New world heritage sites for 2019 - in pictures

Image 1 of 29

Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire is one of 29 new sites to be added to Unesco’s prestigious world heritage list.

Dominated by the giant Lovell telescope, the site is part of the University of Manchester and has played a key role in astronomical research since the 1940s.

It is the only UK site in the latest batch of places to join the list, which encourages the “identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity”, according to the Unesco website.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The organisation’s World Heritage Committee is meeting in Baku until 10 July to decide which new sites to add to its line-up, which already includes more than 1,000 venues.

Here are the 29 new sites added in 2019 so far. Click on the gallery above for images.

Ancient ferrous metallurgy sites, Burkina Faso

There are five sites in the African country, including Douroula, which dates from the eighth century BC and is the oldest evidence of the production of iron in the area.

Archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City, China

These ruins, from 3,300-2,300BC, reveal an early civilisation based on rice cultivation along what is now called the Yangtze River Basin.

Babylon, Iraq

The ruins of the city, which is 50 miles south of Baghdad and was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire between 626 and 539BC, includes villages and agricultural areas.

Bagan, Myanmar

The sacred land includes Buddhist art and architecture, including frescoes and sculptures, within the site’s temples and monasteries.

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Australia

Situated within an Aboriginal territory in south-west Australia, which is home to the Gunditjmara, the area is characterised by rocky ridges and wetland swamps. It is one of the largest and oldest aquaculture networks in the world.

Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture, Russia

A group of monuments in the historic city of Pskov – churches, cathedrals, towers and monasteries date from the 12th century.

Dilmun Burial Mounds, Bahrain

There are 21 archaeological sites in all, in the western part of the island, containing more than 11,000 burial mounds dating back to between 2050 and 1750BC.

Erzgebirge/Krusnohori Mining Region, Czechia/Germany

Silver, tin and uranium have been extracted from the region known as the Ore Mountains from the 12th to the 20th centuries.

French Austral Lands and Seas, France

This group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean has one of the highest concentrations of birds and marine mammals in the world, including king penguins and yellow-nosed albatrosses.

Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace, Azerbaijan

The city of Sheki lies at the foot of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, on historic trade routes. Its notable architecture is influenced by Safavid, Qadjar and Russian traditions.

Hyrcanian Forests, Iran

These unique forests stretch along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, hosting 44% of the vascular plants known in Iran but covering only 7% of the country.

Jaipur City, Rajasthan, India

The fortified city of Jaipur, which was founded in 1727, was unusually built on the plain, to a grid plan that used the light of Vedic architecture.

Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK

This radio astronomy observatory in north-west England has conducted valuable research on cosmic rays detected by radar echoes.

Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region, Poland

Made up of four mining sites that date from the Neolithic to Bronze Ages, the underground site is one of the most comprehensive prehistoric flint extraction and processing systems yet found.

Landscape for breeding and Training Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem, Czechia

The area includes fields and pastures designed specifically to breed and train Kladruber horses, which were used at the Habsburg imperial court.

Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene, Italy

A unique, rugged and hilly landscape of Prosecco vineyards that form a chequerboard pattern on the hillsides.

Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plain of Jars, Lau People’s Democratic Republic

This location gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped stones that were once used for funerals in the Iron Age.

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase 1), China

The largest intertidal mudflat system in the world supports many fish and crustacean species.

Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan, Japan

This site features 49 kofun, meaning “old mounds”. The tombs are from the Kofun period: from the third to the sixth century in Japan.

Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto, Indonesia

This industrial site, built by the Dutch colonial powers, extracted high-quality coal in the Sumatra region from the late 19th century.

Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodiversity, Brazil

One of Brazil’s best-preserved coastal towns and four protected natural areas make up one of the world’s five key biodiversity hotspots.

Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape, Spain

This mountainous part of Gran Canaria contains rich biodiversity and a large number of troglodyte settlements, with two sacred temples.

Royal Building of Mafra - Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden, and Hunting Park (Tapada), Portugal

Some 18 miles north-west of Lisbon, the site was built for King Joao V in 1711 to represent the power and breadth of the Portuguese empire.

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, Portugal

This area, developed over more than 600 years, evokes Christian Jerusalem with a recreation of a sacred mount and a church.

Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, Republic of Korea

The site comprises nine seowon, which were Josean dynasty academies, from the 15th to 19th centuries, that favoured the appreciation of nature.

The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, US

This consists of eight buildings, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by the famous architect during the first half of the 20th century.

Vatnajökull National Park - dynamic nature of fire and ice, Iceland

This region, covering almost 15% of Iceland, includes two of its most active volcanoes and is notable for the interaction between the volcanoes and ice caps.

Water Management System of Augsburg, Germany

The system has evolved from the 14th century to the present day and includes water towers, canals and hydroelectric power stations.

Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi, Canada

On the border between Canada and the United States, the Milk River Valley topography consists of pillars or hoodoos with engravings and paintings.