Grand Canyon National Park

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country. Japan

year of inscription. 2018

criteria. Cultural

Baekje Historic Areas

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country. South Korea

year of inscription. 2015

criteria. Cultural

Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites

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country. South Korea

year of inscription. 2000

criteria. Cultural

Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 2019

criteria. Cultural

The Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies UNESCO WHS is composed of serial sites located in the provinces of North Gyeongsang, North Jeolla, South Chungcheong, South Gyeongsang, and South Jeolla as well as Daegu Metropolitan City. This property is composed of Neo-Confucian academies from the Joseon Dynasty (1392CE – 1910CE). The seowon was an academy for learning which focused on the imparting of Confucian teachings. Their design took into account the appreciation of nature to cultivate the mind and body. As such, they were often situated near mountains and water sources and the buildings were constructed to facilitate connections to the landscape upon which they stand.

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.

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.

Water Management System of Augsburg

country. Germany

year of inscription. 2019

criteria. Cultural

The site is composed of a system of man-made structures which exhibits technical knowledge in harnessing water for use. The network includes: sources of potable spring water and process river water, a network of canals and a complex of watercourses, water towers dating from the 15th – 17th centuries that housed both water wheels and turbines that served as water pumps, a water-cooled butchers’ hall from the 17th century, a system of three monumental, artistic water fountains, the Hochablass Waterworks which represents modern cutting-edge hydraulic engineering of the late-19th century, hydropower stations, and hydroelectric power stations that continue to function today.

Galápagos Islands

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country. Ecuador

year of inscription. 1978 (extension: 2001)

criteria. Natural

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

country. Peru

year of inscription. 1983

criteria. Cultural

This WHS, located in the Cuzco region, stands at some 2400m above sea level. It is regarded as the most significant legacy of the Inca civilization, showcasing the culture’s artistic and architectural accomplishments, set amidst a tropical rainforest and with its structures seemingly cut out of the rock escarpments. Known in Spanish as La Ciudadela (The Fortress), the settlement with both urban and rural functions, was built by the Incas in the 15th century CE, abandoned in the 16th century with the Spanish conquest of the Incas, and ‘re-discovered’ in 1911.

Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania

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country. Romania

year of inscription. 1993 (extension: 1999)

criteria. Cultural

Ancient City of Aleppo

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country. Syria

year of inscription. 1986

criteria. Cultural

Ancient City of Damascus

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country. Syria

year of inscription. 1979 (modification: 2011)

criteria. Cultural

Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China

country. China

year of inscription. 2021

criteria. Cultural

This WHS is composed of a number of sites in Quanzhou in Fujian province. The city was an important maritime trading centre during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, between the 10th and 14th centuries, connecting the Chinese hinterland with the rest of the world. It was known as Zayton in Arabic and Western texts of the era. Included in the WHS are historical sites of administrative buildings, religious structures, cultural sites and monuments, industrial production sites, and transportation features like bridges and docks.

Taj Mahal

country. India

year of inscription. 1983

criteria. Cultural

The Taj Mahal is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a white marble mausoleum built between 1631 and 1648. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The building complex is considered to be the most prime example of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Namhansanseong

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 2014

criteria. Cultural

The Namhansanseong WHS is located in Gyeonggi province. It served as an emergency capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392CE – 1910CE). The area was settled from as early as the 7th century CE, and was rebuilt several times. Its importance increased in the 17th century CE, pending a potential attack from the Qing Dynasty in China. In its current form, it takes in Chinese and Japanese influences and incorporates military defence ideas of that era, and has become a symbol of Korean sovereignty.

Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin

country. Armenia

year of inscription. 1996

criteria. Cultural

The Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin are in the Lori province. These Byzantine monasteries were built during the Armenian Kiurikian Dynasty (10th – 13th century CE). They were important centres of learning and their buildings represent the acme of Armenian religious architecture, which blends element of Byzantine ecclesiastical features with traditional vernacular Caucasian style.

Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks

country. South Korea

year of inscription. 1995

criteria. Cultural

The Temple of Haeinsa is on Mount Gaya in South Gyeosang province. On its grounds are the architecturally-significant buildings of Janggyeong Panjeon, which houses some 80,000 woodblocks of Buddhist texts, laws, and treaties – the Tripitaka Koreana – engraved in Chinese characters between 1237CE and 1248CE. The collection represents the most complete assemblage of Buddhists discourse.