Eravikulam National Park
• Grass Hills National Park
• Karian Shola National Park
• Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary
• Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
• Silent Valley National Park
• New Amarambalam Reserved Forest
• Mukurthi National Park
• Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary
• Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary
• Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary
• Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary
• Kudremukh National Park
• Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
• Kaas Plateau
• Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary
• Chandoli National Park
• Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary
• Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
• Pambadum Shola National Park
• Anamudi Shola National Park
• Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary
• Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary
• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
• Mathikettan Shola National Park
• Kurinjimala Sanctuary
• Karimpuzha National Park
• Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary
• Ranipuram National Park

India

N8 31 47 E77 14 59

Date of Inscription: 2012

Criteria: (ix)(x)

Property : 795,315 ha

Ref: 1342rev

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Group of Monuments at Hampi

 

Group of Monuments at Hampi

The austere, grandiose site of Hampi was the last capital of the last great Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar. Its fabulously rich princes built Dravidian temples and palaces which won the admiration of travellers between the 14th and 16th centuries. Conquered by the Deccan Muslim confederacy in 1565, the city was pillaged over a period of six months before being abandoned.

India

Karnataka, Bellary District

N15 18 51.984 E76 28 18.012

Date of Inscription: 1986

Minor modification inscribed year: 2012

Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)

Property : 4,187 ha

Buffer zone: 19,454 ha

Ref: 241bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building, designed by the British architect F. W. Stevens, became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models. Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique to Bombay.

India

City of Mumbai, Maharashtra State

N18 56 24.44 E72 50 10.33

Date of Inscription: 2004

Criteria: (ii)(iv)

Property : 2.85 ha

Ref: 945rev

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Putorana Plateau

 Putorana Plateau

This site coincides with the area of the Putoransky State Nature Reserve, and is located in the central part of the Putorana Plateau in northern Central Siberia. It is situated about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle. The part of the plateau inscribed on the World Heritage List harbours a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. A major reindeer migration route crosses the property, which represents an exceptional, large-scale and increasingly rare natural phenomenon.

Russian Federation

N69 2 49 E94 9 29

Date of Inscription: 2010

Criteria: (vii)(ix)

Property : 1,887,251 ha

Buffer zone: 1,773,300 ha

Ref: 1234rev

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent

Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent

The Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent were part of the northern lines of the Sasanian Persian Empire, which extended east and west of the Caspian Sea. The fortification was built in stone. It consisted of two parallel walls that formed a barrier from the seashore up to the mountain. The town of Derbent was built between these two walls, and has retained part of its medieval fabric. The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century.

Russian Federation

Dagestan, Eastern Caucasus, Western coast of Caspian Sea

N42 3 10.7 E48 17 49.9

Date of Inscription: 2003

Criteria: (iii)(iv)

Property : 9.70 ha

Buffer zone: 2.00 ha

Ref: 1070

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Uvs Nuur Basin

 Uvs Nuur Basin

The Uvs Nuur Basin (1,068,853 ha), is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds. The site is made up of twelve protected areas representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the globally endangered snow leopard, mountain sheep (argali) and the Asiatic ibex.

Mongolia

Russian Federation

Uvs Aimag, Zavhan Aimag, Huvsgul Aimag (Mongolia); Mongun-Taiga Kojuun, Ovur Kojuun, Tes-Khem Kojuun, Ersin Kojuun (Tuva)

N50 16 30 E92 43 11

Date of Inscription: 2003

Criteria: (ix)(x)

Property : 898,064 ha

Buffer zone: 170,790 ha

Ref: 769rev

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Tower of London

Tower of London

The massive White Tower is a typical example of Norman military architecture, whose influence was felt throughout the kingdom. It was built on the Thames by William the Conqueror to protect London and assert his power. The Tower of London – an imposing fortress with many layers of history, which has become one of the symbols of royalty – was built around the White Tower.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England

N51 30 29 E0 4 34

Date of Inscription: 1988

Criteria: (ii)(iv)

Ref: 488

Source:  http://whc.unesco.org

Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao

 Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao

The people of the Netherlands established a trading settlement at a fine natural harbour on the Caribbean island of Curaçao in 1634. The town developed continuously over the following centuries. The modern town consists of several distinct historic districts whose architecture reflects not only European urban-planning concepts but also styles from the Netherlands and from the Spanish and Portuguese colonial towns with which Willemstad engaged in trade.

Netherlands

Willemstad, Island Territory of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

N12 6 6.984 W68 54 7.992

Date of Inscription: 1997

Criteria: (ii)(iv)(v)

Property : 86 ha

Buffer zone: 87 ha

Ref: 819

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

The Wadden Sea

Postcard from Germany

The Wadden Sea comprises the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. It is a large temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes. The inscribed site represents over 66% of the whole Wadden Sea and is home to numerous plant and animal species, including marine mammals such as the harbour seal, grey seal and harbour porpoise. It is also a breeding and wintering area for up to 12 millions birds per annum and it supports more than 10 percent of 29 species. The site is one of the last remaining natural, large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed.

Germany

Netherlands

N53 31 43 E8 33 22

Date of Inscription: 2009

Minor modification inscribed year: 2011

Criteria: (viii)(ix)(x)

Property : 982,004 ha

Ref: 1314bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Palace and Park of Fontainebleau

 Palace and Park of Fontainebleau

Used by the kings of France from the 12th century, the medieval royal hunting lodge of Fontainebleau, standing at the heart of a vast forest in the Ile-de-France, was transformed, enlarged and embellished in the 16th century by François I, who wanted to make a 'New Rome' of it. Surrounded by an immense park, the Italianate palace combines Renaissance and French artistic traditions.

France

Department of Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France

N48 24 7 E2 41 53

Date of Inscription: 1981

Criteria: (ii)(vi)

Property : 144 ha

Ref: 160

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier

Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier

Trier, which stands on the Moselle River, was a Roman colony from the 1st century AD and then a great trading centre beginning in the next century. It became one of the capitals of the Tetrarchy at the end of the 3rd century, when it was known as the ‘second Rome’. The number and quality of the surviving monuments are an outstanding testimony to Roman civilization.

Germany

State of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)

N49 45 0 E6 37 60

Date of Inscription: 1986

Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)(vi)

Ref: 367

Source:http://whc.unesco.org

Tiya

 

Tiya

Tiya is among the most important of the roughly 160 archaeological sites discovered so far in the Soddo region, south of Addis Ababa. The site contains 36 monuments, including 32 carved stelae covered with symbols, most of which are difficult to decipher. They are the remains of an ancient Ethiopian culture whose age has not yet been precisely determined.

Ethiopia

Sodo woreda, Gurage zone, Southern Nation Nationalities & Peoples Region

N8 26 5.676 E38 36 43.56

Date of Inscription: 1980

Criteria: (i)(iv)

Ref: 12

Source: http://whc.unesco.og

Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika

Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika

Founded in 315 B.C., the provincial capital and sea port of Thessalonika was one of the first bases for the spread of Christianity. Among its Christian monuments are fine churches, some built on the Greek cross plan and others on the three-nave basilica plan. Constructed over a long period, from the 4th to the 15th century, they constitute a diachronic typological series, which had considerable influence in the Byzantine world. The mosaics of the rotunda, St Demetrius and St David are among the great masterpieces of early Christian art.

Greece

Prefecture of Thessaloniki, Region of Central Macedonia

N40 38 17.988 E22 57 54

Date of Inscription: 1988

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)

Property : 5.33 ha

Ref: 456

Source:  http://whc.unesco.org

Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

 Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon

Standing at the entrance to Lisbon harbour, the Monastery of the Hieronymites – construction of which began in 1502 – exemplifies Portuguese art at its best. The nearby Tower of Belém, built to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition, is a reminder of the great maritime discoveries that laid the foundations of the modern world.

Portugal

City of Lisbon

N38 41 30.984 W9 12 56.988

Date of Inscription: 1983

Minor modification inscribed year: 2008

Criteria: (iii)(vi)

Property : 2.66 ha

Buffer zone: 103 ha

Ref: 263bis 

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from the Chateau de Chillon to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It is an outstanding example of a centuries-long interaction between people and their environment, developed to optimize local resources so as to produce a highly valued wine that has always been important to the economy.

Switzerland

N46 29 31 E6 44 46

Date of Inscription: 2007

Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)

Property : 898 ha

Buffer zone: 1,408 ha

Ref: 1243

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Abbey of St Gall

Abbey of St Gall

The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. From 1755 to 1768, the conventual area was rebuilt in Baroque style. The cathedral and the library are the main features of this remarkable architectural complex, reflecting 12 centuries of continuous activity.

Switzerland

Canton of St Gall, Town of St Gall

N47 25 23.988 E9 22 40.008

Date of Inscription: 1983

Criteria: (ii)(iv)

Ref: 268

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Le Morne Cultural Landscape

Le Morne Cultural Landscape

Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a rugged mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through the 18th and early years of the 19th centuries. Protected by the mountain’s isolated, wooded and almost inaccessible cliffs, the escaped slaves formed small settlements in the caves and on the summit of Le Morne. The oral traditions associated with the maroons, have made Le Morne a symbol of the slaves’ fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance to the countries from which the slaves came - the African mainland, Madagascar, India, and South-east Asia. Indeed, Mauritius, an important stopover in the eastern slave trade, also came to be known as the “Maroon republic” because of the large number of escaped slaves who lived on Le Morne Mountain.

Mauritius

S20 27 7 E57 19 42

Date of Inscription: 2008

Minor modification inscribed year: 2011

Criteria: (iii)(vi)

Property : 350 ha

Buffer zone: 2,405 ha

Ref: 1259bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Holašovice Historical Village Reservation

 Holašovice Historical Village Reservation

Holašovice is an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding 18th- and 19th-century vernacular buildings in a style known as 'South Bohemian folk Baroque', and preserves a ground plan dating from the Middle Ages.

Czech Republic

South Bohemian Region

N48 57 35 E14 15 10

Date of Inscription: 1998

Criteria: (ii)(iv)

Property : 11 ha

Buffer zone: 368 ha

Ref: 861

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Ancient City of Polonnaruwa

Ancient City of Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa was the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.

Sri Lanka

North Central Province, Polonnaruva District

N7 54 57 E81 0 2

Date of Inscription: 1982

Criteria: (i)(iii)(vi)

Ref: 201

Source: http://whc.unesco.org