Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

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country. Japan

year of inscription. 2018

criteria. Cultural

Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan

country. Japan

year of inscription. 2019

criteria. Cultural

The WHS comprises of ancient tombs from the Kofun period (3rd – 6th century CE). Comprising of 49 kofun (Japanese for old mounds) out of a total of 160,000 found throughout Japan, these earthen tombs were used for the burial of the elite class of the era. Varying in size and geometric shapes (like keyhole, scallop, square, or circle), they are evidence of the development of a social order and advanced funerary system.

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

country. Japan

year of inscription. 2004 (modification: 2016)

criteria. Cultural

This WHS marks ancient pilgrimage routes and its associated sacred sites dating back some 1,200 years. The three sacred sites of Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, and Koyasan are set in the forests of the Kii Mountains. These sites are connected by pilgrimage routes, which are further linked to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto. Worship customs in these areas date back some 1,200 years and incorporates ancient Japanese animistic practices, Shinto traditions, as well as Buddhist rituals. Besides the three main sites, this WHS also includes pilgrimage routes and sub-routes, sacred natural objects like trees, forests, and mountains, as well as stone mausolea and stupas.

Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

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country. Ukraine

year of inscription. 1990

criteria. Cultural

Tower of London

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country. United Kingdom

year of inscription. 1988

criteria. Cultural

Jongmyo Shrine

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 1995

criteria. Cultural

The Jongmyo Shrine UNESCO WHS can be found in Seoul Special City, South Korea. It was a royal shrine for the monarchs of the Joseon Dynasty. Dedicated to the royal forebears of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392CE – 1910CE), the shrine has existed in its current form since the 16th century CE. Housing the spirit tablets of departed Joseon kings and queens, it is also the place where the reigning king will go to perform the rituals of ancestral worship, in accordance to Confucian beliefs. The site has been in use since the 14th century; however, a Japanese invasion in the 16th century destroyed the original building, It was rebuilt in the 17th century, and the layout of buildings since then has been preserved.

Hwaseong Fortress

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 1997

criteria. Cultural

The Hwaseong Fortress UNESCO WHS is located in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. It is a fortification built in the 18th century CE during the Korean Joseon Dynasty. King Jeongjo (1752CE – 1800CE, r. 1776CE – 1800CE) of the Joseon Dynasty (1392CE – 1910CE) reinterred remains of his father, Crown Prince Jangheon (1735CE – 1762CE) in the city of Suwon at the end of the 18th century. He then further embarked on a project to build strong defensive fortifications to surround the tomb. The structures incorporated the latest technological know-how then from both the East and the West. The fortress walls run for 5.7km, enclosing a land area of 130ha. Other defense features include flood- and land gates, observation towers, command posts, attack towers, bastions, ravelins, and bunkers. The architecture of the fortress differed from contemporary ones in China and Japan and was pivotal to the development of Korean architecture, urban planning, and landscape design.

Historic Centre of Telč

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country. Czechia

year of inscription. 1992

criteria. Cultural

Great Spa Towns of Europe

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countries. Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom

year of inscription. 2021

criteria. Cultural

This WHS is composed of eleven spa towns from seven European countries. They showcase the development of European spa culture from ancient times to its peak in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

The eleven towns are:

• Bad Ems, Germany
• Bad Kissingen, Germany
• Baden bei Wein, Austria
• Baden-Baden, Germany
• Bath, United Kingdom
• Frantiskovy Lazne, Czechia
• Karlovy Vary, Czechia
• Marianske Lazne, Czechia
• Montecatini Terme, Italy
• Spa, Belgium
• Vichy, France

Yosemite National Park

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where. United States of America

year of inscription. 1984

criteria. Natural

Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar

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countries. Croatia, Italy, and Montenegro

year of inscription. 2017

criteria. Cultural

The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik

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country. Croatia

year of inscription. 2000

criteria. Cultural

Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč

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country. Croatia

year of inscription. 1997

criteria. Cultural

Plitvice Lakes National Park

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country. Croatia

year of inscription. 1979 (modification: 2000)

criteria. Natural

Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn

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countries. Austria

year of inscription. 1996

criteria: Cultural

Town of Bamberg

country. Germany

year of inscription. 1993

criteria. Cultural

In the 10th century, Bamberg grew to be an important town with links to the Slavic peoples from Poland and Pomerania. In 1007, when Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, was crowned king of Germany, he appointed Bamberg as the seat of a bishopric, intending for it to become a “second Rome”. The town prospered especially in the 12th century, and its resultant architecture was to influence other urban areas in northern Germany and Hungary. In the 18th century, it was the centre of Enlightenment in southern Germany, with eminent philosophers and writers like Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and E. T. A. Hoffman basing themselves there.

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

country. Germany

year of inscription. 1996

criteria. Cultural

Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) and Philip Melanchthon (1497 – 1560) objected to the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church then and their resulting protests launched the Protestant Reformation. This ushered in a new era in the religious – and consequently, political – history of the Western world. The component sites in the towns of Eisleben and Wittenberg, which are places associated with the lives of these two reformers, including the castle church in Wittenberg where Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517, were inscribed as a WHS in 1996.

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple

country. South Korea
year of inscription. 1995

criteria. Cultural

Seokguram Grotto was established in the 8th century CE under the auspices of the Silla Kingdom. It is a man-made cave that consists of a monumental statue of the Buddha facing towards the sea. Surrounding the statue are other Buddhist wall sculptures portraying Bodhisattvas, deities, and disciples. The nearby Bulguksa Temple was built a little later in 774CE. The temple complex comprises a set of wooden religious buildings erected on raised stone terraces. Together, they are representative of Korean religious art-form from that era.

Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 2010

criteria. Cultural

The Historic Korean Villages: Hahoe and Yangdong UNESCO WHS is located in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea. The two component sites are representative of traditional Korean clan villages. The two villages were established in the 14th – 15th centuries and are reflective of the prevailing aristocratic Confucian culture of the earlier centuries of the Joseon Dynasty (1392CE – 1910CE). The physical surrounding of the villages includes forests, mountains, and a riverfront alongside open agricultural fields. Wooden buildings erected served as residences for the clansmen of the aristocracy, pavilions, study halls, and Neo-Confucian academies, while mud-walled, thatch-roofed houses were used by the commoners.

Palaces and Gardens of Potsdam and Berlin

country. Germany

year of inscription. 1990 (extensions: 1992, 1999)

criteria. Cultural

This ensemble of sites includes some 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings that were constructed between 1730 CE and 1916 CE, and designed by the most regarded architects and landscape gardeners of northern Germany in their time. The whole complex extends from Potsdam into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, Berlin, in a region with a natural setting of rivers, lakes, and hills, based on conceptual plans by Peter Joseph Lenné made after the mid-1800s.