Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge in Višegrad

Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I’m on a mission to visit every UNESCO site in the world (it will take a lifetime), so visiting Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge was a top priority when I began planning my Balkans road trip. My original plan was to …

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Durmitor National Park

Durmitor National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site,  Montenegro

From the Durmitor National Park World Heritage inscription: Durmitor is a stunning limestone massif located in Northern Montenegro and belonging to the Dinaric Alps or Dinarides. It is also the name of Montenegro’s largest protected area, the Durmitor National Park, which constitutes the heart of a landscape shaped by glaciers, numerous rivers and underground streams …

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The Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region

The Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region

From the World Heritage inscription: The Lake Ohrid region, a mixed World Heritage property covering 83,350 ha, was inscribed for its natural values in 1979 and for its cultural values a year later. Lake Ohrid is a superlative natural phenomenon, providing refuge for numerous endemic and relict freshwater species of flora and fauna dating from …

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Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor

Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor

From the World Heritage inscription: The Silk Roads were an interconnected web of routes linking the ancient societies of Asia, the Subcontinent, Central Asia, Western Asia, and the Near East, and contributed to the development of many of the world’s great civilizations. They represent one of the world’s preeminent long-distance communication networks stretching as the …

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Nan Madol in Micronesia: Why It’s Important & How to Visit

Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia

Nan Madol is one of the most fascinating and significant places in the Pacific. I first visited Nan Madol in 2007 as I began my around the world trip. However, it took until 2016 to be placed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The site is extremely deserving of world heritage status and for …

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Mistaken Point

Mistaken Point UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canada

From the World Heritage inscription: This fossil site is located at the south-eastern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in eastern Canada. It consists of a narrow, 17 km-long strip of rugged coastal cliffs. Of deep marine origin, these cliffs date to the Ediacaran Period (580-560 million years ago), representing the oldest known assemblages of …

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Van Nellefabriek

Van Nellefabriek UNESCO World Heritage Site, Netherlands

From the World Heritage inscription: Designed and built in the 1920s, the Van Nellefabriek demonstrates an extremely accomplished industrial architecture. It comprises a complex of buildings consisting of several factories aligned along the perspective of a large internal roadway, and close to several means of transport (canals, roads, railway lines). Supported on an internal structure …

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Belfries of Belgium and France

Belfries of Belgium and France

From the World Heritage inscription for the Belfries of Belgium and France: High towers built in the heart of urban areas, often dominating the principal square, the belfries are essential elements in the organization and representation of the towns to which they belong. The site inscribed on the World Heritage List comprises 33 belfries located …

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Flemish Beguinages

Flemish Beguinages UNESCO World Heritage Site, Belgium

From the World Heritage inscription for the Flemish Beguinages: The Flemish béguinages are a series of 13 sites in the Flanders Region of Belgium. They bear extraordinary witness to the cultural tradition of the Beguines that developed in north-western Europe in the Middle Ages. These Beguines were either unmarried or widowed women who entered into …

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