List of World Heritage Sites in Latvia
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Latvia accepted the convention on 10 January 1995 , making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.[2] Both sites are cultural. The Struve Geodetic Arc is a transnational site and is shared with nine other countries.[2]
In addition to its World Heritage Sites, Latvia also maintains three properties on its tentative list.[2]
World Heritage Sites
UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, whereas vii through x are natural.[3]
Site | Image | Location | Year listed | UNESCO data | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historic Centre of Riga | ![]() |
Riga | 1997 | 852; i, ii (cultural) | [4] |
Struve Geodetic Arc* | Ērgļi Municipality, Jēkabpils | 2005 | 1187, ii, iii, vi (cultural) |
The Struve Geodetic Arc is a series of triangulation points, stretching over a distance of 2,820 kilometres (1,750 mi) from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. The points were set up in a survey by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve who first carried out an accurate measurement of a long segment of a meridian – and along with it the size and shape of the Earth. Originally, there were 265 station points. The World Heritage Site includes 34 points in ten countries (North to South: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), two of which are in Latvia.[5] | |
Tentative list
In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.[6] As of 2019, Latvia lists three properties on its tentative list.[2]
Site | Image | Location | Year listed | UNESCO criteria | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kuldīga Old Town in the Primeval Valley of the River Venta | Kuldīga | 2011 | ii, iv, vii (mixed) | [7] | |
Meanders of the Upper Daugava | ![]() |
Daugava river from Piedruja to Daugavpils | 2011 | v, viii, x (mixed) | [8] |
Grobiņa archaeological ensemble | Grobiņa | 2017 | iii (cultural) | [9] | |
References
- "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- "Latvia". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- "UNESCO World Heritage Centre – The Criteria for Selection". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- "Historic Centre of Riga". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- "Struve Geodetic Arc". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- "Tentative Lists". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- "Kuldīga Old Town in the Primeval Valley of the River Venta – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- "Meanders of the Upper Daugava – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- "Grobiņa archaeological ensemble – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 23 November 2019.