UNESCO declares new World Heritage Sites for 2023

A mountainous national park in Ethiopia, a collection of wooden mosques in Türkiye, an ancient tea plantation in China, and a Roman temple in France are among the new World Heritage Sites that have been declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the past few days.

Sites are still being examined and unveiled as UNESCO officials gather for the 45^th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which comes to a conclusion on 25th September.

In order to gain UNESCO World Heritage status, the proposed sites have to demonstrate “outstanding universal value, and must meet at least one of ten criteria”.

So far, 33 of the 42 new inscriptions are for cultural properties, while nine are cherished for their natural landscapes.

Ha Long Bay is an existing site that has been extended to include Cat Ba Archipelago (Shutterstock)

As well as brand new locations, some existing sites have also been significantly modified, with places such as Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay now covering the Cat Ba Archipelago, and Madagascar’s Tsingy de Bemaraha extending into the Andrefana Dry Forests.

The World Heritage in Danger list has also been updated during the UNESCO session, with Ukrainian sites such as Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral and the historic centre of L’viv now vulnerable due to attacks from Russia.

See the full list of new UNESCO World Heritage Sites below (updated at 16.20 on Wednesday 20 September)

Distance view of Žatec, Czechia (Shutterstock)

Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany

Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939, Lithuania

Old town of Kuldīga, Latvia

Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca, Spain

Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark

Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia

Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands

The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, France

Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front), Belgium

Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece

Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone, Portugal (modification)

Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique, France

Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, Italy

Mongolia’s Deer Stone Monuments have been recognised for their cultural heritage (Shutterstock)

Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, China

Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Mongolia

Gaya Tumuli, South Korea

Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, Cambodia

Santiniketan, India

Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, Tajikistan/Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan

Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University, Russia

Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route, Azerbaijan

Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India

The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments, Thailand

The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, Indonesia

Cold Winter Deserts of Turan, Kazakhstan/Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan

Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, Tajikistan

Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago, Vietnam (modification)

Hyrcanian Forests, Azerbaijan/Iran (modification)

National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj is now a UNESCO-listed site in Guatemala (Shutterstock)

Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Canada

Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, United States of America

National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj, Guatemala

Anticosti, Canada

Ethiopia’s Bale Mountain National Park landscape (Shutterstock)

The Gedeo Cultural Landscape

Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory, Tunisia

Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, Rwanda

Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba (modification)

Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua, Congo

Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

Andrefana Dry Forests, Madagascar (modification)

Ancient Jericho (Shutterstock)

Gordion, Türkiye

The Persian Caravanserai, Iran

Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, State of Palestine

Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia, Türkiye

‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid, Saudi Arabia

Aerial view of Jodensavanne, now on the UNESCO World Heritage list for culture (© Jodensavanne Foundation)

Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery, Suriname

ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination, Argentina