World Heritage sites in Germany

Aachen Cathedral

The Cathedral in Aachen was the first in Germany to receive a World Heritage listing in 1978. Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, who made Aachen the centre of his empire, was buried here in 814. Among the historical treasures in the cathedral is the coronation throne used during the Carolingian period. For 600 years, German kings were crowned here.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Speyer Cathedral

Located by the river Rhine, Speyer in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is one of the oldest cities in Germany. The town is dominated by the Imperial Cathedral dedicated to St. Mary which was built from 1030 to 1061. In 1981, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as the largest preserved Romanesque churches in the world.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Würzburg Residence

This baroque palace was built on the edge of Würzburg from 1719 to 1780 and was added along with its court gardens to the World Heritage listing in 1981. The residence of the Würzburg Prince-Bishops is one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Germany. Today, the residence is a museum, also housing some of Würzburg University as well.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Pilgrimage Church of Wies

The pilgrimage church of "the meadow" in Steingaden, Baveria is an impressive Rococo design. The lavish moldings and ceiling paintings are breathtaking. UNESCO recognized the church as an outstanding example of human creativity and listed it for World Heritage protection in 1983.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Palace of Augustusburg

The palaces of Augustusburg and Falkenlust in Brühl near Cologne are connected by gardens, parks and trees. In 1984 they were selected to be listed as a World Heritage site, as they are a prime example of palace architecture of the 18th century and are representative of the emerging Rococo style. From 1949 to 1996, Germany's President received official guests at the palace of Augustusburg.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Hildesheim

The town in lower Saxony, near Hannover, has been a Bishopric for 1200 years. At the end of the Second World War it was badly damaged, and only two of the five Romanesque churches survived: St. Michael’s church of the 11th century and St Mary’s catholic cathedral from the 9th century, which is shown on the picture. Both churches were added to the World Heritage list in 1985.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Trier

Historically called Treves in English, Trier is the oldest German town, founded in 16BC by the Romans and named "Augusta Treverorum". It was soon known as the "second Rome". A collection of three buildings joined the UNESCO list in 1986: the cathedral, the Church of our Lady and the Porta Nigra: a Roman city gate dating from the 2nd century, seen in the picture, which became a symbol of the city.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Lübeck

In 1987, for the first time in northern Europe an entire city centre became a UNESCO World Heritage site. The distinctive skyline of Lübeck and the preserved buildings from the pre-industrial era make it a perfect choice. Added to that, the soil under the city is exceptionally lucrative for archaeologists wanting to explore the medieval town.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Berlin - Potsdam

The palaces and gardens of the former Prussian Imperial cities of Potsdam and Berlin were recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1990. Potsdam’s landmark, the Sanssouci Palace (French for “without worries”) was built in 1745/47. The UNESCO Berlin-Potsdam cultural heritage listing includes extensive gardens with some 150 buildings dating from that time until 1916.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Lorsch Abbey

The entrance hall in the south Hessian town of Lorsch which dates back to the Carolingian Empire was built in 800. Since 1991, as part of the former Romanesque church along with the archeological ruins of the nearby Abbey of Altenmünster, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Rammelsberg / Goslar

In Lower Saxony, the mining museum Rammelsberg together with Goslar's old town became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992, proving that heritage can also be defined beyond high culture. For 1000 years until 1988 silver, lead, copper, zinc and occasionally gold was mined here, making the medieval town rich. In 2010 this World Heritage site was expanded to include the Upper Harz Water Regale.

World Heritage sites in Germany

The historic old town of Bamberg

The historic old town of Bamberg in the Bavarian area of Upper Franconia is predominantly preserved. It became a World Heritage Site in 1993 primarily because it is representative of a medieval town in central Europe. Bamberg’s five religious buildings are aligned to form the shape of a cross. The cathedral is located at the centre of this alignment.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Maulbronn Monastry

The Maulbronn Monastery, located in a small town close to Karlsruhe, is the best-preserved medieval Cistercian monastery complex in Europe. Its architecture makes it possible to restore other historical monasteries. Since 1993 it has been on the World Heritage list.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Quedlinburg

The old town of Quedlingburg was set on the World Heritage list in 1994, exactly 1000 after it received its town charter. In the town located in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, there are some 1300 half timbered houses dating from six different centuries. During Quedlinburg's Communist era as part of the GDR the town fell into disrepair, but has since been fully restored.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Völklingen Ironworks

Founded in 1873 the steel works closed in 1986. Today, the Völkinger Hütte in the Saarland is a museum focusing on the making of iron. In 1994 it was the first industrial memorial to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Messel Pit

The Messel Pit, since 1970 a disused quarry, almost became a landfill. Strong local resistance stopped those plans, and instead the Messel Pit was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, the only site listed exclusively due to fossils. Exhibits from the pit showing 49 million years of natural history may be seen in the Messel town museum or the nearby Museum of Hessen in Darmstadt.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Cologne Cathederal

Work began in 1248 and when it was completed in 1880, Cologne Cathedral was the highest building in the world. The original medieval design for the cathedral was never changed. With its 156 meter high towers it became a World Heritage site in 1996. This status was briefly endangered due to, later modified, construction plans for nearby buildings. The cathedral attracts millions of visitors.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Bauhaus

The Bauhaus school was shaped by architect Walter Gropius and artists like Wassily Kandinsky. The Bauhaus locations in Weimar and Dessau were added to the World Heritage list in 1996. The building pictured in Dessau was constructed in 1925/26 according to a design by Gropius adhering to the Bauhaus principles in which art, design and architecture follow clear, objective lines and shapes.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Luther sites

In 1996 the Luther sites in Wittenberg and Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt were added to the World Heritage list. Protestant reformer Martin Luther’s “Birth House” and “Death House” are located in Eisleben. In Wittenberg, where on 31 October 1517, Luther is thought to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church, is the Luther house (pictured) where he lived as a monastic student.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Classical Weimar

Classical Weimar, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, consists of eleven buildings and gardens, among them the homes of German poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. Weimar, the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, was a cultural centre of Europe during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Wartburg Castle

In 1999, Wartburg Castle in Eisenach (Thuringia) was added to the World Heritage List. Located on the former inner German border it is seen as a symbol of German unification. In medieval times it was a popular venue for minstrel singers such as Walther von der Vogelweide and in 1521/22 it served as a refuge for Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who began translating the Bible into German here.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Museums Island Berlin

Five museums on an island on the river Spree in the centre of Berlin form the complex known as the museums island that was added to the World Heritage list in 1999: the Pergamon Museum, Altes (Old) Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Bode-Museum und Neues (New) Museum. Built from 1830 to 1904 the complex was badly damaged during World War II, but has since been restored.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm

Nothing was too eccentric for Leopold III Duke Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau, when, in the 18th century he had this garden realm created. The ensemble of English gardens, palaces and antique style temples also includes an artificial vulcano. Named a World Heritage site in 2000, visitors can explore an area of 142 km2 within the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Reichenau Island

The Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau on Reichenau Island on Lake Constance was founded in 724. The famous artworks of Reichenau include the Ottonian murals of miracles of Christ in St Georg, unique survivals from the 10th century. The abbey and Reichenau Island was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Zeche Coal Mine Industrial Complex

It is known as the "most beautiful coal mine in the world." Built in the Bauhaus style the former coal mine and coking plant in Essen, which closed in 1986, were declared a World Heritage site in 2001. The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex is regarded as representative of Europe’s industrial heritage and today it serves as a cultural center for design and architecture.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Stralsund and Wismar

The old town centers of Stralsund and Wismar (pictured) are representative of the cultural heritage of the powerful Hanseatic League medieval trade association. The historical ground plan of the Hanseatic towns has been preserved. Since 2002 both town centers have been on the world Heritage list. They show the prosperity and political importance of the Baltic Sea towns in medieval times.

World Heritage sites in Germany

The upper half of the Middle Rhine

The unique landscape from Bingen via Rüdesheim to Koblenz, lined with castles, vineyards and historical locations was already the epitome Rhine romanticism, long before it was declared a World Heritage site in 2002. On the Loreley rock legend has it a pretty maiden sat, distracting sailors, stealing their minds and their lives. This inspired Heinrich Heine’s famous poem "Die Loreley".

World Heritage sites in Germany

Bremen Town Hall and Roland Statue

The 15 century gothic town hall, later renovated in the style of the Weser Renaissance, was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with the Bremen Roland statue in 2004. It serves as the seat of the President of the Senate of Bremen and of the Mayor. The statue of Roland was initially erected in 1404 to symbolize the rights and privileges of the free and imperial city of Bremen.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Park Muskau

Looks like nature but it is art: Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau had the garden landscape created in 1815 to 1844 on both shores of the river Neiße. Since 1945 two thirds of this extensive landscape park and famous English gardens has belonged to Poland. As an example of cross-border cultural collaboration between Poland and Germany it was named a World Heritage site in 2004.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Limes - Frontiers of the Roman Empire

The "Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Lime" is the border line of the Roman Empire between Rheinbrohl on the Rhine and Kastell Eining on the Danube. The Limes in Germany cover a length of 550 km. This Lime has been a World Heritage site since 2005. Along with Hadrian's Wall in England and the Antonine Wall in Scotland it forms part of the "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" heritage site.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Regensburg

The large medieval historical centre of the city in the district of Stadtamhof, which boasts 984 monuments, was declared a World Heritage site in 2006. Regensburg located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, where once the Roman camp Castra Regina was, is the only authentically preserved large medieval city in Germany.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates

The six listed housing estates in different Berlin city districts, seen here the Schillerpark in the Wedding district, were created between 1913 and 1934. They were exemplary for city development in the 20th century, especially for building low cost housing as a reaction to the shortage of housing in cities. The Berlin Modernism Housing Estates have been a World Heritage site since 2008.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Wadden Sea

Since 2009 the Wadden Sea on the German and Dutch North Sea coast has been a World Heritage site. It covers an area of 10.000 square kilometers. The tidal mud flats, revealed twice a day when the tide is out, is rich in flora and fauna. Thousands of waders (shorebirds), ducks, and geese use the area as a migration stopover or wintering site, and it is also rich habitat for gulls and terns.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Primeval Beech forests

Silvery green in spring, cool shade in summer: the face of Europe is by nature shaped by its beech forests. Some 6500 years ago they covered 40 percent of the continent. In 2007 UNESCO designated the Carpathian primeval beech forests a World Heritage site. In 2011 it added five beech forest areas in Germany. Among them the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park with this 400 year old beech tree.

World Heritage sites in Germany

Fagus Factory

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2011, it is regarded as the origin of modern industrial architecture. The shoe last factory in Alfeld in Lower Saxony is seen as a stroke of genius by Walter Gropius. The individual buildings are functional; the glass fronted workshops create a light working environment. The use of windows that go around corners marked the beginning of modern frame construction.

Author: Sue Cox | Editor: Andreas Illmer