Today is UNESCO World Heritage Day!

Calender Icon 4. June 2023

Today the World Heritage Day is being held in the 51 historical, natural and cultural UNESCO sites of Germany. Many of them belong to the Union of Cities THE HANSA, such as the Old Towns of the Hanseatic Cities of Lübeck, Wismar and Stralsund, the Town Hall and Roland in Bremen, and the Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District in Hamburg.

BTZ_6080_Marktplatz-Roland, Rathaus ©Ingrid Krause

On the initiative of the German Commission for UNESCO and the German UNESCO World Heritage Sites Association, this celebration is the occasion for the German organisations involved in the cultural field and the heritage protection to promote cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of Germany and by extension of humanity.

This day is about knowing how to protect our global heritage, but also about knowing how future generations can preserve the world's resources and wealth and build a more equitable society. There are a wide range of activities such as guided tours, lectures, music and exhibitions. These activities are designed to raise public awareness of the importance of preserving the world's heritage, as well as raising awareness of peace, international cooperation and sustainability.

They invite us to ask ourself on our current problems with the protection of the sites. This day is not only a simple celebration of the historical heritage but evokes our pragmatical and current issues in Germany but also across the world. Indeed, this celebration enters in the context of changing the world with new problems such as the climate change, the problems of social inequalities and growing global population. That is why thus celebration evokes by questions of ecological, social and economic sustainability.

Video highlights of the participating sites can be found here (in German). Read more about the German UNESCO sites here.