Jessica Reid | 20 September 2023
UNESCO declares new World Heritage Sites for 2023
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced newly inscribed sites treasured for their outstanding universal value...
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced newly inscribed sites treasured for their outstanding universal value...
A mountainous national park in Ethiopia, a collection of wooden mosques in Türkiye, an ancient tea plantation in China, and a Roman temple in France are among the new World Heritage Sites that have been declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the past few days.
Sites are still being examined and unveiled as UNESCO officials gather for the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which comes to a conclusion on 25th September.
In order to gain UNESCO World Heritage status, the proposed sites have to demonstrate “outstanding universal value, and must meet at least one of ten criteria”.
So far, 33 of the 42 new inscriptions are for cultural properties, while nine are cherished for their natural landscapes.
Ha Long Bay is an existing site that has been extended to include Cat Ba Archipelago (Shutterstock)
As well as brand new locations, some existing sites have also been significantly modified, with places such as Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay now covering the Cat Ba Archipelago, and Madagascar’s Tsingy de Bemaraha extending into the Andrefana Dry Forests.
The World Heritage in Danger list has also been updated during the UNESCO session, with Ukrainian sites such as Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral and the historic centre of L’viv now vulnerable due to attacks from Russia.
See the full list of new UNESCO World Heritage Sites below (updated at 16.20 on Wednesday 20 September)
Distance view of Žatec, Czechia (Shutterstock)
Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany
Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939, Lithuania
Old town of Kuldīga, Latvia
Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca, Spain
Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark
Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia
Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands
The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, France
Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front), Belgium
Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone, Portugal (modification)
Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique, France
Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, Italy
Mongolia's Deer Stone Monuments have been recognised for their cultural heritage (Shutterstock)
Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, China
Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Mongolia
Gaya Tumuli, South Korea
Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, Cambodia
Santiniketan, India
Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, Tajikistan/Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan
Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University, Russia
Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route, Azerbaijan
Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India
The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments, Thailand
The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, Indonesia
Cold Winter Deserts of Turan, Kazakhstan/Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan
Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, Tajikistan
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago, Vietnam (modification)
Hyrcanian Forests, Azerbaijan/Iran (modification)
National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj is now a UNESCO-listed site in Guatemala (Shutterstock)
Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Canada
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, United States of America
National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj, Guatemala
Anticosti, Canada
Ethiopia's Bale Mountain National Park landscape (Shutterstock)
The Gedeo Cultural Landscape
Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory, Tunisia
Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, Rwanda
Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba (modification)
Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua, Congo
Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
Andrefana Dry Forests, Madagascar (modification)
Ancient Jericho (Shutterstock)
Gordion, Türkiye
The Persian Caravanserai, Iran
Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, State of Palestine
Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia, Türkiye
‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid, Saudi Arabia
Aerial view of Jodensavanne, now on the UNESCO World Heritage list for culture (© Jodensavanne Foundation)
Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery, Suriname
ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination, Argentina
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