The Trulli of Alberobello

The trulli , limestone dwellings found in the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighbouring fields. Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs.

 Italy

Province of Bari, Puglia Region

N40 46 57 E17 14 12.984

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)

Property : 10.52 ha

Ref: 787

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Historic Centre of the City of Pienza

Historic Centre of the City of Pienza

It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace. He chose the architect Bernardo Rossellino, who applied the principles of his mentor, Leon Battista Alberti. This new vision of urban space was realized in the superb square known as Piazza Pio II and the buildings around it: the Piccolomini Palace, the Borgia Palace and the cathedral with its pure Renaissance exterior and an interior in the late Gothic style of south German churches.

 Italy

Province of Siena, Tuscany

N43 4 37 E11 40 43

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)

Property : 4.41 ha 

Ref: 789

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Church Village of Gammelstad, Luleå

Church Village of Gammelstad, Luleå

Gammelstad, at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, is the best-preserved example of a 'church village', a unique kind of village formerly found throughout northern Scandinavia. The 424 wooden houses, huddled round the early 15th-century stone church, were used only on Sundays and at religious festivals to house worshippers from the surrounding countryside who could not return home the same day because of the distance and difficult travelling conditions.

 Sweden

County of Norrbotten (Norrbottens län)

N65 38 45.996 E22 1 42.996

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (ii)(iv)(v)

Ref: 762

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Defence Line of Amsterdam

Defence Line of Amsterdam

Extending 135 km around the city of Amsterdam, this defence line (built between 1883 and 1920) is the only example of a fortification based on the principle of controlling the waters. Since the 16th century, the people of the Netherlands have used their expert knowledge of hydraulic engineering for defence purposes. The centre of the country was protected by a network of 45 armed forts, acting in concert with temporary flooding from polders and an intricate system of canals and locks.

Netherlands

Provinces of Noord-Holland (NH), Utrecht (UT)

N52 22 28 E4 53 35

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (ii)(iv)(v)

Property : 14,953 ha

Ref: 759

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area

The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in Sichuan Province in the 1st century A.D. in the beautiful surroundings of the summit Mount Emei. The addition of other temples turned the site into one of Buddhism's holiest sites. Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number. The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looking down on the confluence of three rivers. At 71 m high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. Mount Emei is also notable for its exceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to subalpine pine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1,000 years old.

China

Eimeishan City, Sichuan Province

N29 32 41.64 E103 46 9.3

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iv)(vi)(x)

Property : 15,400 ha

Ref: 779

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Lake Baikal

 Brief Description

Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science.

Russian Federation
Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
N53 10 25 E107 39 45
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 8,800,000 ha
Ref: 754

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

 

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

These places in Saxony-Anhalt are all associated with the lives of Martin Luther and his fellow-reformer Melanchthon. They include Melanchthon's house in Wittenberg, the houses in Eisleben where Luther was born in 1483 and died in 1546, his room in Wittenberg, the local church and the castle church where, on 31 October 1517, Luther posted his famous '95 Theses', which launched the Reformation and a new era in the religious and political history of the Western world.

Germany

States of Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) and Thuringia (Thüringen)

N51 51 52.992 E12 39 10.008

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iv)(vi)

Ref: 783

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine

The island of Itsukushima, in the Seto inland sea, has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times. The first shrine buildings here were probably erected in the 6th century. The present shrine dates from the 12th century and the harmoniously arranged buildings reveal great artistic and technical skill. The shrine plays on the contrasts in colour and form between mountains and sea and illustrates the Japanese concept of scenic beauty, which combines nature and human creativity.

Japan

Hiroshima Prefecture

N34 17 39.9 E132 19 28.7

Date of Inscription: 1996

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

Property : 431 ha

Buffer zone: 2,634 ha

Ref: 776

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Sceilg Mhichíl

Brief Description

This monastic complex, perched since about the 7th century on the steep sides of the rocky island of Skellig Michael, some 12 km off the coast of south-west Ireland, illustrates the very spartan existence of the first Irish Christians. Since the extreme remoteness of Skellig Michael has until recently discouraged visitors, the site is exceptionally well preserved.

Ireland

County Kerry

N51 46 18.984 W10 32 18.996

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iii)(iv)

Property : 22 ha

Ref: 757

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg

Salzburg has managed to preserve an extraordinarily rich urban fabric, developed over the period from the Middle Ages to the 19th century when it was a city-state ruled by a prince-archbishop. Its Flamboyant Gothic art attracted many craftsmen and artists before the city became even better known through the work of the Italian architects Vincenzo Scamozzi and Santini Solari, to whom the centre of Salzburg owes much of its Baroque appearance. This meeting-point of northern and southern Europe perhaps sparked the genius of Salzburg’s most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose name has been associated with the city ever since.

Austria

Salzburg

N47 48 2 E13 2 36

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (ii)(iv)(vi)

Property : 236 ha

Buffer zone: 467 ha

Ref: 784

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

Brief Description

This is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes, a variety of types, and a wide range of related features. The six sites included in the serial designation group together the majority of volcanic features of the Kamchatka peninsula. The interplay of active volcanoes and glaciers forms a dynamic landscape of great beauty. The sites contain great species diversity, including the world's largest known variety of salmonoid fish and exceptional concentrations of sea otter, brown bear and Stellar's sea eagle.

Russian Federation

N56 19 60 E158 30 0

Date of Inscription: 1996

Extension: 2001

Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)

Property : 3,830,200 ha

Ref: 765bis

Source:  http://whc.unesco.org

Sangiran Early Man Site

Brief Description

Excavations here from 1936 to 1941 led to the discovery of the first hominid fossil at this site. Later, 50 fossils of Meganthropus palaeo and Pithecanthropus erectus/Homo erectus were found – half of all the world's known hominid fossils. Inhabited for the past one and a half million years, Sangiran is one of the key sites for the understanding of human evolution.

Indonesia

Province of Central Java

S7 24 0 E110 49 0

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iii)(vi)

Property : 5,600 ha

Ref: 593

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Lushan National Park

Brief Description

Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centres of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism, where the most eminent masters taught, blend effortlessly into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic approach to nature found in Chinese culture.

China

Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province

N29 25 60 E115 52 0

Date of Inscription: 1996

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

Ref: 778

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill

The Verla groundwood and board mill and its associated residential area is an outstanding, remarkably well-preserved example of the small-scale rural industrial settlements associated with pulp, paper and board production that flourished in northern Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Only a handful of such settlements survive to the present day.

Finland

Municipalities of Jaala and Valkeala, Region of Kymenlaakso, Province of Southern Finland

N61 3 42.984 E26 38 26.988

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iv)

Property : 23 ha

Buffer zone: 80 ha

Ref: 751

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn

From the 18th century to 1918, Schönbrunn was the residence of the Habsburg emperors. It was designed by the architects Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Nicolaus Pacassi and is full of outstanding examples of decorative art. Together with its gardens, the site of the world’s first zoo in 1752, it is a remarkable Baroque ensemble and a perfect example of Gesamtkunstwerk

Austria

Vienna

N48 11 12 E16 18 48

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (i)(iv)

Property : 186 ha

Buffer zone: 261 ha

Ref: 786

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

Brief Description

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind; it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Japan

Hiroshima Prefecture

N34 22 60 E132 26 60

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (vi)

Property : 0.40 ha

Buffer zone: 43 ha

Ref: 775
Source: http://whc.unesco.org