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

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

Droogmakerij de Beemster (Beemster Polder)

The Beemster Polder, dating from the early 17th century, is is an exceptional example of reclaimed land in the Netherlands. It has preserved intact its well-ordered landscape of fields, roads, canals, dykes and settlements, laid out in accordance with classical and Renaissance planning principles.

Netherlands

Province of Noord-Holland

N52 32 56 E4 54 40

Date of Inscription: 1999

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)

Ref: 899

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station)

The Wouda Pumping Station at Lemmer in the province of Friesland opened in 1920. It is the largest steam-pumping station ever built and is still in operation. It represents the high point of the contribution made by Netherlands engineers and architects in protecting their people and land against the natural forces of water.

Netherlands

Lemmer, Lemsterland Municipality, Province of Friesland

N52 50 44.988 E5 40 44.004

Date of Inscription: 1998

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)

Property : 7.32 ha

Buffer zone: 21 ha

Ref: 867

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

The historic urban ensemble of the canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new ‘port city’ built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It comprises a network of canals to the west and south of the historic old town and the medieval port that encircled the old town and was accompanied by the repositioning inland of the city’s fortified boundaries, the Singelgracht. This was a long-term programme that involved extending the city by draining the swampland, using a system of canals in concentric arcs and filling in the intermediate spaces. These spaces allowed the development of a homogeneous urban ensemble including gabled houses and numerous monuments. This urban extension was the largest and most homogeneous of its time. It was a model of large-scale town planning, and served as a reference throughout the world until the 19th century.

Netherlands

N52 21 54 E4 53 16

Date of Inscription: 2010

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)

Property : 198 ha

Buffer zone: 482 ha

Ref: 1349

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout

Brief Description

The outstanding contribution made by the people of the Netherlands to the technology of handling water is admirably demonstrated by the installations in the Kinderdijk-Elshout area. Construction of hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agriculture and settlement began in the Middle Ages and have continued uninterruptedly to the present day. The site illustrates all the typical features associated with this technology – dykes, reservoirs, pumping stations, administrative buildings and a series of beautifully preserved windmills.

  Netherlands
Municipalities of Alblasserdam and Nieuw-Lekkerland, Province of Zuid-Holland
N51 52 57 E4 38 58
Date of Inscription: 1997
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)
Ref: 818

Source: http://whc.unesco.org