Search Results for “list of world heritage sites in germany”

Source: List of World Heritage Sites in Germany

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. As Germany was divided following World War II, West and East Germany ratified the convention separately, the former on 23 August 1976 and the latter on 12 December 1988. With German reunification, East Germany was dissolved on 3 October 1990.
Germany has 54 sites on the list, with a further seven on the tentative list. The first site listed was the Aachen Cathedral in 1978. The most recent addition took place in 2024. Three sites are natural and 51 are listed for their cultural significance. Germany holds the third-highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world, after Italy and China with 59 and 57 sites, respectively, and the second most in terms of cultural significance. The Dresden Elbe Valley, which was listed as endangered in July 2006, was eventually delisted in June 2009, making it one of the only three sites in the world to have been removed from the World Heritage Site register. Cologne Cathedral was listed as endangered from 2006 to 2008 due to plans to construct high-rise buildings nearby that would threaten the integrity of the property. Nine sites are shared with other countries.