Modern structures are subject to the same risks as aging structures, including neglect, inappropriate renovation, the effects of climate change and even demolition, but additional risks arise from the very qualities that make them modern: innovative technologies, experimental materials, and novel design.

However, public apathy, the lack of understanding that buildings of our own time can be important enough to be kept for the future, or that modern buildings might need the same care as older structures, may be the greatest challenge.

Established in 2008, the World Monuments Fund / Knoll Modernism Prize is awarded bi-annually to an innovative architectural or design solution that has preserved or enhanced a modern landmark or group of landmarks

The first of its kind, the award acknowledges the growing threats—neglect, deterioration, or even demolition—now facing significant works of modernism, and recognizes the architects and designers who help ensure their rejuvenation and long-term survival. Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the influential role modernism plays in our architectural heritage, and recognize modern buildings as sustainable structures with vital futures.

The prize is awarded in recognition of completed (built) work, and may be awarded for an individual project or a body of work. The award consists of $10,000 and a limited-edition Mies van der Rohe–designed Barcelona chair, created by Knoll in honor of the award. The prize is awarded to the designer, architect, or firm responsible for the work.

An independent jury comprising professionals from the fields of architecture, architectural conservation, journalism, and related fields selects the winner. The jury is chaired by Barry Bergdoll, the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.

For over 70 years, Knoll has used modern design to connect people with their work, their lives, and their world. Our founders, Hans and Florence Knoll, embraced the creative genius of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Bauhaus School to create new types of furniture for the workplace and home. Their approach, where craftsmanship joined with technology through the use of design, anchors our perspective and shapes the values we endeavor to live by today.

As part of our effort to contribute to the communities where we do business, we are proud to be the sponsor of Modernism at Risk: Modern Solutions for Modern Landmarks. We recognize that Modernist masterpieces—cornerstones of our cultural landscape—are routinely being demolished, disfigured, or abandoned, and we hope this book and exhibition will contribute to raising awareness among students and design professionals about the role architects and designers can play in the preservation of this important part of our architectural legacy.

Andrew B. Cogan

CEO, Knoll, Inc.

Modernism represents the defining movement of twentieth-century architecture and design; yet, every day, important works of modern architecture are destroyed or inappropriately altered. The solutions for protecting them can be as individual as the threats that endanger them. These threats range from physical deterioration to perceived economic or functional obsolescence to public apathy. Often, the greatest challenges to saving modern buildings can be the innovative design and technical features that help define them as significant achievements in the history of architecture.

While there is no single response that can prevent the loss of every endangered modern site, the architects and designers working today play an increasingly critical role in demonstrating that these buildings can be economically and functionally viable and continue to serve useful purposes as places to live, work, learn, gather, and worship. The advocacy role of good design becomes increasingly important as the building materials and systems of many modern structures that stem from the classical period of modernism through the postwar boom reach the end of their physical life span. Saving modern landmarks is important because they enrich a community’s sense of place – providing continuity between its past and important buildings of our own times.

Modernism at Risk

WMF’s Modernism at Risk Initiative, launched in 2006 with founding sponsor Knoll, addresses the distinct threats facing great works of modern architecture around the world through advocacy, conservation, and public education.

“We associate Modernism of the late 1920s with gleaming whiteness,” says Barry Bergdoll, Museum of Modern Art architecture and design curator. “This is not architecture that looks particularly good in a ruinous state.”

Bergdoll hopes that the WMF prize can help systematize efforts in regards to researching, rebuilding, expanding, and reusing these structures. Yet, he notes, each project will present its own challenges. “Preservation is like English case law,” he says. “You’re following guidelines, but there are always decisions to be made.”

While the program directly supports conservation projects and operates a traveling exhibition for architecture students, “the prize is geared toward a professional audience as well as the public at large, so they can see that restoration is an alternative to demolition,” says WMF president and CEO Bonnie Burnham.

World Monuments Fund began preserving modern sites in the 1980s, when it helped restore seminal modern Mexican murals following a devastating earthquake. Later, it led the restoration of Brancusi’s Endless Column in Romania and the battle to save Edward Durell Stone’s A. Conger Goodyear House on Long Island.

Since its launch in 1996, the World Monuments Watch program has included more than thirty modern buildings, including the Rusakov Club (Konstantin Melnikov), Viipuri Library (Alvar Aalto), Tugendhat Villa (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), the International Fairground at Tripoli (Oscar Niemeyer), the Ennis-Brown House (Frank Lloyd Wright), Florida Southern College (Frank Lloyd Wright), Taliesin and Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright), the Schindler Kings Road House (Rudolf Michael Schindler), Grosse Pointe Memorial Library (Marcel Breuer), New York State Pavilion (Philip Johnson and Richard Foster), Riverview High School (Paul Rudolph), and the Orange County Government Center (Paul Rudolph).

The launch of the WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2008 has brought more attention to the program, and thus to the cause of preserving modern architecture. Every two years, when the prize is awarded, the buildings and the architects who preserved them demonstrate that the architecture of the recent past is important and worthy of preservation.

For buildings facing demolition, the Initiative supports the development of design solutions that present alternatives to preserve the buildings and adapt them to new or expanded uses. This advocacy is intended to bolster community efforts already taking place.

5 x Case Studies: Modernism at Risk

click here to read the “5 Case Studies” PDF

The five case studies presented in the Modernism at Risk: Modern Solutions for Saving Modern Landmarks exhibition and this accompanying publication demonstrate that design practitioners and students, armed with their knowledge of 20th-century architecture and their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and supported by organizations like the World Monuments Fund, are helping devise multifaceted solutions—including advocacy efforts, technical plans, and otherwise—that address the distinct challenges to preserving modern architecture.

The buildings presented represent the rise of modernism from its early development during the interwar years in Europe (1930 ADGB Trade Union School, Bernau, Germany, by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer) to its appearance in the United States and other countries (1939 A. Conger Goodyear House, Old Westbury, New York by Edward Durell Stone) to its proliferation during America’s postwar boom and later, often in the form of everyday civic buildings (1954 Grosse Pointe Public Library, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, by Marcel Breuer; 1958 Riverview High School, Riverview, Florida, by Paul Rudolph; and 1972 Kent Memorial Library, Suffield, Connecticut, by Warren Platner.)

Despite the best efforts of the WMF Riverview high school was bulldozed down in 2009

Prior to its destruction in June 2011, the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School served the historic New Orleans African-American neighborhood of Tremé since it opened in 1955.

Celebrated worldwide for its innovative, regionally-expressive modern design – the structure had sustained moderate damage during the storms and levee breach of 2005. DOCOMOMO Louisiana advocated for its restoration via adaptive reuse.

Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School

WMF’s concern for modern sites began in the 1980s, but the establishment of WMF’s Modernism at Risk Initiative, launched in 2006 with founding sponsor Knoll, allows WMF to take a more active role in addressing the distinct threats facing great works of modern architecture around the world.

• For buildings facing demolition, the Initiative supports the development of design solutions that present alternatives to preserve the buildings and adapt them to new or expanded uses. This advocacy is intended to bolster community efforts already taking place.
• The survival of some modern buildings can be threatened by the technical challenges of conserving experimental materials and innovative building systems used in their design. The Initiative funds select conservation projects at internationally significant and endangered modern sites.
• To address the larger issue of public awareness about preserving modern architecture, the Initiative will develop an exhibition and lecture program in cooperation with museums and educational institutions.

Despite modernism’s influential place in the canon of architectural history, many significant modern buildings are endangered because of neglect, perceived obsolescence, inappropriate renovation, the threat of demolition, and public apathy.

In 2006, with support from Knoll, WMF launched Modernism at Risk, an advocacy and conservation program intended to bring international attention and resources to address the key threats and challenges facing many modern buildings, as well as the technical problems associated with conserving innovative designs and materials.

In 2008, the bi-annual World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize was launched to award an innovative architectural or design solution that preserved a modern landmark or group of landmarks.

The first of its kind, the award acknowledges the growing threats—neglect, deterioration, or even demolition—now facing significant works of modernism, and recognizes the architects and designers who help ensure their rejuvenation and long-term survival. Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the influential role modernism plays in our architectural heritage, and recognize modern buildings as sustainable structures with viable futures.

2008 Modernism Prize

click here to see the 2008 Project Award PDF

The inaugural 2008 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize was awarded to Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, led by Winfried Brenne and Franz Jaschke, for its superb restoration of the former ADGB Trade Union School, a highly significant but little-known Bauhaus-designed landmark in Bernau, Germany.

Rigorous architectural and historical scholarship allowed Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH to restore the building according to its original plans. The school’s purpose was to provide further education to administrators and leaders of the trade union movement on such topics as economics, management, labor law, and industrial hygiene. Its asymmetry responds to the topography of the site; it was designed to bring the surrounding forests into constant view.

(Inset) Architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954) was an ardent Marxist whose view of architecture as radically functional was informed by his political beliefs, a sensibility he brought to the Bauhaus, as head of the architecture department and then as its second director from 1928 to 1930

Bonnie Burnham, President, WMF Winfried Brenne, Modernism Prize winner Barry Bergdoll, Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA and Jury Chair Andrew Cogan, CEO, Knoll, Inc Franz Jaschke, Modernism Prize winner

2010 Modernism Prize

click on this image for the project award PDF

In 1995, the Modernist landmark Zonnestraal Sanatorium, located in Hilversum, Netherlands, was the picture of shambles. For their meticulous restoration of the building, World Monuments Fund (WMF) has awarded its 2010 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize to the Dutch firms Bierman Henket Architecten and Wessel de Jonge Architecten.

Bergdoll, who chaired this year’s jury, says they chose the winner based on the importance of the original building, the tenacity with which preservation was pursued, and technical execution. The latter criterion “gets particularly interesting with relation to Modernist buildings,” he says, “because there are decisions to be made about restoring materials that might not be in use, or updating the envelope’s thermal performance.”

World Monuments Fund awarded its 2010 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize to Bierman Henket Architecten and Wessel de Jonge Architecten for their exemplary restoration of the Zonnestraal Sanatorium (designed 1926-28; completed 1931), a little-known but iconic modern structure in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Zonnestraal was conceived by Johannes Duiker (1890-1935), the leading spokesperson for the modern movement in the Netherlands; Bernard Bijvoet (1889-1979); and structural engineer Jan Gerko Wiebenga (1880–1974).

Founded by the Diamond Workers Union of Amsterdam, the sanatorium was part of a larger aftercare colony for tubercular patients. It was funded by Union dues as a facility that would train members who had been afflicted with the disease for their return to society. Zonnestraal is emblematic of the emerging ideals of social democracy in the Netherlands during the 1920s, and it reflected the new concept of using occupational therapy in health care

Zonnestraal’s historic significance is well established. Beginning in 1926, Dutch architects Bernard Bijvoet and Johannes Duiker, with structural engineer Jan Gerko Wiebenga, designed the sanatorium for the Diamond Workers Union of Amsterdam as part of a healthcare campus for tuberculosis convalescents.

The sanatorium comprised a nursery, canteen, workshop, and other pavilions. Completion took place in stages. “You can almost date the pavilions by the relationship of the window to parapet wall—there are all these localized solutions,” says Bergdoll. “But at whatever date, the sanatorium represents almost primal rationalism. Nothing is hidden. There is this attempt to find a structural solution out of concrete, steel, and glass. It’s an incredibly straightforward, no-nonsense iconic language.”

Despite instant-icon status, Zonnestraal fell into disuse after World War II. It was rediscovered in the 1960s and, in 1982, the Dutch government commissioned Henket and de Jonge to create a restoration plan for the sanatorium as part of a larger conservation study.

Ultimately, the architects reconstructed the building’s facades, partitions, casement windows, and finishes, specifying handmade components that were no longer in production. Completed last year, the building again performs a healthcare function, with sports-injury and obesity clinics occupying the main building and workshops, respectively.

Florence Knoll with Eero Saarinen

About Knoll

Since Knoll’s founding in 1938, design integrity has been our guiding principle as we offer insight into the way business is changing and into what’s possible—now and for the future.

For 73 years, Knoll has used modern design to connect people with their work, lives, and world. Since our founding in 1938, we have explored the power of modern design to create compelling work and residential environments that inspire and endure. Our design philosophy combines artistic inventions with functional efficiency and a commitment to environmental sustainability.

Knoll’s founders, Hans and Florence Knoll, embraced the creative genius at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Bauhaus School to create new types of furniture for the workplace and home. Their approach, where craftsmanship joined with technology through the use of design, anchors our perspective and shapes the values we endeavor to live by today.

click here to see the WMF 2010 Annual report

About the WMF

World Monuments Fund (WMF) is the foremost private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grant making, education, and training.

Founded in 1965, WMF is headquartered in New York, and has offices and affiliates around the world, including Cambodia, France, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In addition to hands-on management, the affiliates identify, develop, and manage projects, negotiate local partnerships, and attract local support to complement funds provided by donors.

The WMF describes its mission as “to preserve important historic architectural sites and works of art without regard to national boundaries”.

Since 1965, WMF has worked tirelessly to stem the loss of historic structures at more than more than 500 sites in over 91 countries -including many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. WMF has worked at internationally famous tourist attractions as well as lesser-known sites.

Highly prominent projects are many temples at Angkor, Cambodia, starting in 1990, including Preah Khan and Phnom Bakheng; the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, France; many structures in Rome, including the Temple of Hercules, Santa Maria Antiqua, and the House of Augustus; several sites on Easter Island; various sites at ancient Luxor in Egypt; Lalibela in Ethiopia; San Ignacio Miní in Argentina; the ancient Maya city of Naranjo, Guatemala; the Segovia Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain; as well as 25 projects in Venice, Italy, over 20 years.

WMF has also participated in projects in the United States, including Ellis Island, Mesa Verde National Park, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, and many sites in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

The International Fund for Monuments (IFM) was an organization created by Colonel James A. Gray (1909-1994) after his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1960. Gray had conceived of a visionary project to arrest the settlement of the Leaning Tower of Pisa by freezing the soil underneath, and formed the organization in 1965 as a vehicle for the implementation of this idea. Even though this project did not materialize, an opportunity arose for the young organization to participate in the conservation of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia.

In 1966 Gray secured the support of philanthropist Lila Acheson Wallace (1889-1984), who offered $150,000 to the International Fund for Monuments and UNESCO for this project. The project continued until the Communist overthrow of Haile Selassie I and the subsequent expulsion of foreigners from Ethiopia.

After Ethopia, Gray’s interests shifted to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in Chile. Gray formed the Easter Island Committee, with Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (1914–2002) as its honorary chairman. Gray arranged to have one of the monolithic human figures known as Moai exhibited in the United States. With the help of anthropologist William Mulloy (1917-1978), Gray selected an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m), five-ton head, which was exhibited in front of the Seagram Building in New York and in the Pan American Union building in Washington, D.C.

An important chapter for the organization started with its involvement in the broad international effort led by UNESCO for the protection of the city of Venice, Italy from catastrophic flooding. After the extremely high tide of November 4, 1966, the city, including the historic Piazza San Marco, was inundated for more than twenty-four hours.

The International Fund for Monuments set up a Venice Committee, with Professor John McAndrew (1904-1978) of Wellesley College as Chairman and Gray as Executive Secretary. On the part of the Committee, appeals were made to the American public, and local chapters set up in American cities. (This early initiative led to the formation of the independent organization Save Venice in 1971). These efforts helped establish a reputation for IFM.

In Spain, the organization formed a Committee for Spain under the leadership of American diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to Spain in 1965-67 Angier Biddle Duke (1915-1995).

At the invitation of UNESCO in the 1970s IFM became involved in architectural conservation in Nepal, where the organization adopted the Mahadev temple complex in Gokarna, in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The 14th century temple building was surveyed, rotten timbers were replaced, and the foundations were strengthened. Sculpted wooden architectural elements were painstakingly cleaned of layers of a motor oil coating that had been applied annually for protection.

Also at the request of UNESCO, IFM launched a project for the preservation of the Citadelle Laferrière, a large mountaintop fortress near Milot, Haiti. The site was the keystone of a defensive system constructed in the early period of Haitian independence to protect the young state from French attempts to reclaim it as a colony. Local artisans reconstructed wooden and tile roofs over the grand gallery and batteries using traditional carpentry methods, and consolidated the stone galleries of the fortress. IFM also sponsored a traveling exhibition and a film about the history of the Citadelle, which was used for educational purposes in the United States.

Through donations and matching funds, WMF has worked with local community and government partners worldwide to safeguard and conserve places of historic value for future generations.

The Hadrian Award

Every year, World Monuments Fund presents the Hadrian Award to international leaders who have advanced the understanding, appreciation, and preservation of the world’s art and architecture at its annual benefit dinner.

The ballroom at the Plaza Hotel for the World Monuments Fund’s 2011 Hadrian Award Gala

The Hadrian Award was inspired by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 76–138), a brilliant commander and administrator and a great patron of the arts, who demonstrated a concern for the survival of outstanding artistic works and a desire to convey the standards embodied in these works to his contemporary world.

1988: Carlo De Benedetti

1989: Paul Mellon

1990: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

1991: Brooke Astor

1992: Marella and Gianni Agnelli

1993: Dominique de Menil

1994: David Rockefeller

1995: Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

1996: His Highness The Aga Khan IV

1997: Phyllis Lambert

1998: Richard Hampton Jenrette

1999: The Sainsbury Brothers – Tim, John, Simon Sainsbury

2000: Harvey Golub

2001: James Wolfensohn

2002: Hélène and Michel David-Weill

2003: Eugene Thaw

2004: Carlos Slim

2005: John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich

2006: His Highness Gajsingh, The Maharaja of Jodhpur

2007: Rahmi Koç, Semahat Arsel, Suna Kiraç

2008: Houghton, Doreen, and Graeme Freeman ( see video below)

2009: David Rockefeller, Jr.

2010: Ratan Naval Tata and the Tata family

2011: Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder ( see video below)

World Monuments Watch

Launched in 1996 and issued every two years, the World Monuments Watch is an international call to action for cultural heritage around the world that is at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change.

Since the first list was compiled in 1996, this program has drawn international attention to cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, commercial development, natural disasters, and climate change. Through the World Monuments Watch, WMF fosters community support for the protection of endangered sites, and attracts technical and financial support for the sites.

The sites are nominated by international and local preservation groups and professionals, including local authorities. Sites of all types, including secular and religious architecture, archaeological sites, landscapes and townscapes, and dating from all time periods, from ancient to contemporary, are eligible.

An independent panel of international experts reviews and selects the sites that make up the list.

In 2010 the panelists were Christina Cameron, Alfredo Conti, Pierre-André Lablaude, Jeanne Marie Teutonico, and Christopher Young

Watch listing provides an opportunity for sites and their nominators to raise public awareness, foster local participation, advance innovation and collaboration, and demonstrate effective solutions. The announcement of the 2010 Watch was covered by over 1500 news outlets, reaching more than 250 million people worldwide. The international attention drawn to Watch sites provides a vital tool for local entities to leverage funding from a variety of sources. Increased awareness can also help bolster legislative efforts, foster partnerships, improve monitoring, and valorize connections between communities and their heritage.

In some instances, inclusion in the World Monuments Watch provides opportunities for WMF to assist with select projects. Since the program’s inception, more than 600 sites have been included on the Watch. Nearly 40% have developed into WMF projects, with direct WMF funding totally over $86 million. Much additional funding and technical assistance is offered by other agencies as a result of the awareness raised within communities and internationally by the Watch.

WMF contributed $2.2 million to projects at 2010 Watch sites, and others provided more than $25 million to sites included in the 2010 Watch by national, regional, and municipal governments, foundations, corporate sponsors, international aid, and private donors.

As the flagship advocacy program of World Monuments Fund, the Watch is emblematic of WMF’s commitment to inspiring heritage stewardship, forging partnerships, and advancing conservation.

In sponsoring the Watch program, WMF seeks to highlight emerging issues and opportunities in the field, confront urgent challenges, foster community engagement, and build capacities and constituencies for sustaining heritage protection in the long-term.

WMF Modernism Projects on Watch during 1996 – 2012

Belgium

RADIO AND TELEVISION BUILDING

Brussels, Belgium

Designed by the Belgian architect Joseph Diongre and completed in 1938, the Radio and Television building was one of the first broadcasting centers in Europe. (Learn More)

TOUR AND TAXIS (TRANSPORT HUB)

Brussels, Belgium

Beginning in the early 20th century, Belgian railroad, customs, and maritime interests converged at Tour and Taxis, a model transportation hub designed by architect Van Humbeek. (Learn More)

Cuba

NATIONAL ART SCHOOLS

Havana, Cuba

Czech Republic

TUGENDHAT VILLA

Brno, Czech Republic

Located on a hill overlooking the city of Brno, Tugendhat Villa is a seminal work of International Style architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (Learn More)

Eritrea

ASMARA HISTORIC CITY CENTER

Asmara, Eritrea

Finland

HELSINKI-MALMI AIRPORT

Helsinki, Finland

Israel

THE WHITE CITY

Tel Aviv, Israel

Lebanon

INTERNATIONAL FAIRGROUND

Tripoli, Lebanon

Panama

PANAMA CANAL AREA

Panama City, Chagres River, Panama

In the late nineteenth century, a French company began building what would come to be considered one of the greatest engineering achievements in human history.

Portugal

TEATRO CAPITÓLIO

Lisbon, Portugal

Romania

BRANCUSI’S ENDLESS COLUMN ENSEMBLE

Târgu-Jiu, Romania

Erected in 1934, the Endless Column by famed Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) has been hailed as one of the great works of 20th-century outdoor sculpture.

Russia

MELNIKOV’S HOUSE AND STUDIO

Moscow, Russia

NARKOMFIN BUILDING

Moscow, Russia

RUSAKOV CLUB

Moscow, Russia

The avant-garde architect Konstatin Melnikov designed the Rusakov Club as a theater for workers who labored in nearby printing factories.

VIIPURI LIBRARY

Vyborg, Russia

The Viipuri Library in Vyborg, Russia, was designed and built by modernist Finnish architect Alvar Aalto between 1927 and 1935. At the time of construction the land was held by Finland.

United Kingdom

BATTERSEA POWER STATION

London, United Kingdom

United States

2 COLUMBUS CIRCLE

New York, New York, United States

The former Huntington Hartford Gallery of Modern Art, known for decades as 2 Columbus Circle, was designed by Edward Durell Stone, one of America’s most prolific architects, and built in 1964

A. CONGER GOODYEAR HOUSE

Old Westbury, New York, United States

When the A. Conger Goodyear House was completed in 1938, Edward Durell Stone was already well-known as one of the country’s leading architects working in the International Style.

FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE

Lakeland, Florida, United States

Located on a hillside overlooking Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern College contains the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world.

HISTORIC ROUTE 66

Chicago, IL, to Los Angeles, CA, United States

Route 66, once the primary highway from America’s interior to the West Coast, has played a now-legendary role in U.S. history since its designation in 1926.

MIAMI MARINE STADIUM

Miami, Florida, United States

Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe Miami Marine Stadium was the first purpose-built venue for powerboat racing in the United States.

SCHINDLER KINGS ROAD HOUSE AND STUDIO

West Hollywood, California, United States

VDL RESEARCH HOUSE II

Los Angeles, California, United States

World Monument Fund – Building Projects

Afghanistan

BUDDHIST REMAINS OF BAMIYAN

Bamiyan, Afghanistan

2008

GHAZNI MINARETS

Ghazni, Afghanistan

2004

HAJI PIYADA MOSQUE (NOH GUMBAD)

Balkh, Afghanistan

2006

The Haji Piyada Mosque was built in the second half of the 9th century, only two centuries after the establishment of Islam and immediately following its arrival in Central Asia.

MURAD KHANE

Kabul, Afghanistan

2008

OLD CITY OF HERAT

Herat, Afghanistan

2010, 1998

The Old City of Herat in Western Afghanistan has a long history of rebuilding and restoration. The city was destroyed twice by the Mongols, in 1221 A.D.

TEPE NARENJ

Kabul, Afghanistan

2008

Albania

BUTRINT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Sarandë, Albania

2000, 1998, 1996

Archaeological evidence indicates that Corfiot traders founded Butrint in the 8th century B.C.

VOSKOPOJË CHURCHES

Voskopojë, Albania

2004, 2002

Twenty-six churches were built between 1630 and 1780 at Voskopojë, situated along the trade route from Venice to Constantinople in southeastern Albania.

Algeria

MEDRACEN AND EL-KHROUB NUMIDIAN ROYAL MAUSOLEA

Constantine, Algeria

2008

TIPASA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

Tipasa, Algeria

2000

Antarctica

SCOTT’S HUT AND THE EXPLORERS’ HERITAGE OF ANTARCTICA

Ross Island, Antarctica

2008, 2006, 2004

At the turn of the 20th century, Antarctica remained the only continent untouched by humans.

Argentina

BRENER SYNAGOGUE

Moises Ville, Argentina

2008

BUENOS AIRES HISTORIC CENTER

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010

The first permanent European settlement on the site of modern-day Buenos Aires was founded in 1580 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Garay.

CASA SOBRE EL ARROYO

Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

2012

CITY OF LA PLATA

La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

2012

JESUIT GUARANÍ MISSIONS

Several towns, Argentina

2004

PUCARÁ DE TILCARA

Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, Argentina

2012

SAN IGNACIO MINÍ

San Ignacio, Argentina

1996

In the midst of the Argentine rainforest stand the ruins of San Ignacio Miní, a 17th-century Jesuit mission complex.

TEATRO COLÓN

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010

USHUAIA PRISON

Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

1998

Armenia

AGHJOTS MONASTERY

Garni Village, Armenia

2010

KUMAYRI DISTRICT, ALEXANDRAPOL

Gyumri, Armenia

2008

Australia

DAMPIER ROCK ART COMPLEX

Dampier Archipelago, Australia

2008, 2006, 2004

The Dampier archipelago stretches from northwestern Australia into the Indian Ocean, its landscape marked by crags and ridges that were formed by the erosion of Precambrian lava activity.

Austria

BELVEDERE PALACE & GARDENS

Vienna, Austria

1996

At the turn of the 18th century, famed military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy purchased a tract of land in Vienna and commissioned Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to design the Belvedere, a complex

FRANCISCAN CHURCH

Vienna, Austria

1996

WIENER WERKBUNDSIEDLUNG

Vienna, Austria

2010

Azerbaijan

KHINALYG VILLAGE

Guba Region, Azerbaijan

2008

Bahamas

WHYLLY PLANTATION AT CLIFTON POINT

Clifton Point, New Providence, Bahamas

2002

Bahrain

SUQ AL-QAYSARIYA

Muharraq, Bahrain

2010

Bangladesh

SONARGAON-PANAM CITY

Sonargaon, Bangladesh

2008, 2006

Barbados

MORGAN LEWIS SUGAR MILL

St. Andrew, Barbados

1996

The Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill is the last of the many Barbadian windmills once used to produce sugar, and one of only two functioning sugar windmills in the world.

Belarus

PERVOMAISK CHURCH

near Uzda, Minsk voblast, Belarus

2002

Belgium

PREVIOUS RADIO AND TELEVISION BUILDING

Brussels, Belgium

1998

Designed by the Belgian architect Joseph Diongre and completed in 1938, the Radio and Television building was one of the first broadcasting centers in Europe.

SANATORIUM JOSEPH LEMAIRE

Tombeek, Belgium

2010

TOUR AND TAXIS (TRANSPORT HUB)

Brussels, Belgium

2000, 1998, 1996

Beginning in the early 20th century, Belgian railroad, customs, and maritime interests converged at Tour and Taxis, a model transportation hub designed by architect Van Humbeek.

WORTEL COLONY ESTATE

Hoogstraten, Antwerp, Belgium

1998

Belize

EL PILAR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESERVE

near San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize

1996

HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE OF BELIZE CITY

Belize City, Belize

2012

Benin

AKABA IDÉNA

Kétou, Plateau Department, Benin

2012

ROYAL PALACES OF ABOMEY

Abomey, Benin

1998, 1996

Bhutan

PHAJODING

Thimphu, Bhutan

2010

WANGDUECHHOELING PALACE

Jakar, Bumthang District, Bhutan

2012

Bolivia

ARANI AND CALLAPA CHURCHES

Arani and Callapa, Bolivia

1998

CONVENTO-MUSEO SANTA TERESA

Cochabamba, Bolivia

2010

EL FUERTE DE SAMAIPATA

Samaipata, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia

2012

MISIONES JESUÍTICAS DE CHIQUITOS (JESUIT MISSIONS OF CHIQUITOS)

Santa Cruz department, Bolivia

2010

RIO LAUCA BURIAL TOWERS

Sajama, Bolivia

1998

VALLEGRANDE AREA ROCK ART SITES

Vallegrande and Saipina, Bolivia

2004, 2002

Bosnia and Herzegovina

MEHMED-PASHA SOKOLOVIC BRIDGE

Visegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2006

MOSTAR HISTORIC CENTER

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2002, 2000

The Ottomans conquered Mostar in 1463 and brought Islamic influences and urban growth to the small town straddling the banks of the Nerevta River.

POCITELJ VILLAGE

Pocitelj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

1998, 1996

SARAJEVO CITY HALL

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2008

Brazil

HISTORIC CENTER OF SALVADOR DE BAHIA

Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil

2012

HISTORIC OLINDA AND THE CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO

Olinda, Brazil

2006

PARANAPIACABA

Santo André, Brazil

2002, 2000

In the mid-19th century, the Saõ Paulo Railway Company laid a snaking network of tracks over Brazil’s green mountains.

PORANGATU HISTORIC DISTRICT

Porangatu, Brazil

2008

SAN FRANCISCO CONVENT

Olinda, Brazil

2006, 2004

San Francisco Convent lies along the sandy coastline of northeastern Brazil in the historic town of Olinda, which was founded in 1535. Its economy was fueled by the sugar trade.

SANTO ANTONIO DO PARAGUAÇU

São Francisco do Paraguaça , Bahia, Brazil

2000

SÃO NICOLAU

São Nicolau, Brazil

2004

With the aim of converting the native Guaraní population, the Jesuits established 30 missions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in an area of South America that now includes parts

SERRA DA CAPIVARA NATIONAL PARK

São Raimundo Nonato, Piauí, Brazil

1996

Bulgaria

IVANOVO ROCK CHAPELS

Ivanovo, Bulgaria

2000, 1996

Founded in the first half of the 13th century, the rock chapels near the village of Ivanovo constitute a remarkable Eastern Orthodox Hesychastic monastic complex.

MADARA HORSEMAN

Madara, Shumen, Bulgaria

1998, 1996

NOVAE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Svishtov, Bulgaria

2008

VIDIN SYNAGOGUE

Vidin, Bulgaria

2004

Burkina Faso

COUR ROYALE DE TIÉBÉLÉ

Tiébélé, Centre-Sud Region, Burkina Faso

2012

LOROPENI RUINS

Loropeni, Burkina Faso

2008

Spanning lands that cross the modern borders of Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana, the Loropeni ruins are part of the larger Lobi Ruins, a 120-mile-by-60-mile cultural landscape.

Cambodia

ANGKOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISTRICT

Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

1996

BANTEAY CHHMAR TEMPLE OF JAYAVARMAN VII

Thmar Puok, Cambodia

2002, 2000, 1998

A complex of eight temples deep in the Cambodian jungle, Banteay Chhmar was commissioned by the twelfth-century Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII in honor of five heroes, including his son, who died defen

PHNOM BAKHENG

Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap, Cambodia

2006

Phnom Bakheng is one of Angkor’s oldest temples. It was built as a state temple between the late 9th and early 10th centuries, when King Yasovarman constructed it as the centerpiece of his new capital, Yasodharapura, later absorbed into Angkor.

PREAH KHAN TEMPLE

Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap, Cambodia

1996

The Preah Khan temple complex situated at the northern edge of the Angkor Archaeological Park is one of the most significant buildings erected during the ancient Khmer empire.

TA SOM TEMPLE

Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

1996

The Khmer temple of Ta Som, located at the eastern end of the Northern Baray at Angkor, was built at the end of the 12th century during the reign of the powerful Buddhist King Jayavarman VII.

Cameroon

BAFUT PALACE

Bafut, Cameroon

2006

Bafut Palace is located in the heart of the Bafut kingdom in northwest Cameroon.

Canada

GULF OF GEORGIA CANNERY

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

1998

HERSCHEL ISLAND

Yukon Territory, Canada

2008

ST. JOHN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

2004

The second oldest Protestant church in Canada, St. John’s was built in 1753 to serve as a meeting house for its local community in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Cape Verde

TARRAFAL CONCENTRATION CAMP

Tarrafal, Cape Verde

2006

Cayman Islands

MIND’S EYE

George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

2012

Chile

ALAMEDA RAILROAD STATION

Santiago, Chile

1998

CERROS PINTADOS

Iquique, Chile

2006

CHILOÉ CHURCHES

Chiloé Island, Chile

1996

At least 150 wooden churches once stood on the Chiloé archipelago, a group of islands off the coast of central Chile.

EASTER ISLAND (RAPA NUI)

Orongo, Chile

2000, 1996

A Polynesian volcanic island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle, Easter Island is a special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888.

ELEVATORS OF VALPARAÍSO

Valparaíso, Chile

1996

With its labyrinth of interconnecting stairways, cobblestone alleys, pedestrian plazas, and vistas, Bellavista Hill is one of the most distinctive of Valparaíso’s 45 hill neighborhoods

HUMBERSTONE AND SANTA LAURA INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Iquique, Chile

2004

IGLESIAS DE ARICA PARINACOTA (CHURCHES OF ARICA PARINACOTA)

Municipios de Arica y Putre, Chile

2010

Between 1570 and the middle of the seventeenth century, the port of Arica was the main commercial shipping port for mercury and silver to and from Potosi, Bolivia.

MONTEMAR INSTITUTE OF MARINE BIOLOGY

Viña del Mar, Chile

2008

RUEDAS DE AGUA

Larmahue, Pichidegua, Chile

2002

TULOR VILLAGE

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

2006, 1998

China

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF THE PALACE OF NANYUE KINGDOM

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

2012

COCKCROW POST TOWN

Huailai, China

2006, 2004

DA QIN CHRISTIAN PAGODA AND MONASTERY

near Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

2002

DULAN COUNTY TIBETAN ROYAL TOMB GROUP

Reshui, Dulan County, Qinghai Province, China

2000

GREAT WALL OF CHINA CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

China

2004, 2002

The “Great Wall” refers to a series of defensive barriers erected between the 5th century B.C. and the mid-17th century to deter invaders from the north.

LIAO DYNASTY SITE

Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China

1996

LU MANSION

Dong Yang, China

2006

MODERN SHANGHAI

Shanghai, China

2008

NAMSELING MANOR

near Shannan, Tibet Autonomous Region, China

1998, 1996

OHEL RACHEL SYNAGOGUE

Shanghai, China

2004, 2002

Jewish communities have existed in China for over 13 centuries, but today architectural traces are hard to find.

PALPUNG MONASTERY

Babang Village, Sichuan Province, China

2000, 1998

PUNING TEMPLE STATUES

Chengde, China

2004

The buildings at the imperial mountain resort at Chengde were built in stages between 1703 and 1792 and were where Qing emperors from Kangxi

QIKOU TOWN

Shanxi Province, China

2006

SAN XING DUI ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Guang Han City, China

1996

In 1984, following the discovery of a few bits of jade in an irrigation ditch, excavations near Guang Han City in Sichuan Province uncovered the earthen outer walls of an ancient city

SHAXI MARKET AREA

Yunnan Province , China

2002

The Shaxi Market Area, located in China’s Yunnan Province on the historic Tea and Horse Caravan Trail that links Tibet with Southeast Asia, is the most complete surviving example of a trading

STONE TOWERS OF SOUTHWEST CHINA

Various Locations, China

2006

Spread throughout Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region, 250 stone towers rise above the trees of southwest China.

TIANSHUI TRADITIONAL HOUSES

Qincheng, China

2006, 2004

TIANTAI AN

Wangqu, Shanxi Province, China

2012

TUANSHAN HISTORICAL VILLAGE

Yunnan Province, China

2006

XIANNONGTAN (TEMPLE OF AGRICULTURE)

Beijing, China

2000, 1998

The temple complex dedicated to Xiannong, the father of agriculture, was built in 1420 below the Forbidden City and adjacent to the famed Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

XIANNONGTAN (TEMPLE OF AGRICULTURE)—JUFU HALL

Beijing, China

1998

XUANJIAN TOWER

Yuci City, Shanxi, China

2000

Xuanjian Tower, part of a complex dating to the 13th century, is the main feature of the Town God’s Temple in Yuci.

XUMISHAN GROTTOES

Guyuan County, China

2008

Colombia

HISTORIC CENTER OF SANTA CRUZ DE MOMPOX

Santa Cruz de Mompox, Bolívar Department, Colombia

2012

PAECES CHAPELS OF TIERRADENTRO

Páez Municipality, near Belalcazar, Cauca Department, Colombia

2012

SAN FERNANDO AND SAN JOSE FORTRESSES

Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

2010

SANTA FE DE ANTIOQUIA HISTORIC CENTER

Province of Antioquia, Colombia

2010

Comoros

UJUMBE PALACE

Mutsamudu, Anjouan, Comoros

2010

Croatia

DIOCLETIAN’S PALACE

Split, Croatia

1996

Built for use by Emperor Diocletian who in AD 305 became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate, the palace at Split on the eastern coast of the Adriatic is the preeminent classical herita

DUBROVNIK OLD CITY HARBOR

Dubrovnik, Croatia

1996

DUCAL PALACE

Zadar, Croatia

1998

From the High Middle Ages through the 20th century, the Ducal Palace of Zadar stood witness to the evolution of the city and survived countless attacks and occupations.

FRANCISCAN MONASTERY LIBRARY

Dubrovnik, Croatia

1998

Founded in 1235, the Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik was an essential visit for pilgrims traveling between Europe and the Holy Land.

LOPUD FRANCISCAN MONASTERY

Lopud Island, near Dubrovnik, Croatia

1996

MARITIME QUARANTINE-LAZARETI

Dubrovnik, Croatia

2002

Between the 14th and 16th centuries, Dubrovnik was a key hub in the trade between the Ottoman Empire and the West, and its lazaret, or quarantine station, was built in 1627 to isolate the ill

NOVI DVORI CASTLE

Zaprešic, Croatia

2006

SAINT BLAISE CHURCH

Dubrovnik, Croatia

2006

SPLIT HISTORIC CENTER

Split, Croatia

1996

TVRĐA IN OSIJEK

Osijek, Slavonia, Croatia

1996

VUKOVAR CITY CENTER

Vukovar, Croatia

2002, 2000

Cuba

CALZADA DEL CERRO

Havana, Cuba

2004

CONVENT OF SANTA CLARA OF ASSISI

Havana, Cuba

1996

FINCA VIGIA (HEMINGWAY’S HOUSE)

San Francisco de Paula, Cuba

2006

NATIONAL ART SCHOOLS

Havana, Cuba

2002, 2000

PARISH CHURCH OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA DE LOS REMEDIOS

San Juan de los Remedios, Villa Clara Province, Cuba

2012

REINA CEMETERY

Cienfuegos, Cuba

1998

SAN ISIDRO DE LOS DESTILADEROS

Trinidad, Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba

2000

SANTA TERESA DE JESÚS CLOISTERS

Havana, Cuba

2000

Cyprus

HISTORIC WALLED CITY OF FAMAGUSTA

Famagusta, Cyprus

2010, 2008

Located along the busy shipping lanes of the eastern Mediterranean, Famagusta rose to prominence after a large number of Christians resettled in the city following the fall of the Levantine city

Czech Republic

ČESKÝ KRUMLOV GARDEN

Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

1996

The Český Krumlov gardens lie between the imposing castle of the 18th-century Schwarzenburg princes and the surrounding Bohemian town, connecting the Gothic castle to the cobblestone streets

CHOTESOV MONASTERY

Chotesov, Czech Republic

2004

HEAVENLY FATHER CHAPEL

Kutna Hora, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic

1998

KUKS FOREST SCULPTURES

Kuks, Czech Republic

2000

In the New Forest bordering the town of Kuks in the Czech Republic, Mary Magdalene reclines amidst the fallen leaves while the three Magi perform their act of adoration nearby.

LEDNICE AND VALTICE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Lednice and Valtice, Czech Republic

1998

Over the centuries, the rural countryside between the southern Moravian towns of Lednice and Valtice had been a landscape divided by shifting national borders, scarred by conflicts like the Thirty

MONASTARY OF KLADRUBY

Kladruby, Tachov, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic

1996

NEBÍLOVY MANSION

Nebílovy, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic

1998

PRAGUE HISTORIC CENTER

Prague, Czech Republic

1998

ST. ANN’S CHURCH

Prague, Czech Republic

2004

Built in 1316, St. Ann’s Church stands at the foot of the Charles Bridge in the Old Town of Prague.

TEREZIN FORTRESS

Terezin, Czech Republic

2002

Terezin Fortress, a vast military complex with a perimeter of over 12 miles (20 kilometers), guards the confluence of the Elbe and Eger rivers in the northwest Czech Republic.

Dominican Republic

PARISH CHURCH OF SAN DIONISIO

Higüey, La Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic

2012

PUERTO PLATA LIGHTHOUSE

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

2000

Built in 1879 by R. Deeley & Co., a New York firm, the Puerto Plata Lighthouse once served as a beacon for ships traversing the Atlantic.

Ecuador

BOLIVAR THEATER

Quito, Ecuador

2004

LA COMPAÑIA CHURCH

Quito, Ecuador

1996

LAS PEÑAS

Guayaquil, Ecuador

2004

The highest concentration of historic houses and structures in the coastal city of Guayaquil is in the neighborhood of Las Peñas.

TODOS SANTOS COMPLEX

Cuenca, Ecuador

2010

The Todos Santos complex is located in the heart of Cuenca, Ecuador, deep within the Tomebamba River Valley. During the Inca era, Todos Santos served as a center for spiritual celebrations.

Egypt

CEREMONIAL ENCLOSURE OF KHASEKHEMWY AT HIERAKONPOLIS

Kom el-Ahmar, Egypt

2004, 2002, 2000

Hierakonpolis was the Predynastic capital of Upper Egypt, and grew to prominence in the mid-third millennium BC.

JAMA’A Al -AQSUNQUR (BLUE MOSQUE)

Cairo, Egypt

2008

The Blue Mosque is the largest mosque in the Bab al-Wazir district of Cairo.

NEW GOURNA VILLAGE

Luxor, West Bank, Egypt

2010

New Gourna Village, an experimental earthen village on the West Bank of the Nile, is a testament to how the relationship between heritage and society is often fraught with multiple meanings and con

OLD MOSQUE OF SHALI FORTRESS

Siwa Oasis, Egypt

2010

QA’ITBAY SABIL

Cairo, Egypt

1996

SABIL RUQAYYA DUDU

Cairo, Egypt

2006, 2004

SHUNET EL-ZEBIB

Abydos, Egypt

2008

Shunet el-Zebib was built circa 2750 B.C. and served as a funerary cult enclosure of the Khasekhemwy, a second dynasty king.

SULTAN AL-MUAYYAD HOSPITAL

Cairo, Egypt

2002

SULTAN QA’ITBAY COMPLEX

Cairo, Egypt

2000

Mamluk sultan Qa’itbay’s fountain-school complex was constructed in 1477 in central Cairo.

TARABAY AL-SHARIFY

Cairo, Egypt

2006

The monumental complex of Tarabay al-Sharify stands at the southern end of Al-Azhar Park.

THE MORTUARY TEMPLE OF AMENHOTEP III

Luxor, Egypt

2004, 1998

The mortuary temple of Amenhotep III was erected between 1390 and 1353 B.C. for the New Kingdom Pharoah, Amenhotep III. (Learn More)

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Luxor (Ancient Thebes), Egypt

2002, 2000

Thebes, now the modern city of Luxor in central Egypt, was the royal capital of the Ancient Egyptian civilization during the New Kingdom (1539-1075 B.C.).

WEST BANK OF THE NILE

Luxor, Egypt

2008, 2006

WHITE AND RED MONASTERIES

Sohag, Egypt

2002

El Salvador

SAN MIGUEL ARCÁNGEL AND SANTA CRUZ DE ROMA CHURCHES

Panchimalco and Huizucar, El Salvador

2006, 2004

SUCHITOTO CITY

Cuscatlán, El Salvador

2000, 1998

Eritrea

ASMARA HISTORIC CITY CENTER

Asmara, Eritrea

2006

DARBUSH TOMB

Massawa, Eritrea

2008

KIDANE-MEHRET CHURCH

Senafe, Debub, Eritrea

2006

The Church of Kindane-Mehret is a rare representation of Eritrean religious architecture dating to the Axumite Empire (A.D. 100-700).

MASSAWA HISTORIC TOWN

Massawa, Eritrea

2006

Ethiopia

MENTEWAB-QWESQWAM BANQUETING HALL

Gondar, Ethiopia

2000, 1998

The buildings at this archaeological site date to the 17th and 18th centuries when the court of Gondar was the capital of Christian Ethiopia beginning in 1632.

MOHAMMAD ALI HOUSE

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2008

Fiji

LEVUKA

Ovalau, Fiji

1998

Finland

HELSINKI-MALMI AIRPORT

Helsinki, Finland

2006, 2004

France

CHÂTEAU AQUEDUCT

Castelnau-Pegayrolles, Aveyron, France

1996

CHÂTEAU DE CHANTILLY

Chantilly, France

2002, 1998

The Château de Chantilly sits at the confluence of the Oise and Seine Rivers in northern France and is a magnificent stone complex surrounded by manicured lawns, farms, ponds, and stables.

EGLISE PAROISSIALE DE SAINT-MARTIN-DES-PUITS

Saint Martin-des-Puits, France

2010

EPAILLY CHAPEL OF THE ORDER OF THE TEMPLE

Courban, France

2008

HÔTEL DE MONNAIES

Villemagne L’Argentière, France

2010

SAINT PIERRE CATHEDRAL

Beauvais, France

2002, 2000

SAINT-EMILION MONOLITHIC CHURCH

Saint-Emilion, France

1996

In the 8th century, a Breton monk named Emilion fled to southern France to escape persecution by the Benedictine order and adopted an eremitic existence, living in a cave.

Gambia

JAMES ISLAND

Lower Niumi District, Gambia

1998

First settled in 1651 by traders from present-day Latvia on an earlier native site, James Island on the River Gambia was a cultural crossroads from the late 15th to the late 19th centuries.

Georgia

ART NOUVEAU BUILDINGS

Cities of Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Poti, and Dusheti, Georgia

2002

BODBE CATHEDRAL

Sighnaghi, Kakheti Region, Georgia

2002

CHURCH OF THE VIRGIN

Timotesubani, Georgia

2004

Adorned with a series of mural paintings dating from the twelfth century, the medieval Church of the Virgin in Timotesubani was built during the reign of Queen Tamar (r.

GELATI MONASTERY AND ACADEMY

Kutaisi, Georgia

2008

IKORTA CHURCH OF THE ARCHANGEL

Zemo Artsevi Village, Georgia

2000

JVARI MONASTERY

Mtshekta, Georgia

2006

PITARETI MONASTERY

Tetritskaro District, Georgia

1996

TBILISI HISTORIC DISTRICT

Tbilisi, Georgia

2002, 2000, 1998

Located at a crossroads of Europe and Asia on the famous Silk Road, Tbilisi has faced repeated invasions since its founding in the fifth century as rival powers have sought to control its strategic

Germany

FESTSPIELHAUS HELLERAU

Hellerau, Dresden, Saxony, Germany

1996

GARTENREICH DESSAU-WÖRLITZ

Dessau, Germany

2000

KARL-THEODOR BRIDGE

Heidelberg, Germany

2002

Over more than 700 years, nine bridges were built in succession at a single spot along Europe’s Neckar River, where the waterway weaves through the German city of Heidelberg.

THOMASKIRCHE

Leipzig, Germany

2000

Constructed in Leipzig, Germany, in the early 13th century by the Augustinian monastic order, Thomaskirche, or St.

Ghana

ASANTE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

near Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana

2012

LARABANGA MOSQUE

Larabanga, Ghana

2002

Dating from the 17th century, Larabanga Mosque is the oldest mosque in Ghana, and one of the country’s most revered religious sites.

Wa, Ghana

2008

Wa Naa’s Palace, home to the King of Wala people, the major local population of Wa region, is located in the heart of Wa Town and is a major cultural attraction.

Greece

CHURCHES OF LESVOS

Lesvos, Greece

2010, 2008

The island of Lesvos contains a large number of historic churches, many with fine religious iconography.

ETZ HAYIM SYNAGOGUE

Hania, Greece

1996

In the 17th century, the Jewish community of Hania acquired a vacant Venetian church, the 15th-century Church of St.

FIRST CEMETERY OF ATHENS

Athens, Greece

2012

HELIKE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Achaia, Greece

2006, 2004

KAHAL SHALOM SYNAGOGUE

Rhodes, Greece

2000

Synagogue Kahal Kadosh Shalom (Holy Congregation of Peace), better known as the New Synagogue, is the only Sephardic temple remaining on the Greek island of Rhodes and the oldest surviving synagogu

PALAIKASTRO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Palaikastro, Crete, Greece

2004, 2002

PELLA TOMBS

Pella, Greece

2008

Guatemala

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK AND RUINS OF QUIRIGUÁ

Los Amates, Izabal Department, Guatemala

2012

CAPITANES GENERALES PALACE

Antigua, Guatemala

2008

The city of Antigua was founded in 1543 in the valley of Panchoy, surrounded by the Agua, Fuego, and Acatenago volcanoes.

CEIBAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Sayaxche, Guatemala

2008

EL ZOTZ

Petén Department, Guatemala

2012

KAMINALJUYU

Near Guatemala City, Guatemala

2010

The archaeological park of Kaminaljuyu is located in Guatemala’s highland central valley, in close proximity to the ever-expanding urban development of Guatemala City.

NARANJO

El Petén, Guatemala

2006

Naranjo, the second largest Maya city in Guatemala after Tikal, developed between 500 B.C. and A.D. 950, although the main period of construction took place during the Late Classic period (A.D.)

PIEDRAS NEGRAS

Peten, Guatemala

2002

Piedras Negras (Black Stones) was the capital of a Maya kingdom that stretched along the banks of Central America’s Usumacinta River between the 4th century B.C. and the 9th century A.D.

USUMACINTA RIVER CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Usumacinta River Valley, Guatemala

2004, 2002, 2000

Today, the Usumacinta River defines the border between Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, but in antiquity its waters lay between the rival Maya cities of Piedras Negras and Yaxchilán. The two settlements were founded in the 1st millennium B.C., separated by 25 miles (40 kilometers) of dense jungle and the white rapids of the Usumacinta.

Guyana

MORUKA-WAINI CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Warao Settlements, Barima-Waini, Guyana

1996

Haiti

GINGERBREAD NEIGHBORHOOD

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

2012, 2010

In October 2009, the Gingerbread houses of Port-au-Prince were included on the 2010 World Monuments Watch in order to raise international awareness about this unique architectural heritage.

JACMEL HISTORIC DISTRICT

Jacmel, Haiti

2012

PALACE OF SANS SOUCI

Milot, Haiti

2012

Hungary

ROYAL GARDEN PAVILIONS

Budapest, Hungary

1996

The Royal Garden Pavilion was designed by Miklós Ybi, an important nineteenth-century Hungarian architect, and built between 1875 and 1882 on the embankment of the Danube River at the foot of Castle

SPA CENTER HISTORIC ENSEMBLE

Balatonfüred, Hungary

1998

TURONY CHURCH

Turony, Baranya, Hungary

2004

India

AHMEDEBAD WALLED CITY

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

1998

AMBER TOWN

Amber Town, Jaipur Municipality, Rajasthan, India

2008

Once the capital city of the Kachwahas—one of the legendary Rajput clans that rose to power during the Middle Ages in what is now the northern Indian state of Rajasthan—Amber Town was first occupied

ANEGUNDI HISTORIC SETTLEMENT

Karnataka, India

2002

BAGH-I-HAFIZ RAKHNA

Sirhind-Fategarh, Punjab, India

2012

BALAJI GHAT

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

2012

BHUJ DARBARGADH

Bhuj, Gujarat, India

2004

CHAMPANER-PAVAGADH

Panchmahal, India

2000

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the city of Champaner was an important post along the trade route linking the states of Malwa and Gujarat in western India.

CHETTINAD

Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India

2008

CHIKTAN CASTLE

Kargil, India

2010

DALHOUSIE SQUARE

Kolkata, India

2006, 2004

The former Dalhousie Square, now known as Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, is an oasis at the heart of modern Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, in eastern India. (Learn More)

DECHEN NAMGYAL GONPA

Nyoma, India

2010

DHANGKAR GOMPA

Spiti Valley, India

2006

DWARKA DHEESH MANDIR TEMPLE

Ahmedabad, India

2002

Dwarka Dheesh Mandir Temple is one of the oldest surviving haveli, or house-temple, complexes in Ahmedabad.

GURU LHAKHANG AND SUMDA CHUN TEMPLES

Leh, India

2006

HISTORIC CIVIC CENTER OF SHIMLA

Shimla, India

2010

HISTORIC HAVELIS OF BIKANER

Bikaner, Rajasthan, India

2012

JAISALMER FORT

Jaisalmer, India

2000, 1998, 1996

Built in 1156 by King Rawal Jaisal, Jaisalmer Fort dominates the countryside in the far northwestern corner of Rajasthan, near the border of India and Pakistan.

JANTAR MANTAR

Jaipur, India

2008

KOTHI, QILA MAHMUDABAD

Mahmudabad, India

2010

LEH OLD TOWN/LEH PALACE

Leh, India

2008

In the early fifteenth century, Dragpa Bumdey, King of Ladakh, built the first fortifications in Leh as well as a small royal residence along a mountain ridge high above the town.

LUTYENS BUNGALOW ZONE

Delhi, India

2002

METROPOLITAN BUILDING

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

2000

NAKO TEMPLES

Kinnaur Region, Himachal Pradesh, India

2002

Situated 3,600 meters above the Spiti River, Nako is one of the most isolated villages on earth.

OSMANIA WOMEN’S COLLEGE

Hyderabad, India

2004, 2002

QUILA MUBARAK

Patiala, Punjab, India

2004

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

2012

SAINT ANNE CHURCH

Talaulim, Goa, India

2000

The Church of Saint Anne, also known as Sant’Ana or Santana Church, is the parish church of the small village of Talaulim, located about 10 miles from Panjim, the capital of Goa

SRINAGAR HERITAGE ZONE

Srinagar, India

2008

SUMDA CHUN MONASTERY

Leh, India

2006

Located at 12,700 feet above sea level in a remote part of the Himalayas, the village of Sumda Chun is accessible only by a 3- to 4-hour hike up a steep and winding river valley trail.

TAJ MAHAL

Agra, India

1996

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631.

WATSON’S HOTEL

Mumbai, India

2006

Indonesia

BOROBUDUR

Central Java, Indonesia

1996

DESA LINGGA

Karo Regency, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

2012

KOTAGEDE HERITAGE DISTRICT

Kotagede, Indonesia

2008

OMO HADA

Nias, Indonesia

2006, 2004, 2002, 2000

Omo Hada is a rare surviving 18th-century traditional Indonesian village.

TAMANSARI WATER CASTLE

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2004

Tamansari, meaning perfumed garden, is the name for the gardens and associated structures built in 1765 for Hamengku Buwono I, the Sultan of the kingdom of Yogyakarta.

TANAH LOT TEMPLE

Beraban, Bali, Indonesia

2000

Tanah Lot Temple is a complex of wooden structures with origins in the 15th and 16th centuries, built on a large coral rock separated from the nearby island of Bali.

Iran

BAM

Bam, Iran

2006

Iraq

AL-HADBA’ MINARET

Mosul, Iraq

2010

CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES OF IRAQ

Iraq

2008, 2006

ERBIL CITADEL

Erbil, Iraq

2004, 2002, 2000

NINEVEH AND NIMRUD PALACES

near Mosul, Iraq

2004, 2002

Ireland

ATHASSEL ABBEY

near Golden, Tipperary, Ireland

2004

CLONMACNOISE

County Offaly, Ireland

1996

HEADFORT HOUSE

Kells, Ireland

2004

In the early 1770s Thomas Taylor, the first Earl of Headfort, commissioned Irish architect George Semple to build Headfort House.

HILL OF TARA

Meath, Ireland

2008

RUSSBOROUGH

Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland

2010

SAINT BRENDAN’S CATHEDRAL

Clonfert, County Galway , Ireland

2000

Clonfert Cathedral, also known as St. Brendan’s Cathedral, is a 12th-century Hiberno-Romanesque structure on the site of Saint Brendan’s 6th-century monastery in Clonfert, Ireland.

VERNON MOUNT

Cork, Ireland

2008

WONDERFUL BARN

Kildare, Ireland

2006

Israel

APOLLONIA-ARSUF

Herzliya, Israel

2004

BET SHE’ARIM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Kiryat Tiv’on, Haifa District, Israel

2002

GEMEINDEHAUS

Haifa, Israel

1998, 1996

OLD CITY OF LOD

Lod, Israel

2010

RAMLA WHITE MOSQUE

Ramle Municipality, Israel

2000, 1998

TEL-DAN CANAANITE GATE

Upper Galilee, Israel

2000

THE WHITE CITY

Tel Aviv, Israel

1996

Italy

ACADEMY OF HADRIAN’S VILLA

Tivoli, Italy

2006

ANCIENT POMPEII

Pompeii, Italy

1998, 1996

The ancient Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and villas near the Bay of Naples were buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in August A.D.

ARCH OF TRAJAN

Ancona, Marche, Italy

1998

BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI MONUMENT

Venice, Italy

1996

The Bartolomeo Colleoni equestrian statue, located beside the Scuola Grande di San Marco in the Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo, was erected in fulfillment of a request made by the condotierro

BOTANICAL GARDEN OF PADUA UNIVERSITY

Padua, Veneto, Italy

1998

CHAINS BRIDGE

Bagni di Lucca, Italy

2002, 2000

Il Ponte della Catene, or the Chains Bridge, spans the Lima River in Tuscany, connecting the towns of Fomoli and Chifenti.

CIMITERO ACATTOLICO

Rome, Italy

2006

CINQUE TERRE

Liguria, Italy

2002, 2000

Cinque Terre describes the Mediterranean coastline between Genoa and Tuscany, where the hills are carved into green terraces that descend toward the water.

CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO

Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy

2006

DOMUS AUREA

Rome, Italy

1996

ETRUSCAN PAINTED TOMBS OF TARQUINIA

Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy

1998

FARNESE NYMPHAEUM

Rome, Italy

2008

FENESTRELLE FORTRESS

Fenestrelle, Turin, Italy

2008

GARDENS OF VILLA MEDICI AT CASTELLO

Florence, Italy

1996

GROTTOES OF SAN MICHELE

Salerno, Italy

1996

HISTORIC CENTER OF CRACO (Centro Storico di Craco)

Craco, Italy

2010

LIMONAIA AT BOBOLI GARDENS AND GARDEN OF VILLA MEDICI AT CASTELLO

Florence, Italy

1998

Design and construction of the Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti began in 1549 under Cosimo I de Medici.

MURGIA DEI TRULLI

Murgia dei Trulli, Italy

2006

NEOPITAGORICA BASILICA

Rome, Lazio, Italy

1998, 1996

PALAZZO DORIA PAMPHILI

Valmontone, Lazio, Italy

1998

PONTE LUCANO

Tivoli, Italy

2010

PORT OF TRAJAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

Fiumicino, Italy

2004, 2002

PORTICI ROYAL PALACE

Naples, Italy

2006

RUINS ON THE RIVER CENTA

Albenga, Liguria, Italy

1996

RUPESTRIAN CHURCHES OF PUGLIA AND THE CITY OF MATERA

Puglia and Matera, Italy

1998

In 1464, Pope Paul II gave the Ciminelli family his blessing to enhance the church of San Pietro Barisano in the I Sassi district of Matera, the northernmost province in the Puglia region of Italy.

SAN GIACOMO MAGGIORE PORTICO

Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

1996

SANTA MARIA ANTIQUA CHURCH

Rome, Italy

2004

Located at the base of the Palatine Hill in the Roman Forum, the sixth-century church of Santa Maria Antiqua is one of the earliest surviving Christian monuments in Rome.

SANTA MARIA IN STELLE HYPOGEUM

Verona, Italy

2006, 1996

Publio Pomponio Corneliano and his family constructed the hypogeum of Santa Maria in Stelle in the early third century A.D.

SANTI AMBROGIO E CARLO AL CORSO

Rome, Italy

1996

SANTI QUATTRO CORONATI CLOISTER

Rome, Italy

2000

Within the fortress-like Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati complex is an early-13th-century cloister that is possibly the earliest structure in Rome in the Cosmatesque style, which is characterize

TEMPLE OF HERCULES

Rome, Italy

1996

The Temple of Hercules, situated in the Forum Boarium on the eastern bank of the Tiber, is one of the oldest extant buildings in Rome.

TEMPLE OF PORTUNUS

Rome, Italy

2006

The Temple of Portunus, dating to the first century B.C., is a rare survivor of Roman Republican architecture and a reminder of the magnificence of the Forum Boarium in Antiquity, once a major comm

TERRA DEL SOLE PRISON CELLS

Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

1998

TRANSHUMANCE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Molise Region, Italy

2008

TUFF TOWNS AND VIE CAVE

Lazio, Tuscany, and Umbria, Italy

2006, 2004

The towns of Pitigliano, Sorano, Manciano, and Civita di Bagnoregio lie balanced on the crests of steep Italian hills, built into the tufa (or tuff) bedrock, a soft stone formed from volcanic ash.

VILLA OF SAN GILIO

Oppido Lucano, Italy

2010

VISCONTIAN BRIDGE-DAM

Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy

2008

Jamaica

FALMOUTH HISTORIC TOWN

Falmouth, Jamaica

2008, 2004, 2002, 2000

OLD IRON BRIDGE

Spanish Town, Jamaica

1998

In the late 18th century, Jamaica’s House of Assembly passed an act commissioning the construction of a much-needed bridge between Kingston and Spanish Town in St. Catherine.

Japan

DENCHU HIRAKUSHI HOUSE AND ATELIER

Taitō, Tokyo, Japan

2012

EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE HERITAGE SITES

Tōhoku and Kantō Regions, Japan

2012

MACHIYA TOWNHOUSES

Kyoto, Japan

2012, 2010

The machiya of Kyoto are traditional townhouses dating from the Edo period (1603–1867). Born out of the city’s growing merchant class, they functioned as both residences and workspaces.

TOMO PORT TOWN

Fukuyama, Japan

2004, 2002

For over 1,000 years Tomo, in the city of Fukuyama, has existed as a fishing village and an active port along the Seto Nakai, or Inland Sea.

Jordan

ABILA

Quweilbeh, Irbid Governorate, Jordan

2012

AIN GHAZAL

Amman, Jordan

2004

DAMIYA DOLMEN FIELD

Damiya, Jordan Valley, Jordan

2010

JORDAN RIVER CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Jordan River, Jordan

2008

KHIRBET ET-TANNUR

Tafilah, Jordan

2008

PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Wadi Mousa, Jordan

2002, 2000, 1998, 1996

The magnificent ruins of ancient Petra occupy a high plateau that rises out of Wadi Mousa, the Valley of Moses, in southwest Jordan.

PETRA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE—SOUTHERN TEMPLE

Wadi Mousa, Jordan

1996

QUSAYR ‘AMRA

Azraq, Jordan

2008

Qusayr ‘Amra, located 85 km to the east of Amman, is a small residence discovered by the Czech traveler Alois Musil in 1898.

Kazakhstan

NECROPOLISES OF NOMADS IN MANGYSTAU

Mangystau Province, Kazakhstan

2012

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE KAZAKH STEPPE SARY-ARKA

Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan

2010

Kenya

MTWAPA HERITAGE SITE

Mtwapa, Kenya

2006, 2004

With its vast architectural remains, abundant wildlife, and idyllic location, the ancient port of Mtwapa is one of the most important sites on Kenya’s Swahili Coast. Occupied between a.d.

THIMLICH OHINGA CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Migori District, Kenya

2002, 2000

Built in the 14th century on a hill, Thimlich Ohinga is a complex surrounded by stone walls now partially covered under Savannah bush land.

Laos

CHOM PHET CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Luang Prabang, Laos

2006

HINTANG ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE

Houameuang District, Laos

2010

TAM TING

Nam Kong River at Ban Pak Ou, Laos

2010

VAT SISAKET

Vientiane, Laos

1998, 1996

Latvia

ABAVA VALLEY CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Kurzeme Region, Latvia

1998, 1996

RIGA CATHEDRAL

Riga, Latvia

2006

Riga Cathedral, the centerpiece of Latvia’s capital city, was built in the early 13th century in the Romanesque style.

Lebanon

ANCIENT TYRE

Tyre, Lebanon

1996

Tyre, situated approximately 50 miles south of Beirut, was founded by Phoenician settlers in the third millennium B.C.

CHEHABI CITADEL

Hasbaya, Lebanon

2006

ENFEH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Enfeh, Lebanon

2002, 2000, 1998

INTERNATIONAL FAIRGROUND

Tripoli, Lebanon

2006

ISKANDAROUNA-NAQOURA CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Oumm el’ Amed, Lebanon

2004

Libya

WADI MATHENDOUS ROCK ART

Fezzan, Libya

2008

Lithuania

VILNIUS TOWN WALL

Vilnius, Lithuania

1998

Macedonia

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD PERIBLEPTOS CHURCH

Ohrid, Macedonia

2008

STOBI

Gradsko, Macedonia

2012

TRESKAVEC MONASTERY AND CHURCH

Prilep/Dabnica, Macedonia

2006

Madagascar

FIANARANTSOA OLD CITY

Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

2008

ROYAL HILL OF AMBOHIMANGA

Ambohimanga Rova, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar

2012

Malaysia

GEORGE TOWN HISTORIC ENCLAVE

Georgetown, Penang Island, Malaysia

2002, 2000

George Town, established as a British trading port in 1786, displays its vivid and varied cultural heritage through the array of buildings and architectural styles found along its streets.

KAMPUNG CINA RIVER FRONTAGE

Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

2002, 2000, 1998

A line of modest wooden buildings follows the gently curving waterfront at Kampung Cina, the oldest street in what is now one of Malaysia’s largest cities, Kuala Terengganu.

Mali

BANDIAGARA ESCARPMENT CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Dogon Country, Mali

2004

The dramatic 95-mile long Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali, West Africa, has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century B.C.

DJENNÉ-DJENO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Djenné, Mali

1996

Although the archaeological site of Djenné-Djeno is located just three kilometers southeast of the modern village of Djenné, the site was unknown until the 1970s.

MÉDINE FORT

near Kayes, Mali

2002

Malta

FORT ST. ELMO

Valletta, Malta

2008

MNAJDRA PREHISTORIC TEMPLES

Qrendi, Malta

2002, 2000, 1998

The Mnajdra Prehistoric Temples lie along the southern coast of Malta amidst the blue waters of the central Mediterranean.

Mauritania

CHINGUETTI MOSQUE

Chinguetti, Mauritania

2008, 2006

Mexico

ACUEDUCTO DE TEMBLEQUE

Zempoala to Otumba, Mexico

2010

CAROLINA HACIENDA

Chihuahua, Mexico

1998

CHALCATZINGO

Morelos, Mexico

2006

Established around 1500 B.C., Chalcatzingo, which means venerated place of sacred water in the Náhuatl language, is an important prehistoric site in central Mexico that initially developed

CHIHUAHUA MISSIONS

Chihuahua, Mexico

2008

COLONIAL BRIDGE OF TEQUIXTEPEC

San Miguel Tequixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

2012

HUACA HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD

Veracruz, Mexico

2008

INMACULADA CONCEPCIÓN CHAPEL

Nurio, Mexico

2002

JESÚS NAZARENO CHURCH IN ATOTONILCO

Atotonilco, Mexico

1996

Constructed by Father Felipe Neri Alfaro, the Sanctuary of Jesus Nazareno of Atotonilco is famous for its murals that reflect a syncretism of Catholic religious iconography mixed with native religi

LA TERCENA

Metztitlan, Hidalgo, Mexico

2004

LAS POZAS

Xilitla, Mexico

2010

In 1944, Edward James, a wealthy British poet and artist and early patron of surrealist art, purchased a plot of land in Mexico’s Huasteca region.

MADERA CAVE DWELLINGS

Madera, Mexico

2000, 1998

MEXICO CITY HISTORIC CENTER

Mexico City, Mexico

2006

Seven centuries of Mexican history are recorded in the architectural landscape of the Centro Histórico, or Historic Center, of Mexico City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

MODERN MURAL PAINTINGS

Mexico City, Mexico

1996

Jose Vasconcelas, Mexico’s first Minister of Education following the country’s revolution, saw the value of public art as a vehicle to foster civic pride and national spirit.

MONASTERIES OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA IN TETELA DEL VOLCÁN AND TLAYACAPAN

Tetela del Volcán and Tlayacapan, Morelos, Mexico

1998

MONTE ALBÁN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Oaxaca, Mexico

2008

The ancient Zapotec metropolis of Monte Albán was founded in the 6th century B.C. on a flattened mountain overlooking the city of Oaxaca.

OXTOTITLAN

Acatlán, Guerrero, Mexico

2004

PALACE OF FINE ARTS (PALACIO DE BELLAS ARTES)

Mexico City, Mexico

1998

A stunning Art Nouveau masterpiece, originally designed by Adamo Boari and envisioned for the centenary celebrations of Mexico’s independence in 1910, the Palace of Fine Arts

PIMERÍA ALTA MISSIONS

Mexico

2006, 2004

RUTA DE LA AMISTAD

Mexico City, Mexico

2012

SAN FRANCISCO DE TZINTZUNTZAN CONVENT

Tzintzuntzan, Mexico

2004

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA IN CUAUHTINCHAN

Cuauhtinchan/Puebla, Mexico

2006

Located in the Mexican state of Puebla, the San Juan Bautista convent in Cuauhtinchan was built between 1528 and 1554 on the site of a 12th-century Tolteca-Chichimeca foundation

SAN JUAN DE ULÚA FORT

Veracruz, Mexico

2002, 2000, 1996

For nearly 350 years, the San Juan de Ulúa Fort in Veracruz served as the primary military stronghold of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.

SAN NICOLÁS OBISPO

Morelia, Mexico

2006

SANTA PRISCA PARISH CHURCH

Taxco de Alarcón, Mexico

2000

Santa Prisca Church was built following the discovery of a silver mine on the property of José de la Borda.

TEMPLO DE SAN BARTOLO SOYALTEPEC (Church of San Bartolo Soyaltepec)

Oaxaca, Mexico

2010

TEMPLO DE SAN FELIPE TINDACO (Church of San Felipe Tindaco)

Tlaxiaco, Mexico

2010

TEMPLO Y CONVENTO DE LOS SANTOS REYES Y CONVENTO DE LA COMUNIDAD (Santos Reyes Church and Monastery and La Comunidad Convent)

Metztitlán, Mexico

2010

TEOTIHUACAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE—QUETZALCOATL TEMPLE

San Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico

2004, 2000, 1998

For the first half of the first millennium, A.D, Teotihuacán was the dominant civilization in Mesoamerica and one of the great cities of the ancient world.

TEUCHTITLÁN-GUACHIMONTONES ARCHAEOLOGICAL ZONE

Teuchtitlan, Mexico

2008

VEGA DE LA PEÑA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Filobobos, near Tlapacoyan, Veracruz, Mexico

1998

YAXCHILÁN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Chiapas, Mexico

2002, 2000

Yaxchilán is located on the border between Guatemala and Mexico, sandwiched between the Usumacinta River and the Lacandon Forest, and across the river from another ancient Maya city, Piedras Negras

YUCATÁN INDIAN CHAPELS

Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

1996

Moldova

ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY CHURCH

Causeni, Moldova

2010

BARBARY-BOSIA MONASTERY COMPLEX

Butuceni, Orhei, Moldova

2002

Mongolia

BOGD KHAN PALACE MUSEUM

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

2000, 1998, 1996

GESER SUM MONASTERY

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

2004

Morocco

AL-AZHAR MOSQUE

Fez, Morocco

2008

LIXUS

Larache, Morocco

2010

RABBI SHLOMO IBN DANAN SYNAGOGUE

Fez, Morocco

1996

Fez, home to a flourishing Jewish community during the 17th century, was also the location of two well known temples, Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Danan Synagogue, built and founded by the Ibn Danan family

SAHRIJ AND SBAIYIN MADRASSA COMPLEX

Fez, Morocco

2004

A sacred city of Islam, Fez is the oldest of Morocco’s four imperial cities and the country’s third-largest.

SIJILMASSA

Rissani, Morocco

1996

Mozambique

ISLAND OF MOZAMBIQUE

Nampula Province, Mozambique

1996

Myanmar

SRI-KSETRA TEMPLES

near Pyay, Myanmar

2002

Nepal

GOMPAS OF UPPER MUSTANG

Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang, Nepal

1998, 1996

ITUM BAHA MONASTERY

Kathmandu, Nepal

2002, 2000

Kathmandu Valley, a fertile bowl nestled among peaks of the Himalayan mountain range, has been a base of religious activity for centuries.

PATAN ROYAL PALACE COMPLEX

Patan, Nepal

2006

The Patan Royal Palace Complex was constructed in the 17th century as part of the extensive building program of King Siddhinarasimha Malla, which was continued by his son Srinivasa.

TEKU THAPATHALI MONUMENT ZONE

Kathmandu, Nepal

2002, 2000, 1996

Netherlands

BETH HAIM PORTUGUESE JEWISH CEMETERY

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, North Holland, Netherlands

2012

New Zealand

CANTERBURY PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

2012

Niger

GIRAFFE ROCK ART SITE

Agadez, Niger

2000

The engravings of Agadez, on the edge of the Aïr Natural World Heritage Site, is one of the most extraordinary rock art sites in the region, consisting of over 800 prehistoric images

Nigeria

BENIN CITY EARTHWORKS

Edo, Nigeria

2006, 2004, 2002

IKOM MONOLITHS OF CROSS RIVER STATE

Ikom, Nigeria

2008

Norway

SANDVIKEN BAY

Bergen, Norway

2006

VÅGÅ OLD CHURCH

Vågåmo, Norway

1996

WOODEN ARCHITECTURE OF TRONDHEIM

Trondheim, Norway

1998

Old City of Jerusalem

CATHEDRAL OF ST. JAMES

Old City of Jerusalem

2010

Pakistan

MIAN NASIR MOHAMMED GRAVEYARD

Dadu District, Pakistan

2006

PETROGLYPHS IN THE DIAMER-BASHA DAM AREA

Northern Areas, Pakistan

2010

Meandering through gorges of the Indus River valley and across high mountain passes, ancient arteries of the fabled Silk Road cut through the Diamer District of Northern Pakistan.

SHIKARPOOR HISTORIC CITY CENTER

Shikarpoor Municipality, Pakistan

2010, 2008

TAMBA WARI

Indus River Delta, Sindh, Pakistan

1996

THATTA MONUMENTS

Thatta, Pakistan

2006

UCH MONUMENT COMPLEX

Uch, Pakistan

2002, 2000, 1998

The ancient city of Uch, located west of Lahore on the edge of the Cholistan Desert, was one of several metropolises founded by Alexander the Great on his crusade through Central Asia

Palestinian Territory

AL-QASEM PALACE

Beit Wazan, Palestinian Territory

2004

CHURCH OF THE HOLY NATIVITY

Bethlehem, Palestinian Territory

2008

TELL BALATAH

Shechem (or Ancient Nablus), Palestinian Territory

2006, 2004

TELL UMM EL-‘AMR (SAINT HILARION MONASTERY)

Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territory

2012

Panama

COROZAL CEMETERY

Panama City, Panama

2010

HISTORIC CENTER OF COLÓN

Colón, Panama

2010

Colón, originally a low-lying coral island, lies at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal.

MOUNT HOPE CEMETERY

Colón, Panama

2010

PANAMA CANAL AREA

Panama City, Chagres River, Panama

2006, 2004

In the late nineteenth century, a French company began building what would come to be considered one of the greatest engineering achievements in human history.

SAN GERÓNIMO FORT

Portobelo, Panama

2002, 2000, 1998

WAY ON CEMETERY

Panama City, Panama

2012

Paraguay

LA SANTÍSIMA TRINIDAD DE PARANÁ

Trinidad, Paraguay

2010, 2004

La Santísima Trinidad, established in 1706 and completed in 1712, was one of the 30 missions established by the Jesuits in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries in what is now Paraguay

PARAGUAY RAILWAY SYSTEM

Asuncion to Sapucay, Paraguay

2004

Peru

ALAMEDA DE LOS DESCALZOS AND PASEO DE AGUAS

Rímac, Lima, Peru

2012

ANGASMARCA TEMPLE

Angasmarca, La Libertad, Peru

2004

APURLEC ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

near Motupe, Lambayeque, Peru

1998

CAJAMARCA HISTORIC CENTER

Cajamarca, Peru

1998

Located in the northern mountains of Peru, Cajamarca was settled by pre-Inca cultures as early as 5000 B.C.

CAJAMARQUILLA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Lima, Peru

2006

CARAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Supe Valley, Barranca Province, Peru

2002

CHANKILLO

San Rafael District, Peru

2010

Chankillo was built as a fortified temple complex over 2,300 years ago in the coastal desert of Peru, near the Casma-Sechín river basin.

CUSCO HISTORIC CENTER

Cusco, Peru

2002, 2000, 1996

JESUIT CHURCHES OF SAN JOSÉ AND SAN JAVIER

Changuillo and El Ingenio, Nazca, Peru

2010

KUELAP FORTRESS

Amazonas, Peru

2004

Kuelap, one of the largest ancient monuments of the Americas, was a fortified citadel in northern Peru on the slopes of the Andes.

LARAOS TERRACES

Yauyos, Peru

2008

The andenería, or terraced landscape of Laraos, is believed to date to the pre-Inca period and is a defining feature of the steep slopes of the Peruvian Andes.

LIMA HISTORIC CENTER

Lima, Peru

2008

Founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 as “the City of Kings,” Lima was laid out according to the standard Spanish colony grid plan that was superimposed on a crossing point of pre-existing

LINES AND GEOGLYPHS OF NASCA

Nasca, Ica Region, Peru

2012

LOS PINCHUDOS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Rio Abiseo National Park, Peru

2002, 2000

Among rock shelters, ceremonial structures, houses, terraces, and funerary chambers is the cemetery of Los Pinchudos, a key feature of the National Park of Río Abiseo.

MACUSANI-CORANI ROCK ART

Macusani and Corani, Peru

2008

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE MONASTERY

Guadalupe, La Libertad, Peru

2004

OYÓN VALLEY MISSIONARY CHAPELS

Taucur, Andajes, La Chimba, Nava, Quichas, Mallay, and Rapaz, Peru

2002

The 40 surviving chapels in the Oyón Valley were built in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries as part of a Spanish program to convert Peru’s indigenous population to Christianity.

PACHACAMAC SANCTUARY

Lurín, Peru

2010

PARQUE ARQUEOLÓGICO DE PIKILLAQTA

Cusco, Peru

2010

PRESBITERO MAESTRO CEMETERY

Lima, Peru

2006

QUINTA DE PRESA

Rímac, Lima, Peru

2012

QUINTA HEEREN

Lima, Peru

2006, 1998

RANSOM ROOM

Cajamarca, Peru

1998

REVASH FUNERARY COMPLEX

Santo Tomas de Quillay, Peru

2006

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE RAPAZ CHURCH

Rapaz, Peru

2002, 1996

In the 16th and 17th centuries colonial Catholic missions were established in the Oyón Valley in Peru and built in a style described as Rural Andean Baroque.

SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS DE MARCAPATA

Marcapata, Peru

2010

SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL DE ANDAHUAYLILLAS CHURCH

Andahuaylillas, Peru

2008

San Pedro Apóstol was built by Jesuits in the 16th century over a pre-Columbian huaca, or ceremonial space. (Learn More)

SAN PEDRO DE MÓRROPE CHAPEL

Mórrope, Peru

2002

The chapel of San Pedro de Mórrope was constructed in the 16th century during the Colonial period in Peru in an effort to convert the indigenous Mochica people to Christianity.

SANTA CATALINA MONASTERY

Arequipa, Peru

2008

The Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena was built in 1579 and is located in the historical center of Arequipa, Peru.

SANTUARIO DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE COCHARCAS

Chincheros, Peru

2002

SANTUARIO HISTÓRICO MACHU PICCHU

Distrito de Machu Picchu, Peru

2010, 2008, 2000

TAMBO COLORADO

Humay, Peru

2010

TEMPLO SANTA CRUZ DE JERUSALÉN DE JULI (Church of Santa Cruz of Jerusalem)

Juli, Peru

2010

TÚCUME ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Túcume, Peru

2006, 2004

Philippines

ANGONO PETROGLYPHS

Angono, Rizal, Philippines

1996

Discovered in 1965, the Angono Petroglyphs are believed to be the oldest known artworks in the Philippines.

KABAYAN MUMMY CAVES

Kabayan, Philippines

1998

When industrial activity began in the forests north of Manila, loggers discovered ancient burial caves hewn out of the rock containing mummified remains and hundreds of coffins and skulls.

NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA ASUNCIÓN

Municipality of Santa Maria, Philippines

2010

RICE TERRACES OF THE PHILIPPINE CORDILLERAS

Ifugao, Philippines

2010, 2000

SAN SEBASTIAN BASILICA

Manila, Philippines

2010, 1998

Poland

DEBNO PARISH CHURCH

Nowy Targ, Poland

1998, 1996

JERUSALEM HOSPITAL OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER

Malborka, Poland

2006

MAUSOLEUM OF KAROL SCHEIBLER

Lodz, Poland

2006

OLD LUBLIN THEATER

Lublin, Poland

2004

OUR LADY’S ASSUMPTION BASILICA

Hebdów (near Krakow), Poland

1996

The Church of Our Lady’s Assumption was founded in the mid-twelfth century within a Norbertine monastery

PRÓZNA STREET

Warsaw, Poland

1996

ST. PARASKEWA CHURCH

Radruż, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland

2012

VISTULAMOUTH FORTRESS

Gdansk, Poland

2000, 1998

The origins of Vistulamouth Fortress probably date to the early medieval period, when a lighthouse and watchtower guarding the mouth of the Vistula River occupied the site of the current structures

WISLICA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Wislica, Poland

2002

Portugal

CÔA VALLEY PETROGLYPHS

Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Guarda District, Portugal

1996

JARDIM BOTÂNICO DE LISBOA

Lisbon, Portugal

2012

ROMAN VILLA OF RABAÇAL

Rabaçal, Portugal

2004

The 4th-century Roman villa of Rabaçal is perhaps the most important ruin at the site of ancient Conimbriga, one of the largest Roman sites, and the best preserved, in Portugal.

TEATRO CAPITÓLIO

Lisbon, Portugal

2006

Romania

BÁNFFY CASTLE

Bontida, Romania

2000

From the 14th century through 1944, Bánffy Castle was occupied by members of the aristocratic Bánffy family, whose ranks included the first governor of Transylvania under the Hapsburg

BRANCUSI’S ENDLESS COLUMN ENSEMBLE

Târgu-Jiu, Romania

1996

Erected in 1934, the Endless Column by famed Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) has been hailed as one of the great works of 20th-century outdoor sculpture.

FORTIFIED CHURCHES OF SOUTHERN TRANSYLVANIA

Sibiu, Romania

2010

ORADEA FORTRESS

Oradea, Romania

2006

ROMANO CATHOLIC CHURCH

Ghelinta, Romania

1998, 1996

The Romano Catholic Church of Saint Emeric was built in the thirteenth century by the first Christian settlers in present day Ghelinta.

Russia

ALEXANDER PALACE

St. Petersburg, Tsarskoje Selo, Russia

1998, 1996

Designed by the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi and completed in 1796, Alexander Palace housed three generations of Russian monarchs before it was abandoned by the royal family in the months

ARKHANGELSKOYE STATE MUSEUM

Moscow, Russia

2002, 2000

In the 18th century, Prince Nikolai Golitsyn commissioned French architects to craft an elaborate palace and grounds on the outskirts of Moscow.

ASSUMPTION CHURCH

Kondopoga, Russia

2002

CATHERINE PALACE – AGATE PAVILION

St. Petersburg, Tsarskoje Selo, Russia

1998

CHINESE PALACE AT ORANIENBAUM STATE MUSEUM

Oranienbaum, Russia

2004, 2002, 2000

The Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum, an addition to Prince Alexander Menshikov’s estate at Oranienbaum, was the first palace commissioned by Russian empress Catherine the Great following her

CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR ON THE MARKETPLACE AND ROSTOV VELIKY HISTORIC CENTER

Rostov Veliky, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia

2002, 2000

Located on the shores of Lake Nero, 210 kilometers northeast of Moscow, Rostov Veliky can trace its origins to the year 862, making it one of Russia’s oldest cities.

CHURCH OF THE ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF THE SIGN

Podol’sk, Russia

2010

IRKUTSK HISTORIC CENTER

Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia

2000, 1998

KARELIAN PETROGLYPHS

Belomorsky and Pudozhsky Districts, Republic of Karelia, Russia

2002

KIZHI POGOST

Kizhi Island in Lake Onega, Republic Of Karelia, Russia

1996

Kizhi Pogost is located on one of the many hundreds of islands on tranquil Lake Onega in the northern region of Karelia.

MELNIKOV’S HOUSE AND STUDIO

Moscow, Russia

2006

MENDELEEV TOWER

St. Petersburg, Russia

2008

NARKOMFIN BUILDING

Moscow, Russia

2006, 2004, 2002

NEW JERUSALEM MONASTERY

Istra, Russia

2002

Founded under Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century in Istra on the outskirts of Moscow, the New Jerusalem Monastery was meant to evoke the Holy Land and serve as a pilgrimage site.

PAANAJÄRVI VILLAGE

Republic of Karelia, Russia

2000, 1998, 1996

PERM-36

Kuchino, Russia

2004

ROSTOV VELIKY HISTORIC CENTER

Rostov Veliky, Russia

2000

RUSAKOV CLUB

Moscow, Russia

2000, 1998

The avant-garde architect Konstatin Melnikov designed the Rusakov Club as a theater for workers who labored in nearby printing factories.

SEMENOVSKOE-OTRADA

Moscow Oblast, Russia

2006

ST. PETERSBURG HISTORIC SKYLINE

St. Petersburg, Russia

2008

VIIPURI LIBRARY

Vyborg, Russia

2002, 2000

The Viipuri Library in Vyborg, Russia, was designed and built by modernist Finnish architect Alvar Aalto between 1927 and 1935. At the time of construction the land was held by Finland.

YELAGIN ISLAND PALACE AND PARK ENSEMBLE

St. Petersburg, Russia

1998

Yelagin Island, located in the Neva River just north of St. Petersburg, was one of the Romanov dynasty’s retreats in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Saint Helena

SAINT HELENA

Saint Helena

2012

Samoa

PULEMELEI MOUND

Palauli, Letolo Plantation, Samoa

2006

Senegal

SAINT-LOUIS ISLAND

Saint-Louis, Senegal

2008

Serbia

DEČANI AND PEĆ MONASTERIES

Metohija and Pec, Serbia

2002

PRIZREN HISTORIC CENTER

Prizren, Serbia

2006, 2004, 2002

SUBOTICA SYNAGOGUE

Subotica, Serbia

2006, 2002, 2000, 1996

Designed in the late 1890s and built in 1902, Subotica Synagogue is among the most impressive examples of Art Nouveau ecclesiastical architecture in the region.

Sierra Leone

FREETOWN HISTORIC MONUMENTS

Freetown, Sierra Leone

2008

OLD FOURAH BAY COLLEGE

Freetown, Sierra Leone

2006

Slovakia

BANSKÁ ŠTIAVNICA CALVARY COMPLEX

Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia

2008

The town of Banská Stiavnica was once an important silver-mining town, enjoying particularly strong economic growth in the 18th century, when it became the third-largest town in the Kingdom

BASIL THE GREAT CHURCH

Krajné Cierno, Slovakia

2000

Basil the Great Church belongs to a small and precious collection of wooden churches in the rural Carpathian mountain region of Slovakia, a significant border between Eastern and Western Christian

HELL HOUSE

Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia

1998

LEDNICKÉ-ROVNE HISTORICAL PARK

Lednické-Rovne, Slovakia

2006

LIETAVA CASTLE

Lietava, Slovakia

2010

SAINTS COSMOS AND DAMIAN

Lukov-Venecia, Slovakia

2004

The distinctive wooden architecture of the Church of Saints Cosmos and Damian reflects the unique cultural and religious reflects the unique cultural and religious traditions the Greek Orthodox Church maintained in Slovakia in the seventeen

SPIŠSKÉ PODHRADIE SYNAGOGUE

Spišské Podhradie, Slovakia

STUPAVA SYNAGOGUE

Stupava, Slovakia

Slovenia

COMMUNITY CONSERVATION FOR SLOVENIA

Koper, Slovenia

URSULINE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY (SAINT TRINITY CHURCH)

Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity, known locally as Uršulinska Cerkev Sv Trojice, is a Baroque church in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and largest city.

Spain

ALHAMBRA

Granada, Spain

The Alhambra was begun in the mid-thirteenth-century under Muhammad ibn al Ahmar, Emir of Granada, to serve as the palace and fortress complex of the Moorish Nasrid dynasty.

AQUEDUCT OF SEGOVIA

Segovia, Spain

The Aqueduct of Segovia was built during the second half of the 1st century A.D. under the rule of the Roman Empire and supplied water from the Frío River to the city into the 20th century.

CARTUJA DE SANTA MARIA DE MIRAFLORES

Burgos, Spain

Cartuja de Santa Maria de Miraflores in Burgos was founded by John II, King of Castilla y Leon following the destruction by fire of an earlier monastery.

CONCEPCIÓN REAL DE CALATRAVA CHURCH

Madrid, Spain

CONVENTO DE LA CORIA

Trujillo, Spain

Trujillo lies about 170 miles west of Madrid in a rugged and barren area of Spain known as Extremadura.

EL ESCORIAL MONASTERY

Madrid, Spain

FRANCISCO PIZARRO HOUSE MUSEUM (CASA MUSEO DE FRANCISCO PIZARRO)

Trujillo, Spain

MÁLAGA ROMAN THEATER

Málaga, Spain

The Roman theater in the southern Spanish city of Málaga is thought to have been built early in the first century A.D. during the reign of Augustus.

MOORISH HOUSES OF GRANADA

Granada, Spain

The neighborhood of Albayzin in Granada, Spain, contains several Moorish houses, some dating to the period of the Alhambra, many of which were built in the 16th century.

OVIEDO CATHEDRAL

Oviedo, Spain

PAZO DE SAN MIGUEL DAS PENAS

Monterroso/Lugo, Spain

Twelve centuries of art and architecture are chronicled in the buildings found in the hills of northwestern Spain.

ROYAL MONASTERY OF GUADALUPE

Guadalupe, Spain

Constructed in 1389 to commemorate the miraculous appearance of the Virgin the previous year, the Royal Monastery of Guadalupe sits at an altitude of 660 meters in the Villuerca Mountains

SAINT QUIRZE DE DURRO CHURCH

Boi Valley, Durro, Spain

SAN CLEMENTE MONASTERY

Toledo, Spain

The Royal Monastery of San Clemente was first built in 1131 by King Alfonso VII. The structure was built on existing Moorish houses and became one of the largest monastic complexes in Toledo.

SANTA MARIA DE VITORIA CATHEDRAL

Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Santa María de Vitoria Cathedral was built by King Alfonso VIII of Castile after the conquest of Vitoria in the second half of the 12th century.

SANTA MARIA LA MAYOR IN TORO

Toro, Spain

Situated on a cliff at the edge of the fortified city of Toro, the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria overlooks the narrow, jagged streets of the city as well as the winding Duero River

SANTO DOMINGO EL ANTIGUO

Toledo, Spain

Founded by Alfonso VI, Santo Domingo el Antiguo de Silos is the oldest monastery in Toledo, dating to 1085.

THE SALÓN RICO OF THE PALACE OF THE MEDINA AL-ZAHRA

Córdoba, Spain

Abd-el-Rahman III commissioned the Medina Al-Zahra after elevating himself to Caliph of Córdoba and to secure his supremacy in Al-Andalus in the middle of the tenth century.

TOLEDO CATHEDRAL (OCHAVO CHAPEL AND SAN BLAS CHAPEL)

Toledo, Spain

The Toledo Cathedral was built in the 13th century and contains several beautifully decorated chapels, including the Ochavo and San Blás chapels.

WINDMILLS OF MALLORCA

Mallorca, Spain

Flour windmills, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, are still a significant feature of the landscape of the Balearic Islands, and are a strong symbol of prosperity and engineering acumen,

Sri Lanka

HISTORIC GALLE

Galle, Sri Lanka

Seized by the Portuguese from the Sinhala kings in 1587, the historic city of Galle was the most important port in Sri Lanka for centuries.

Suriname

JODENSAVANNE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Redi Doti, Suriname

Jodensavanne (Jewish Savannah) was settled by a population of Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition on mainland Europe in the mid-seventeenth century.

Sweden

BORGHOLM AND KALMAR CASTLES

Isle of Oland, Sweden

Syria

AMRIT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Near Tartous, Syria

Amrit is an ancient Phoenician site located on the Mediterranean coast of Syria.

AYYUBID PALACE COMPLEX IN THE CITADEL OF ALEPPO

Aleppo, Syria

Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited centers of human settlement and has flourished for millennia.

SHAYZAR CASTLE

Shayzar, Syria

Built along the banks of the Orontes River just northwest of Hama, the Syrian town of Shayzar was, for much of its history, a strategic prize for the Muslim and Christian forces who battled for con

TELL MOZAN

Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria

Tell Mozan, located in northeast Syria in the Khabur River plain, is the site of ancient Urkesh, a place associated with the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of Upper Mesopotamia.

TEMPLE OF THE STORM GOD IN THE CITADEL OF ALEPPO

Aleppo, Syria

The storm god is an ancient divinity that manifested itself in awe-inspiring thunderstorms and was important for agriculture.

THRONE HALL FORECOURT IN THE CITADEL OF ALEPPO

Aleppo, Syria

The Citadel of Aleppo, one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the world, richly preserves layers of its occupation from the Hittite, Hellenistic, Roman,

Byzantine, Zangid, Ayyubid, (Learn More)

TOMB OF THE THREE BROTHERS

Palmyra, Syria

Tanzania

HISTORIC SITES OF KILWA

Lindi Region, Tanzania

The island of Kilwa Kisiwani is located in the south of Tanzania, a short boat ride from the mainland.

Thailand

AYUTTAYA AND OTHER FLOODED SITES

Chao Praya River, Thailand

Tunisia

BULLA REGIA

Jendouba, Tunisia

Bulla Regia is a significant archaeological site in the northwestern part of Tunisia.

Turkey

ANI CATHEDRAL

Ani, Turkey

Located in modern-day eastern Turkey, Ani Cathedral is one of the most significant architectural structures remaining from the prosperous Armenian Bagratid period in the 10th and 11th centuries A.D

APHRODISIAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Geyre Beledesi, Turkey

Aphrodisias, named after its patron goddess Aphrodite, was founded in the 2nd century B.C. on the site of a rural sanctuary of Aphrodite.

ÇATALHÖYÜK ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Cumra area, Turkey

CENTRAL IZMIR SYNAGOGUES

Izmir, Turkey

At the end of the fifteenth century, Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition began to settle in the Kemeralti district of Izmir.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SAVIOR

Ani, Turkey

Located in modern-day eastern Turkey, Surp Amenap’rkitch, or the Church of the Holy Savior, is one of the few structures still standing at Ani from the prosperous Armenian Bagratid period in

CHURCH OF THE MONASTERY OF CHRIST PANTOKRATOR (ZEYREK CAMII)

Istanbul, Turkey

Shortly after Constantinople fell to the invading Ottoman armies in 1453, the twelfth-century Church of the Monastery of Christ Pantokrator was converted into the Zeyrek Camii mosque.

EPHESOS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Selçuk, Turkey

EPHESOS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Selçuk, Turkey

HAGIA SOPHIA

Istanbul, Turkey

Justinian I, one of the earliest Byzantine rulers, ordered the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus to design Hagia Sophia in the heart of what was then Constantinople.

MERYEM ANA – MOTHER OF GOD CHURCH

Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

MOUNT NEMRUT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Adiyaman Province, Turkey

Antiochus I, an Armenian king whose lineage connected him to the Seleucids, Ptolemies, and Macedonians, ruled the small territory of Commagene in Asia Minor in the 1st century B.C.

PATARA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Kas, Turkey

Wide, protective sandy beaches and a deep Mediterranean bay helped make Patara the wealthy capital of the Lycian-Pamphylian province during the Roman Empire.

RED CHURCH

Güzelyurt, Sivrihisar, Cappadocia, Turkey

Kizil Kilise, also known as the Red Church, is one of the oldest churches on the vast plains of the Cappadocia region in Turkey. (Learn More)

SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH

Myra, Turkey

TEMPLE OF AUGUSTUS AND ROME

Ankara, Turkey

The Temple of Augustus and Rome was built between 25 and 20 B.C. following the Roman conquest of central Anatolia and the designation of Ancyra (modern-day Ankara) as the new capital of Galatia.

Turkmenistan

ANCIENT MERV ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Bairam Ali, Turkmenistan

The oasis of Merv is strategically sited in the Karakum desert and formed an essential military headquarters and staging post on major east-west trade routes.

Uganda

MASAKA CATHEDRAL

Kitovu Village, Uganda

In 1909, a small church was built in the Ugandan village of Kituvo.

Ukraine

ANCIENT CHERSONESOS

Sevastopol, Ukraine

CHORAL SYNAGOGUE

Kiev, Ukraine

GREAT CHORAL SYNAGOGUE

Odessa, Ukraine

The Great Choral Synagogue of Odessa, built in 1840 after a fire destroyed an earlier structure dating from 1790, is one of two surviving synagogues in what was once a thriving center of Jewish culture

TSORI GILOD SOCIETY SYNAGOGUE (L’VIV SYNAGOGUE)

L’ viv, Ukraine

UKRAINE MISSION

Ukraine

ZHOVKVA SYNAGOGUE

Zhovkva, Ukraine

United Kingdom

6 PALACE STREET

Caernarfon, United Kingdom

BATTLE OF WATERLOO MODEL BY SIBORNE

Stratfield Saye, United Kingdom

BRADING ROMAN VILLA

Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

CASTLE SINCLAIR GIRNIGOE

Wick, Caithness, Scotland, United Kingdom

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is a complex of ruined stone structures built and modified over a 200-year period by the Sinclair earls of Caithness, historically one of northern Scotland’s most powerful clans

CHRIST CHURCH SPITALFIELDS

London, United Kingdom

CONGREGATION OF JACOB SYNAGOGUE

London, United Kingdom

DITCHLEY PARK

Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY

London, United Kingdom

GREYFRIARS KIRKYARD

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

INGRAM STREET TEAROOMS

Glasgow, United Kingdom

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL

London, United Kingdom

MOGGERHANGER HOUSE

Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

Sir John Soane (1753–1837) is one of the most original neoclassical architects, ranked alongside Nicholas Hawsmoor and Alexander “Greek” Thomson.

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL

London, United Kingdom

SAINT FRANCIS AND GORTON CHURCH AND MONASTERY

East Manchester, United Kingdom

Edward Pugin’s Saint Francis and Gorton Church and Monastery in Gorton, Manchester is recognized as a masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture.

SAINT GEORGE’S HALL

Liverpool, United Kingdom

SAINT MARY’S CHURCH IN THORNHAM PARVA

United Kingdom

SAINT MARY’S STOW CHURCH

Stow, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

St. Mary’s Church in Stow is one of the oldest parish churches in England. Founded in the seventh century in what had been the Roman town of Sidnacester, St.

SAINT PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

London, United Kingdom

A cathedral dedicated to the Apostle Paul has existed in London since 604 AD. The medieval cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.

SAINT VINCENT STREET CHURCH

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Saint Vincent Street Church is the sole survivor of three churches designed for the city of Glasgow by the influential and renowned Scottish architect Alexander Thomson.

SELBY ABBEY

Selby, United Kingdom

Although Selby Abbey is now a parish church, it was one of England’s great monastic churches, built on a grand scale and to a high level of architectural and artistic mastery

ST. GEORGE’S BLOOMSBURY

London, United Kingdom

Nicholas Hawksmoor, protégé of Sir Christopher Wren, built six churches resulting from the 1711 Act of Parliament, which demanded 50 new churches in London. St.

STOWE HOUSE

Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

Stowe House was originally the country seat of the Temple-Grenville family. The first house on its footprint was built between 1677 and 1683 for the third baronet, Sir Richard Temple.

STRAWBERRY HILL

Twickenham, United Kingdom

As the first true Gothic Revival structure in Europe, Strawberry Hill seamlessly blended landscape design, architecture, and decorative arts to forge a new direction in 18th century design and cult

TOMB OF VISCOUNT CAMPDEN AT EXTON CHURCH

Exton, Rutland, United Kingdom

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Exton,Rutland, is of great significance for its fine collection of funerary monuments, some of which are of national significance.

WENTWORTH CASTLE

Yorkshire, United Kingdom

WESTMINSTER ABBEY SEDILIA

London, United Kingdom

It is remarkable that the sedilia of Westminster Abbey has survived for so long.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Winchester, United Kingdom

United States

A. CONGER GOODYEAR HOUSE

Old Westbury, New York, United States

When the A. Conger Goodyear House was completed in 1938, Edward Durell Stone was already well-known as one of the country’s leading architects working in the International Style.

ADOBE MISSIONS OF NEW MEXICO

Various, New Mexico, United States

The adobe churches of New Mexico were built as part of the Franciscan missionary campaign in the New World.

CHURCH OF ST. ANN AND THE HOLY TRINITY

Brooklyn, New York, United States

The Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity is one of the most important monuments of the Gothic Revival in America.

DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH

Newburgh, New York, United States

Built between 1835 and 1837, the Dutch Reformed Church in Newburgh, New York, sits on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River and is a reminder of the wealth that came early to settlements in New York

ELLIS ISLAND

New York Harbor, New York & New Jersey, United States

Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the principle point of entry for immigrants to America from 1892 until 1924, during which period an estimated 12 million people were processed.

FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE

Lakeland, Florida, United States

Located on a hillside overlooking Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern College contains the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world.

FORT APACHE

Apache Tribal Lands, United States

Established by President Grant in 1871, the 7,500-acre Fort Apache Reservation served as operations base from which the U.S.

GOLDEN GATE PARK CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS

San Francisco, California, United States

The Conservatory of Flowers is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and one of only a few large Victorian greenhouses in the United States.

GULF COAST AND NEW ORLEANS

Mississippi and Louisiana, United States

HISTORIC LOWER MANHATTAN

New York, New York, United States

In 1625, Dutch settlers founded New Amsterdam on a stretch of land that would eventually grow into one of the world’s most famous and populous cities.

HISTORIC ROUTE 66

Chicago, IL, to Los Angeles, CA, United States

Route 66, once the primary highway from America’s interior to the West Coast, has played a now-legendary role in U.S. history since its designation in 1926.

HOLY ASCENSION RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Unalaska, Alaska, United States

Built in 1896 on the site of an earlier church, Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church in Unalaska is a reminder of the sizeable Russian community that once thrived in Alaska.

HOLY CROSS NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE NINTH WARD

New Orleans, United States

LAFAYETTE CEMETERY NO. 1

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

One of New Orleans’s oldest surviving cemeteries, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 was placed on the Watch in 1996 because of its advanced state of deterioration.

LAFAYETTE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Brooklyn, United States

LANCASTER COUNTY

Pennsylvania, United States

The green fields of Lancaster County in southeastern Pennsylvania constitute a historic cultural landscape representing the founding ideals of the United States of America.

MAIN STREET MODERN: GROSSE POINTE LIBRARY

Grosse Point, United States

MAIN STREET MODERN: RIVERVIEW HIGH SCHOOL

Sarasota, Florida, United States

Designed by Paul Rudolph (1918-1997), Riverview High School first welcomed students in 1958.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

Montezuma County, Colorado, United States

Mesa Verde, a large, gently sloping plateau etched with deep canyons, was occupied by the Ancestral Puebloan civilization between the 6th and 13th centuries AD.

MIAMI MARINE STADIUM

Miami, Florida, United States

Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe Miami Marine Stadium was the first purpose-built venue for powerboat racing in the United States.

MIDDLETON-PINCKNEY HOUSE

Charleston SC, United States

MOUNT LEBANON SHAKER VILLAGE

New Lebanon, New York, United States

At its height in 1860, the Shaker village of Mount Lebanon, New York, spanned some 6,000 acres and contained more than 100 buildings.

NEW YORK STUDIO SCHOOL OF DRAWING, PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

New York, New York, United States

The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture is located in New York’s Greenwich Village, in a complex of structures assembled over an extended period of time by the American sculptor

OLANA STATE HISTORIC SITE

Greenport/Hudson, New York, United States

Olana, the famed home of Frederic Edwin Church, the nineteenth-century American landscape painter and a central figure in the Hudson River School.

PRESERVATION ARTS TRAINING WILLIAMSBURG HIGH SCHOOL

Brooklyn, New York, United States

As part of a long term commitment to preservation training in the United States, WMF initiated a high school preservation arts training curriculum, launched as a result of a 1993 workshop for educa

SAINT DAVID’S SCHOOL

NY, United States

Saint David’s School is an elementary school for boys located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in New York.

SAN ESTEBAN DEL REY MISSION

Acoma Pueblo, United States

SAN JOSE CHURCH

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States

The San José Church, originally known as the Iglesia de Santo Tomás de Aquino, is considered by many scholars to be one of the finest and oldest examples of Gothic-influenced religiou

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO MISSION

San Juan Capistrano, California, United States

The expansive San Juan Capistrano Mission was initially a small adobe chapel when it was established by Padre Junípero Serra on November 1, 1776.

TAOS PUEBLO

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, United States

Situated in the sun-baked valley of a Rio Grande tributary and continuously inhabited for 1,000 years, the community and architecture of Taos Pueblo exemplify the enduring spirit of the Pueblo peop

TREE STUDIOS AND MEDINAH TEMPLE

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Commissioned by philanthropist Judge Lambert Tree, the Tree Studios were designed as an artists’ residence by the Parfitt Brothers architectural firm.

TUTUVENI PETROGLYPH SITE

Hopi Tribal Land, United States

The Tutuveni Petroglyph site boasts more than 5,000 Hopi clan symbols that were inscribed during the ceremonial pilgrimage to Ongtupqa, or the Grand Canyon

Venezuela

LA GUAIRA HISTORIC CENTER

La Guaira, Venezuela

The historic city of La Guaira was founded in the 16th century on the Caribbean Sea and served as the chief port for Venezuela’s future inland capital Caracas.

SAN FRANCISCO CHURCH IN CORO

Coro, Falcón, Venezuela

Among the first churches that the Franciscan Order founded in Venezuela, the original church at Coro was part of the Convent of Nuestra Señora de la Salceda, founded in 1614.

Vietnam

MINH MANG TOMB

Hué City, Huong Tho Village, Vietnam

King Minh Mang, the second ruler of the Nguyen Dynasty, governed southern and central Vietnam from 1820 to 1840.

MY SON TEMPLE DISTRICT

My Son, Quảng Nam-Ḍà Nẵng, Tỉnh , Vietnam

My Son, an architectural complex on the coast of Vietnam, was the spiritual and political capital of the Cham people (the Champa Kingdom).

TA TUNG TU, MINH MANG TOMB

Hué City, Huong Tho Village, Vietnam

Emperor Minh Mạng (1820-1841), the second ruler of the Nguyễn Dynasty, ruled southern and central Vietnam from 1820 to 1841.

Zimbabwe

KHAMI NATIONAL MONUMENT

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Khami, a settlement founded in the mid-15th century, became the capital city of Great Zimbabwe in the mid-16th century and thus became the center of the kingdom’s political and economic power