UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany

UNESCO's Description

Construction of this palatine chapel, with its octagonal basilica and cupola, began c. 790–800 under the Emperor Charlemagne. Originally inspired by the churches of the Eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire, it was splendidly enlarged in the Middle Ages.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 796, along with the rest of the palace structures. The construction is credited to Odo of Metz. The exact date of completion is unclear; however, a letter from Alcuin, in 798, states that it was nearing completion, and in 805, Pope Leo III consecrated the finished chapel. A foundry was brought to Aachen near the end of the 8th century and was utilized to cast multiple bronze pieces, from doors and the railings, to the horse and bear statues. Charlemagne was buried in the chapel in 814. It suffered a large amount of damage in a Viking raid in 881, and was restored in 983.

Following Charlemagne's canonization by Antipope Paschal III in 1165, the chapel became a draw for pilgrims.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q5908 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Speyer Cathedral, a basilica with four towers and two domes, was founded by Conrad II in 1030 and remodelled at the end of the 11th century. It is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The cathedral was the burial place of the German emperors for almost 300 years.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History and architecture

In 1025, Conrad II ordered the construction of the Christian Western world's largest church in Speyer which was also supposed to be his last resting place. Construction began in 1030 on the site of a former basilica which stood on an elevated plateau right by the Rhine but safe from high water. Along with Santiago de Compostela (begun 1075), Cluny Abbey (Cluny III, begun 1085), and Durham Cathedral (begun 1093), it was the most ambitious project of the time. The red sandstone for the building came from the mountains of the Palatine Forest and is thought to have been shipped down the channelled Speyerbach, a stream running from the mountains into the Rhine at Speyer. Neither Conrad II, nor his son Henry III, were to see the cathedral completed.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q22720 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Miraculously preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, the Church of Wies (1745–54), the work of architect Dominikus Zimmermann, is a masterpiece of Bavarian Rococo – exuberant, colourful and joyful.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography and traffic

The Wieskirche is located in the tiny village of Wies ("Meadow"), which lies southeast of Steingaden, the municipality it belongs to. The church lies in the foreland of the Ammergau Alps, that separate Bavaria from Tyrol in Austria to the south. Steingaden belongs to the district of Weilheim-Schongau in Upper Bavaria. The closest railway stations are Bad Kohlgrub-Kurhaus and Saulgrub on the Ammergau Railway, linking Murnau am Staffelsee and Oberammergau. The nearest motorway exit is Murnau am Staffelsee / Kochel am See of the Federal Motorway 95. During summer weekends, there is a direct bus service between the Wieskirche and Munich-Pasing railway station (DAV BergBus (line 996)).

History and description

It is said that, in 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scourged Saviour. The legend of this miracle resulted in a pilgrimage rush to see the sculpture. In 1740, a small chapel was built to house the statue but it was soon realized that the building would be too small for the number of pilgrims it attracted, and so Steingaden Abbey decided to commission a separate shrine. Construction took place between 1745 and 1754, and the interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of the Wessobrunner School. "Everything was done throughout the church to make the supernatural visible. Sculpture and murals combined to unleash the divine in visible form".

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q156675 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Set in an idyllic garden landscape, Augustusburg Castle (the sumptuous residence of the prince-archbishops of Cologne) and the Falkenlust hunting lodge (a small rural folly) are among the earliest examples of Rococo architecture in 18th-century Germany.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The Augustusburg Castle was built on the foundations of a medieval castle in 1725. It was planned and funded by Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Clemens August of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach family, and designed by the architects Johann Conrad Schlaun and François de Cuvilliés. Shortly thereafter, François de Cuvilliés designed the Falkenlust hunting lodge to the southeast for Clemens August to practice falconry, and the lodge was built from 1729 to 1740.

The elaborate gardens surrounding the Augustusburg palace were designed by Dominique Girard. An elaborate parterre for an area south of the palaces was also designed, but it was restructured by Peter Joseph Lenné in the 19th century and turned into a landscape garden.

Description

The palace complex consists of the Augustusburg Palace and the smaller Falkenlust lodge roughly 1 mile to the southeast. The main block of Augustusburg Palace is a U-shaped building with three main storeys and two levels of attics. The three wings are made of brick with a roughcast plaster. Two orangeries adjoin the main building on the north and south sides. The magnificent main staircase was designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann and made of ornate marble, jasper and stucco. The main garden directly south of the Augustusburg Palace is a complex, embroidery-like parterre, with four fountains and a mirror pool, flanked by alleys lined with lime trees. A path runs diagonally south from this garden to the Falkenlust lodge.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q156292 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Trier, which stands on the Moselle River, was a Roman colony from the 1st century AD and then a great trading centre beginning in the next century. It became one of the capitals of the Tetrarchy at the end of the 3rd century, when it was known as the ‘second Rome’. The number and quality of the surviving monuments are an outstanding testimony to Roman civilization.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

UNESCO's Description

The ‘Roman Limes’ represents the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. It stretched over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The remains of the Limes today consist of vestiges of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Certain elements of the line have been excavated, some reconstructed and a few destroyed. The two sections of the Limes in Germany cover a length of 550 km from the north-west of the country to the Danube in the south-east. The 118-km-long Hadrian’s Wall (UK) was built on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian c. AD 122 at the northernmost limits of the Roman province of Britannia. It is a striking example of the organization of a military zone and illustrates the defensive techniques and geopolitical strategies of ancient Rome. The Antonine Wall, a 60-km long fortification in Scotland was started by Emperor Antonius Pius in 142 AD as a defense against the “barbarians” of the north. It constitutes the northwestern-most portion of the Roman Limes.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

UNESCO's Description

With 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam's complex of palaces and parks forms an artistic whole, whose eclectic nature reinforces its sense of uniqueness. It extends into the district of Berlin-Zehlendorf, with the palaces and parks lining the banks of the River Havel and Lake Glienicke. Voltaire stayed at the Sans-Souci Palace, built under Frederick II between 1745 and 1747.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q852427 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The abbey, together with its monumental entrance, the famous 'Torhall', are rare architectural vestiges of the Carolingian era. The sculptures and paintings from this period are still in remarkably good condition.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The abbey was founded in 764 by the Frankish Count Cancor and his widowed mother, Williswinda, as a proprietary church (Eigenkirche) and monastery on their estate, Laurissa. It was dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The founders entrusted its government to Cancor's cousin, Chrodegang (Archbishop of Metz), who became its first abbot. The monastery was settled by Benedictines from Gorze Abbey near Metz.

The pious founders enriched the new abbey with further donations. To make the abbey popular as a shrine and a place of pilgrimage, Chrodegang obtained from Pope Paul I the body of Saint Nazarius, martyred at Rome with three companions under Diocletian.

On 11 July 765, the sacred relics arrived and with great solemnity were deposited in the basilica of the monastery.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q157550 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Founded in 1147, the Cistercian Maulbronn Monastery is considered the most complete and best-preserved medieval monastic complex north of the Alps. Surrounded by fortified walls, the main buildings were constructed between the 12th and 16th centuries. The monastery's church, mainly in Transitional Gothic style, had a major influence in the spread of Gothic architecture over much of northern and central Europe. The water-management system at Maulbronn, with its elaborate network of drains, irrigation canals and reservoirs, is of exceptional interest.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

In 1138, a free knight named Walter von Lomersheim donated an estate at Eckenweiher (now Mühlacker) to the Cistercian Order for the establishment of a new monastery. The donation was received by Neubourg Abbey, which dispatched a party of 12 monks. They arrived in 1138, but found Eckenweiher to be lacking in water and pasture space. In 1147, the Eckenweiher monks were moved to a new site near the source of the Salzach river by the Bishop of Speyer, Günther von Henneberg. This site, Mulenbrunnen, about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from Eckenweiher, was ideal for the Cistercians. Located in the hilly Stromberg region, it was rich in water and, though it was also near the Roman road running from Speyer to Cannstatt, was isolated.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q157886 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The ironworks, which cover some 6 ha, dominate the city of Völklingen. Although they have recently gone out of production, they are the only intact example, in the whole of western Europe and North America, of an integrated ironworks that was built and equipped in the 19th and 20th centuries and has remained intact.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

In 1873, Julius Buch planned and built a steel works near Völklingen on the banks of the Saar river. However, the steel works ceased operation only 6 years later, and were acquired by Karl Röchling. in 1881, construction on a blast furnace for producing iron began, and two years later the first smelter began operation. Four new furnaces were added between 1885 and 1893, and a coking plant was added in 1897. In 1900, the first gas-blowing engines were introduced to the Völklingen Ironworks, making it the first large-scale ironworks to use furnace gas to operate the blast furnaces. By the 1910s, the Völklingen Ironworks was Germany's largest producer of steel beams.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q127754 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Messel Pit is the richest site in the world for understanding the living environment of the Eocene, between 57 million and 36 million years ago. In particular, it provides unique information about the early stages of the evolution of mammals and includes exceptionally well-preserved mammal fossils, ranging from fully articulated skeletons to the contents of stomachs of animals of this period.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q639217 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Between 1919 and 1933 the Bauhaus movement revolutionized architectural and aesthetic thinking and practice in the 20th century. The Bauhaus buildings in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau are fundamental representatives of Classical Modernism, directed towards a radical renewal of architecture and design. This property, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996, originally comprised buildings located in Weimar (Former Art School, the Applied Art School and the Haus Am Horn) and Dessau (Bauhaus Building, the group of seven Masters' Houses). The 2017 extension includes the Houses with Balcony Access in Dessau and the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau as important contributions to the Bauhaus ideas of austere design, functionalism and social reform.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

UNESCO's Description

Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Building history of the Gothic cathedral

The foundation stone was laid on Saturday, 15 August 1248, by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden. The eastern arm was completed under the direction of Master Gerhard, was consecrated in 1322 and sealed off by a temporary wall so it could be used as the work continued. Eighty-four misericords in the choir date from this building phase. This work ceased in 1473, leaving the south tower complete to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane that remained in place as a landmark of the Cologne skyline for 400 years. Some work proceeded intermittently on the structure of the nave between the west front and the eastern arm, but during the 16th century this also stopped.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q4176 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the small Thuringian town of Weimar witnessed a remarkable cultural flowering, attracting many writers and scholars, notably Goethe and Schiller. This development is reflected in the high quality of many of the buildings and of the parks in the surrounding area.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

UNESCO's Description

The museum as a social phenomenon owes its origins to the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. The five museums on the Museumsinsel in Berlin, built between 1824 and 1930, are the realization of a visionary project and show the evolution of approaches to museum design over the course of the 20th century. Each museum was designed so as to establish an organic connection with the art it houses. The importance of the museum's collections – which trace the development of civilizations throughout the ages – is enhanced by the urban and architectural quality of the buildings.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Overview

The Museum Island is so-called for the complex of internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums, that occupy the Spree island's northern part. In 1999, the museum complex was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because of its unique testimony to the evolution of museums as a social and cultural phenomena and the corresponding development of museum architecture.

The Altes Museum (Old Museum) named as the Königliches Museum when it was built on 3 August 1830, until it was renamed in 1841. The museum was completed on the orders of Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

The Neues Museum (New Museum) finished in 1859 according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, a student of Schinkel.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q151963 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Wartburg Castle blends superbly into its forest surroundings and is in many ways 'the ideal castle'. Although it has retained some original sections from the feudal period, the form it acquired during the 19th-century reconstitution gives a good idea of what this fortress might have been at the height of its military and seigneurial power. It was during his exile at Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The castle's foundation was laid about 1067 by the Thuringian count of Schauenburg, Louis the Springer (Ludwig der Springer), a relative of the Counts of Rieneck in Franconia. Together with its larger sister castle Neuenburg in the present-day town of Freyburg, the Wartburg secured the extreme borders of his traditional territories.

Louis the Springer is said to have had clay from his lands transported to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands, so he might swear that the castle was built on his soil.

The castle was first mentioned in a written document in 1080 by Bruno, Bishop of Merseburg, in his De Bello Saxonico ("The Saxon War") as Wartberg.

During the Investiture Controversy, Louis's henchmen attacked a military contingent of King Henry IV of Germany.

Location

Wartburg is located on a 410-metre (1,350 ft) precipice to the southwest of, and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. The hill is an extension of Thuringian Forest, overlooking Mariental to the south-east and the valley of the Hörsel to the north, through which passed the historical Via Regia. The Rennsteig passes not far to the south of the castle.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q151545 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is an exceptional example of landscape design and planning of the Age of the Enlightenment, the 18th century. Its diverse components - outstanding buildings, landscaped parks and gardens in the English style, and subtly modified expanses of agricultural land - serve aesthetic, educational, and economic purposes in an exemplary manner.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q157543 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The island of Reichenau on Lake Constance preserves the traces of the Benedictine monastery, founded in 724, which exercised remarkable spiritual, intellectual and artistic influence. The churches of St Mary and Marcus, St Peter and St Paul, and St George, mainly built between the 9th and 11th centuries, provide a panorama of early medieval monastic architecture in central Europe. Their wall paintings bear witness to impressive artistic activity.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Although people occupied Reichenau in the Bronze Age and Iron Age, archeological evidence suggests that Reichenau was abandoned during the Roman era. It remained uninhabited until 724, when the monk Pirmin received support from the Carolingian ruler Charles Martel to build a monastery on the island. The first monastery, at Mittelzel, was wooden, although it was replaced by a stone building by 746. In the early 9th century, under the patronage of the Carolingian dynasty and Ottonian dynasty, the community flourished. In 816 the monastery church of the by-then abbey, was rebuilt in a cruciform basilica style, and churches dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Mark were consecrated. Relics of St. Mark arrived at the abbey in the mid-9th century.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q156439 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Zollverein industrial complex in Land Nordrhein-Westfalen consists of the complete infrastructure of a historical coal-mining site, with some 20th-century buildings of outstanding architectural merit. It constitutes remarkable material evidence of the evolution and decline of an essential industry over the past 150 years.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Zollverein Coal Mine was founded by Duisburg-born industrialist Franz Haniel (1779–1868), who needed coke for steel production. Test drilling in the Katernberg region had revealed a very rich seam of coal. In 1847, Haniel founded a company he named bergrechtliche Gewerkschaft Zollverein (Mining Law Labor Union Zollverein). There was a mining law (Bergrecht) in Prussia to encourage the exploitation of natural resources. The law called for the creation of a special form of corporation, designated a 'labour union' (Gewerkschaft) but in fact a capitalist company. Haniel named his after the German Customs Union (Zollverein), established in 1834.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q122026 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The 65km-stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley, with its castles, historic towns and vineyards, graphically illustrates the long history of human involvement with a dramatic and varied natural landscape. It is intimately associated with history and legend and for centuries has exercised a powerful influence on writers, artists and composers.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1780249 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

A landscaped park of 559.9 ha astride the Neisse River and the border between Poland and Germany, it was created by Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau from 1815 to 1844. Blending seamlessly with the surrounding farmed landscape, the park pioneered new approaches to landscape design and influenced the development of landscape architecture in Europe and America. Designed as a ‘painting with plants’, it did not seek to evoke classical landscapes, paradise, or some lost perfection, instead using local plants to enhance the inherent qualities of the existing landscape. This integrated landscape extends into the town of Muskau with green passages that formed urban parks framing areas for development. The town thus became a design component in a utopian landscape. The site also features a reconstructed castle, bridges and an arboretum.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

A fortress on the Neisse at Muskau was first mentioned as early as the 13th century under the rule of Margrave Henry III of Meissen. The founder of the adjacent park was Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871), the author of the influential Remarks on Landscape Gardening and owner of the state country of Muskau from 1811. After prolonged studies in England, in 1815 during the time when the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia fell to Prussia, he laid out the Park. As time went by, he established an international school of landscape management in Bad Muskau and outlined the construction of an extensive landscape park which would envelop the town "in a way not done before on such a grand scale". His wife Lucie von Hardenberg also contributed to the park.

Overview

The park covers 3.5 square kilometers (860 acres) of land in Poland and 2.1 km2 (520 acres) in Germany. It extends on both sides of the Neisse, which constitutes the border between the countries. The 17.9 km2 (6.9 sq mi; 4,400 acres) buffer zone around the park encompassed the German town Bad Muskau (Upper Sorbian: Mužakow) in the West and Polish Łęknica (Wjeska, former Lugknitz) in the East. While Muskau Castle is situated west of the river, the heart of the park is the partially wooded raised area on the east bank called The Park on Terraces. In 2003, a pedestrian bridge spanning the Neisse was rebuilt to connect both parts. Designed as a painting with plants, the park uses native plants, water features, bridges, and paths to enhance the site's inherent natural beauty.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q156308 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Town Hall and the statue of Roland on the marketplace of Bremen in north-west Germany are outstanding representations of civic autonomy and sovereignty, as these developed in the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The old town hall was built in the Gothic style in the early 15th century, after Bremen joined the Hanseatic League. The building was renovated in the so-called Weser Renaissance style in the early 17th century. A new town hall was built next to the old one in the early 20th century as part of an ensemble that survived bombardment during the Second World War. The statue stands 5.5 m tall and dates back to 1404.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Bremen's original town hall had been situated in the southern end of the block between Liebfrauenkirchhof ("Our Dear Lady's Churchyard"), Obernstraße ("Highstreet") and Sögestraße ("Pigstreet"). In 1229, it was mentioned as "domus theatralis" ("show house"), since 1251 repeatedly as "domus consularis" ("councilars' house"). An arch across the Sögestraße and a repair by a mason suggest a stone building, and already existing before the arrival of Gothic style it must have been erected in Romanesque style. It is assumed that before the municipality gained a certain autonomy, the building served as a law court and therefore had at least one open hall, as old Saxon law forbade trials to be held in closed rooms.

Location and description

The city hall is on the northeastern side of the market square in the historic city centre. Directly in front of it is the statue of Roland. On the opposite side of that square there is the ancient guildhall, called Schütting, still today the seat of the board of commerce. On the southeastern side of the square is the seat of Bremen state parliament, called the Bürgerschaft. East of both, there is the town hall and parliament, along with the Bremen Cathedral. Near the northern corner of the town hall, there is a sculpture of the Town Musicians of Bremen (by Gerhard Marcks). North of it, there is the Church of Our Dear Lady ("Kirche Unser Lieben Frauen" or short "Liebfrauenkirche").

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q19479 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The serial property comprises seven housing estates in Berlin built between 1910 and 1933. Developed during a period of significant social, cultural, technical, and political innovation, particularly during the Weimar Republic, the estates represent outstanding examples of early twentieth-century modernist urban planning, architecture, and garden design. Designed by leading architects of German Modernism, they introduced innovative urban layouts, building typologies, flat-roof designs, technical solutions, and aesthetic approaches, while applying new social and hygienic standards aimed at improving housing and living conditions. Through their exceptional architectural and urban quality, the estates exemplify the housing reform movement that transformed residential design and established models for social housing in Germany and beyond.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q19094 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Fagus Factory in Alfeld is a 10-building complex - began around 1910 to the design of Walter Gropius, which is a landmark in the development of modern architecture and industrial design. Serving all stages of manufacture, storage and dispatch of lasts used by the shoe industry, the complex, which is still operational today, is situated in Alfeld an der Leine in Lower Saxony. With its groundbreaking vast expanses of glass panels and functionalist aesthetics, the complex foreshadowed the work of the Bauhaus school and is a landmark in the development of architecture in Europe and North America.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Construction history

Carl Benscheidt (1858–1947) founded the Fagus company in 1910. He had then started by working for Arnold Rikkli, who practised naturopathic medicine, and it was there that he learned about orthopedic shoe lasts. In 1887 Benscheidt was hired by the shoe last manufacturer Carl Behrens as works manager in his factory in Alfeld. After the death of Behrens in 1896, Benscheidt became general manager of the company, which was on its way to being one of the biggest in that sector in Germany. In October 1910, he resigned from his position because of differences with Behrens's son.

After his resignation Benscheidt immediately started his own company. He established a partnership with an American company acquiring both capital and expertise.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q685476 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

A masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture, built between 1745 and 1750, the Opera House is the only entirely preserved example of its type where an audience of 500 can experience Baroque court opera culture and acoustics authentically, as its auditorium retains its original materials, i.e. wood and canvas. Commissioned by Margravine Wilhelmine, wife of Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg–Bayreuth, it was designed by the renowned theatre architect Giuseppe Galli Bibiena. As a court opera house in a public space, it foreshadowed the large public theatres of the 19th century. The highly decorated theatre’s tiered loge structure of wood with illusionistic painted canvas represents the ephemeral ceremonial architectural tradition that was employed in pageants and celebrations for princely self-representation.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The Bayreuth Opera House was inaugurated on the occasion of the marriage of their daughter Elisabeth Fredericka Sophie with Duke Charles Eugene of Württemberg. Princess Wilhelmine, older sister of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, had established the margravial theatre company in 1737. In the new opera house she participated as a composer of opera works and Singspiele, as well as an actor and director. As of 2007 she featured in a sound-and-light presentation for tourists. After her death in 1758, performances ceased and the building went into disuse, one reason for its good conservation status.

Description

Located in a widened part of the street so that carriages could pull up in front, the opera house is 71.5 meters long, 31 meters wide, and 26 meters tall. The building was constructed according to plans designed by the French architect Joseph Saint-Pierre (ca. 1709 – 1754), court builder of the Hohenzollern margrave Frederick of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and his wife Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. The sandstone façade was designed to blend with the surrounding buildings and to reference the Place Vendôme in Paris, with large Corinthian columns. A balustrade stretches across the entire façade, with sculptures of Minerva, Apollo, and 6 Muses placed atop.

The wooden interior was designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena (1696–1757) and his son Carlo from Bologna in an Italian Late Baroque style.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q278908 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Descending a long hill dominated by a giant statue of Hercules, the monumental water displays of Wilhelmshöhe were begun by Landgrave Carl of Hesse-Kassel in 1689 around an east-west axis and were developed further into the 19th century. Reservoirs and channels behind the Hercules Monument supply water to a complex system of hydro-pneumatic devices that supply the site’s large Baroque water theatre, grotto, fountains and 350-metre long Grand Cascade. Beyond this, channels and waterways wind across the axis, feeding a series of dramatic waterfalls and wild rapids, the geyser-like Grand Fountain which leaps 50m high, the lake and secluded ponds that enliven the Romantic garden created in the 18th century by Carl’s great-grandson, Elector Wilhelm I. The great size of the park and its waterworks along with the towering Hercules statue constitute an expression of the ideals of absolutist Monarchy while the ensemble is a remarkable testimony to the aesthetics of the Baroque and Romantic periods.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

Bad Wilhelmshöhe, a Stadtteil of Kassel in northern Hesse, is situated west of the city centre at the foot of the Habichtswald hill range. It is also known for Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station on the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway line.

History

Originally laid out in the Baroque style of the giardino all'italiana and the French formal garden, with water features running downhill in cascades to Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, it was later re-arranged into an English landscape garden.

In 1143, Canons Regular from Mainz established the Weißenstein monastery at the site of present-day Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, which was dissolved in the course of the Protestant Reformation. Landgrave Philip I of Hesse used the remaining buildings as a hunting lodge, largely rebuilt by his descendant Maurice of Hesse-Kassel from 1606 to 1610.

The Bergpark came into being as a Baroque park under Landgrave Charles I of Hesse-Kassel. In 1701, the Italian architect Giovanni Francesco Guerniero started the construction of the Hercules monument and the giant cascades.

Description

The park comprises an area of about 2.4 square kilometres (0.93 mi2), stretching from Kassel up to the Karlsberg mountain at 526.2 metres (1,726 ft). At the summit of the park stands the Hercules monument, a 40-meter high pyramid with a 8.5-meter bronze statue of Hercules. Behind the monument, a series of reservoirs gather water, which passes through a complex series of channels, valves, aqueducts, and water-wheels as it flows from the monument down through the park. The water tumbles through a Baroque water theatre, grotto, fountains, two hydraulic organs, and several waterfalls (including a Great Cascade that is 350 meters long) before arriving at the pond, with the Great Fountain.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q447441 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The site is located along the Weser River on the outskirts of Höxter where the Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey were erected between AD 822 and 885 in a largely preserved rural setting. The Westwork is the only standing structure that dates back to the Carolingian era, while the original imperial abbey complex is preserved as archaeological remains that are only partially excavated. The Westwork of Corvey uniquely illustrates one of the most important Carolingian architectural expressions. It is a genuine creation of this period, and its architectural articulation and decoration clearly illustrate the role played within the Frankish empire by imperial monasteries in securing territorial control and administration, as well as the propagation of Christianity and the Carolingian cultural and political order throughout Europe.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History of the abbey

In the Saxon Wars which lasted more than thirty years after 772, Charlemagne, king of the Franks, was eventually victorious, adding the Saxon territory to his empire and starting the Christianisation of the Saxon people. To that end, bishoprics were established (at Hildesheim and Halberstadt). In addition, the idea of setting up an abbey in Saxony was first mooted during Charlemagne's reign. However, the plan was only implemented under his son, Emperor Louis the Pious, who announced the creation of an abbey east of the river Weser at a synod in Paderborn in 815. This was located at a place named Hethis. Although there is some uncertainty over the exact location, it is today thought to be near Neuhaus im Solling.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q56004 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Modern humans first arrived in Europe 43,000 years ago during the last ice age. One of the areas where they took up residence was the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Excavated from the 1860s, six caves have revealed items dating from 43,000 to 33,000 years ago. Among them are carved figurines of animals (including cave lions, mammoths, horses and bovids), musical instruments and items of personal adornment. Other figurines depict creatures that are half animal, half human and there is one statuette of a woman. These archaeological sites feature some of the oldest figurative art worldwide and help shed light on the origins of human artistic development.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geology and History

The bedrock of the caves began to form roughly 200 million years ago, at the beginning of the Jurassic Period, when the super-continent Pangaea began to break apart. The area was inundated by the Neotethys Sea, and limestone formed from the marine sediments. During the early Cenozoic, the area was uplifted by the collision of the Eurasian Plate and the African and Adriatic plates. Once this occurred, the sinkholes and caves of the region were formed as rain seeped into the limestone. When the Lone and Ach valleys formed, access to the caves from the surface became possible, and the caves gradually dried out and filled in with sediment, preserving materials brought into the cave by humans.

Location

The World Heritage comprises six caves which are distributed across two valleys in the Swabian Jura: Lone (river) Valley and Ach Valley. The former includes the caves Hohlenstein-Stadel, Vogelherd and Bocksteinhöhle; the latter Geissenklösterle, Hohle Fels and Sirgenstein Cave. Each valley would contain a core area of around 3 to 4 km (1.9 to 2.5 mi) length, surrounded by a buffer zone of a least 100 m (330 ft) width.

A documentation center not far from Ulm in the town of Blaubeuren, the "Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren", displays archaeological findings, including the Venus of Hohle Fels, the earliest known undisputed example of a depiction of a human being in prehistoric art. Scientific findings, experimental archeology and modern museum education can be found under one roof.

UNESCO's Description

The water management system of the city of Augsburg has evolved in successive phases from the 14th century to the present day. It includes a network of canals, water towers dating from the 15th to 17th centuries, which housed pumping machinery, a water-cooled butchers’ hall, a system of three monumental fountains and hydroelectric power stations, which continue to provide sustainable energy today. The technological innovations generated by this water management system have helped establish Augsburg as a pioneer in hydraulic engineering.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q55249696 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Darmstadt Artists’ Colony on Mathildenhöhe, the highest elevation above the city of Darmstadt in west-central Germany, was established in 1897 by Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse, as a centre for emerging reform movements in architecture, arts and crafts. The buildings of the colony were created by its artist members as experimental early modernist living and working environments. The colony was expanded during successive international exhibitions in 1901, 1904, 1908 and 1914. Today, it offers a testimony to early modern architecture, urban planning and landscape design, all of which were influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and the Vienna Secession. The serial property consists of two component parts including 23 elements, such as the Wedding Tower (1908), the Exhibition Hall (1908), the Plane Tree Grove (1833, 1904-14), the Russian Chapel of St. Maria Magdalena (1897-99), the Lily Basin, the Gottfried Schwab Memorial (1905), the Pergola and Garden (1914), the “Swan Temple” Garden Pavilion (1914), the Ernst Ludwig Fountain, and the 13 houses and artists’ studios that were built for the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony and for the international exhibitions. A Three House Group, built for the 1904 exhibition is an additional component.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q314730 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Following the left bank of the Lower Rhine River for approximately 400 km from the Rhenish Massif in Germany to the North Sea coast in the Netherlands, the transnational property consist of 102 components from one section of the frontiers of the Roman Empire, which in the 2nd century CE, stretched across Europe, the Near East, and North Africa, over 7,500 km. The property comprises military and civilian sites and infrastructure that marked the edge of Lower Germany from the 1st to 5th centuries CE. Archaeological remains in the property include legionary fortresses, forts, fortlets, towers, temporary camps, roads, harbours, a fleet base, a canal and an aqueduct, as well as civilian settlements, towns, cemeteries, sanctuaries, an amphitheatre, and a palace. Almost all of these archaeological remains are buried underground. Waterlogged deposits in the property have enabled a high degree of preservation of both structural and organic materials from the Roman periods of occupation and use.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1265889 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Located in the medieval historic centre of Erfurt, the capital city of Thuringia, the property comprises three monuments: the Old Synagogue, the Mikveh, and the Stone House. They illustrate the life of the local Jewish community and its coexistence with a Christian majority in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, between the end of the 11th and the mid-14th century.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q122745617 (CC0).