UNESCO selects new World Heritage Sites 2025

At its meeting in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed twelve exceptional sites on the World Heritage List. This decision adds significant sites from Europe, Asia, Africa and America to the cultural memory of mankind. Germany can also rejoice: with the inclusion of Ludwig II’s royal palaces, the number of German UNESCO World Heritage Sites now stands at 55.

A particular highlight of the new World Heritage Sites 2025 is the designation of the Bavarian castles of Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee and the Royal House at Schachen. These architectural masterpieces of historicism are considered an expression of King Ludwig II’s romantic longing for an idealized past. The President of the German UNESCO Commission, Maria Böhmer, expressed her delight: “The inclusion of the palaces on the World Heritage List is an outstanding tribute to these impressive places. They are all architectural masterpieces and bear witness to the artistic imagination, but also the eccentricity of the fairytale king. Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, the royal house at Schachen and Herrenchiemsee were all the stuff of Ludwig II’s dreams. Today they are part of the heritage of mankind as a whole. My heartfelt thanks go to all those who have worked so hard for this success!”
The megalithic site of Carnac on the French Atlantic coast provides a special insight into the relationship between man and landscape. For more than 2000 years, people erected monumental rows of stones, dolmens, menhirs and burial mounds during the Neolithic period. These early testimonies to symbolic imagery show animals, abstract signs and objects that were closely related to their surroundings. No less important is the Minoan heritage on Crete. The Minoan palaces of Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and other sites represent the heart of a highly developed culture that flourished between 2800 and 1100 BC. Multi-storey buildings with courtyards, wall paintings and workshops bear witness to sophisticated urban planning and extensive trade in the Mediterranean region. In Italy, the “Domus de Janas” in Sardinia – prehistoric burial chambers carved out of rock, which were built between the 5th and 3rd millennium BC – have been recognized. They combine megalithic architecture with subterranean architecture and show how closely Sardinia was already connected with other regions of Europe and the Mediterranean at that time. Turkey was also honored with an important entry: the ancient city of Sardis in western Anatolia, once the center of the Lydian Empire, is considered the birthplace of coinage. Together with the monumental Bin Tepe necropolis, it reflects the wealth and cultural independence of Lydia.

In Russia, the Schulgan-Tash Cave in the southern Urals preserves rock paintings that are around 20,000 years old – depictions of mammoths, bison and human figures that are among the oldest known works of art in Eurasia. The cave documents the cultural heritage of Ice Age hunter societies and is now one of the most important new World Heritage Sites 2025. In South Korea, the rock paintings along the Bangucheon River are impressive. Engravings depicting hunting scenes, animals and symbols stretched over a length of three kilometers for thousands of years – an impressive testimony to the cultural development on the Korean peninsula from the Neolithic period to the 9th century. Tajikistan celebrates the inclusion of the cultural heritage sites of the ancient Khuttal, a medieval kingdom on the Silk Road. Between the 7th and 16th centuries, Khuttal was a center of trade, knowledge exchange and religious diversity – visible in Buddhist temples, palaces and caravanserais. In Vietnam, the spiritual cultural landscape around Mount Yen Tu has been honored. This region is considered to be the place of origin of Vietnamese Truc Lam Buddhism. Embedded in the natural surroundings are historic pagodas, hermitages and temples, harmoniously aligned according to principles such as Feng Shui. The site illustrates the close connection between nature, religion and society in the historic kingdom of Dai Viet.

Port Royal in Jamaica is an outstanding example of transatlantic history. Once an important trading center and refuge for privateers, a large part of the city sank into the sea after a severe earthquake in 1692. Today, the ruins of residential buildings, administrative buildings and fortresses lie under water and provide a unique insight into colonial life in the Caribbean. In Mexico, the Wixárika pilgrimage to Wirikuta has been honored. Every year, the indigenous community embarks on a spiritual journey over hundreds of kilometers – along pre-Columbian routes, to sacred sites, accompanied by rituals that preserve the balance between man and nature. The inclusion of this site honors a living spiritual heritage that is still maintained today. Finally, Panama receives an entry for the colonial Transisthmian Route. This historic land route between the Caribbean and the Pacific was of enormous importance to the Spanish colonial empire from the 16th century onwards – long before the Panama Canal existed. Settlements, roads and archaeological sites along this route bear witness to a global trade network at a time of profound transformation.
With these twelve new inscriptions, the UNESCO World Heritage List has grown to include fascinating cultural and historical sites that broaden our understanding of human history. The new World Heritage Sites 2025 impressively demonstrate that our heritage lies not only in palaces and ruins, but also in the stories, rituals and connections between people and nature – across all continents.

Read more: How the application for the UNESCO World Heritage title for the Royal Palaces went.