Subterranean World Heritage List

The World Heritage List ist well known. Nearly 700 man-made and natural sights all over the world are protected by an international treaty, which 52 countries have signed until now. Several of these sights are underground, and we will try to write some comments on each of them. 41 of the existing World Heritage sites contain karst, most of them are in temperate regions.

Country	Year	WHL Entry	Location(s)
Algeria	1982	Tassili n'Ajjer	Tassili n'Ajjer
Algeria	1982	M'Zab Valley	Ghardaïa
Argentina	1999	Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas	Cueva de las Manos
Armenia	2000	Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley	Geghard Monastery
Australia	1986	Gondwana Rainforests of Australia	Natural Bridge Springbrook
	1987	Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park	Uluru
	1994	Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)	Victoria Fossil Cave Riversleigh World Heritage Area
Belgium	2000	The Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Mons)	Les minières de silex néolithique de Spiennes
Belgium	2012	Major Mining Sites of Wallonia	Grand Hornu Ecomusée du Bois-du-Luc Bois du Cazier Blegny
Bolivia	1987	City of Potosí	Potosi Cooperative Mines
Botswana	2001	Tsodilo	Tsodilo Rock Paintings
Brazil	1991	Serra da Capivara National Park	Serra da Capivara National Park
Bulgaria	1979	Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak	Kazanluk Tomb
	1979	Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo	Ivanovo Rock Churches
	1983	Rila Monastery	Cave of St. Ivan Rilski
	1985	Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari	Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari
Chile	2005	Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works	Museo de Sitio Oficinas Salitreras Humberstone y Santa Laura
China	1987	Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian	Zhoukoudian
	1992	Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area	Five-Flower Lake
	1992	Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area	Huanglong
	1992	Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area	Huanglong
	1994	Mogao Caves	Dunhuang Mogao Caves
	1999	Dazu Rock Carvings	Dazu Grottoes
	2000	Longmen Grottoes	Longmen Grottoes
	2001	Yungang Grottoes	Yungang Grottoes
	2007	South China Karst	Three Natural Bridges Qingkou Tiankeng Furong Dong
Colombia	1995	National Archeological Park of Tierradentro	Tierradentro Rock Tombs
Croatia	1979	Plitvice Lakes National Park	Plitvice Lakes National Park
Croatia	2007	Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe	Špilja Manita Peć
Cuba	2019	Viñales Valley	Cueva del Palmarito Cueva de la Vaca
Cyprus	1980	Paphos	Tombs of the Kings
Czech Republic	1992	Historic Centre of Ceský Krumlov	Grafitový dul Český Krumlov
	1995	Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec	Muzeum s Stredveké Dulni Dilo
	1999	Litomyšl Castle	Zámecké sklepení Litomyšl
	2019	Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region	Erzgebirge Krušnohoří
Denmark	2000	Kronborg Castle	Kronborg Slot
Ethiopia	1978	Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela	Lalibela
Egypt	1979	Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae	Abu Simbel
France	1979	Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley	Vézère Valley Grottes de Bernifal Abri Préhistorique du Cap Blanc Grotte des Combarelles Grotte de Font-de-Gaume Grotte de Lascaux Abri de Laugerie-Haute Abri de la Madeleine La Micoque Abri du Moustier Abri du Poisson Grotte de Rouffignac
	1981	Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments	Arles Cryptoportiques du Forum
	1992	From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the Production of Open-pan Salt	Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans Grande Saline de Salins-les-Bains
	2008	Fortifications of Vauban	Grotte historique de Cova Bastera
	2012	Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin	Centre Historique Minier Lewarde
	2014	Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche	Exposition Grotte Chauvet Grotte Chauvet
	2023	Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)	Fort de Douaumont Fort de Vaux
Germany	1978	International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection	Kulturbunker Barbarastollen
	1992	Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System	Mines of Rammelsberg
	2001	Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen	Zeche Zollverein
	2017	Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura	Blau valley Lone valley
	2019	Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region	Erzgebirge Krušnohoří
Great Britain	1986	Ironbridge Gorge	Ironbridge Gorge Mining Museum Tar Tunnel
	1999	Heart of Neolithic Orkney	Maeshowe
	2006	Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape	Cornwall
Greece	1992	Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos	Tunnel of Eupalinus, Samos
	1999	Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns	Cistern of Ancient Mycenae Acropolis of Ancient Tiryns
	1999	The Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint-John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos	Cave of the Apocalypse
Hungary	1987	Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue	Millennium Underground Museum Budai Vár-barlang
	1995	Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst	Aggtelek Karst
	2001	Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape	Fertőrákosi Barlangszínház
India	1983	Ajanta Caves	Ajanta Caves
	1983	Ellora Caves	Ellora Caves
	1984	Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram	Mahabalipuram Caves
	1987	Elephanta Caves	Elephanta Caves
	2003	Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka	Bhimbetka
	2014	Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat	Rani Ki Vav
Indonesia	2019	Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto	Sawahlunto Coal Mine Museum
Ireland	1986	The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast	Giant’s Causeway
Ireland	1993	Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne	Newgrange
Israel	2001	Old City of Acre	Acre
	2012	Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara Caves	Nahal Me’arot Caves
	2019	Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves	Maresha Bell Caves
Italy	1993	The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera	Sassi di Matera
	1998	Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula	Geoparco Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni
	2005	Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica	Latomie
Japan	2007	Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape	Iwami Ginzan
	2013	Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration	Hito-ana
	2015	Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining	Hashima Mine
	2021	Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island	大石林山 (Daisekirinzan)
Jordan	1985	Petra	Petra
Kenya	2019	Tsavo Parks and Chyulu Hills Complex	Leviathan Caves Shetani Caves
Lebanon	1990	Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)	Magharet Qadisha Mar Antonios Kozhaya Monastery of Our Lady of Hawqa Monastery of Mar Lishaa Our Lady Of Quannoubine Monastry
Luxembourg	1994	City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications	Les casemates du Bock Les Drois Glands Les casemates de la Pétrusse
Madagascar	1990	Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve	Tsingy de Bemaraha
Mali	1989	Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons)	Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali
Malta	1980	Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum	Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
México	1988	Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines	Valenciana Mines
Montenegro	2019	Durmitor National Park	Jelovačka Pećina Ledena pećina Titova pećina
Morocco	2004	Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida)	Portuguese Cistern
The Netherlands	1980	Dutch Water Defence Lines	Olavsgruva Røros
Norway	1980	Røros Mining Town and the Circumference	Olavsgruva Røros
The Philippines	1999	Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park	St Paul Subterranean River National Park
Poland	1978	Wieliczka Salt Mine	Wieliczka Salt Mine
	2013	Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines	Bochnia Salt Mine
	2017	Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System	Zabytkowa Kopalnia Srebra w Tarnowskich Górach
	2019	Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region	Prahistoryczne Kopalnie Krzemienia w Krzemionkach
Portugal	1978	Cultural Landscape of Sintra	Quinta da Regaleira
Saudi Arabia	2018	Al-Ahsa Oasis, an Evolving Cultural Landscape	Jebal Al Qarah
Slovak Republic	1993	Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity	Banská Štiavnica Hodruša Hámre
	1995	Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst	Slovensky Kras
	2000	Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst	Dobšinská L'adová Jaskyna
Slovenia	1988	Škocjan Caves	Škocjan Caves
Slovenia	2012	Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija	Parque Minero de Almadén Antonijev Rov
South Africa	1999	Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa	Sterkfontein Caves
South Korea	1995	Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple	Seokguram Grotto
South Korea	2007	Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes	Gimnyeongsagul Hyeopjae Gul Jeongbang Gul Manjang Gul Micheongul Sanbang Gul
Spain	1985	Altamira Cave	Cueva de Altamira
	1986	Old Town of Cáceres	Aljibe Andalusí
	1987	Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville	Baños de Doña María de Padilla
	1997	Las Médulas	Las Médulas
	1998	Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula	Santuario del Pla de Petracos Cova Remígia Museo de la Valltorta
	1999	Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture	Puig des Molins Nekropolis
	2000	Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco	Circ romà
	2000	Archaeological Site of Atapuerca	Atapuerca
	2008	Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain	Cueva de La Peña Cuevo de Tito Bustillo Cueva de Covaciella Cueva de Llonín Cueva del Pindal Cueva de Chufín Cueva de Hornos de la Peña Cuevas de El Castillo y Las Monedas Cueva de El Pendo Cueva de La Garma Cueva de Covalanas Cueva de Santimamiñe Cueva de Ekain Cueva de Altxerri
	2012	Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija	Parque Minero de Almadén Antonijev Rov
	2019	Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape	Centro de Interpretación de Risco Caído
Sri Lanka	1982	Ancient City of Sigiriya
Sri Lanka	1991	Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple	Dambulla
Sweden	1988	Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun	Stora Kopparberget
Sweden	1993	Engelsberg Ironworks	Engelsbergs Bruk
Turkey	1985	Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia	Cappadocia Göreme National Park
	1988	485	Pamukkale
	2015	Ephesus	Eshab-i Kehf - Grotto of Seven Sleepers
Ukraine	1990	Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra	Kiev Pechersk Lavra
United States of America	1978	Mesa Verde National Park	Mesa Verde
	1979	Grand Canyon National Park	Grand Canyon
	1981	Mammoth Cave National Park	Mammoth Cave National Park
	1987	Hawaii Volcanoes National Park	Thurston Lava Tube
	1995	Carlsbad Caverns National Park	Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Vanuatu	2008	Chief Roi Mata’s Domain	Fels Cave
Venezuela	1994	Canaima National Park	Cueva del Fantasma Cuevas de Kavac Salto El Sapo
Vietnam	1994	Ha Long Bay	Ha Long Bay
	2003	Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park	Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Phong Nha Cave Dong Tien Son
	2014	Trang An Landscape Complex	Tam Cốc Hung Trang An Chùa Bích Động
Zimbabwe	2003	Matobo Hills	Inanke Cave