Bavaria’s fairy-tale palaces to get UNESCO world heritage status
Nine other cultural sites, including the 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India' - representing the extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, have been inscribed on the coveted list.
News Arena Network - Berlin - UPDATED: July 13, 2025, 04:01 PM - 2 min read
Neuschwanstein, perched on a rocky, 200m-high Alpine crag, is Germany's most visited castle, with almost 1.5 million people flocking there every year.
The Neuschwanstein castle in Germany's Bavaria, known for inspiring Walt Disney's fairytale castles, has been added to list of coveted World Heritage sites, the UN cultural agency announced recently.
The castle is among the 12 historic sites along with the other Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Germany, the Archaeological Ensemble of the 17th century Port Royal in Jamaica and Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave in Russia that were on Saturday inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Neuschwanstein, perched on a rocky, 200m-high Alpine crag, is Germany's most visited castle, with almost 1.5 million people flocking it every year.
"A fairytale comes true for our fairytale castles: We are #WorldHeritage!" Bavaria's governor, Markus Soeder, wrote on X after the announcement.
The fresh inscriptions have taken the total number of sites added to the coveted list during the ongoing 47th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Paris to 21.
'Maratha Military Landscapes', representing extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, is among the 30 nominations from across the globe that will be evaluated for UNESCO heritage inscription.
Nine other cultural sites, including the 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India' - representing the extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, have been inscribed on the coveted list.
A total of 30 new sites will be examined eventually from July 11-13 with nominations from various countries.
These include 24 cultural sites, five natural sites, and one mixed site, according to UNESCO.
Besides, two existing UNESCO World Heritage Sites will be examined for "significant modifications to the boundaries", a senior official of the world body earlier said.
According to a tally of inscriptions shared by UNESCO on its website, all the 21 new inscriptions fall in the 'cultural' category.
The Petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai are one of the largest, oldest and least damaged concentrations of rock art in North Asia.
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream (Republic of Korea), the Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee (Germany), Megaliths of Carnac and of the shores of Morbihan (France), Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments and Landscapes (Viet Nam) and Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal (Tajikistan) were added to the UNESCO list earlier in the day.
UNESCO shared the update in a series of posts on X.
The 47th session of the WHC is being held in Paris from July 6-16 at the UNESCO Headquarters.
The Shulgan-Tash (Kapovoy) caves in Bashkortostan, Russia, where drawings of prehistoric man were found, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave (Russia), Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe (Turkiye), Minoan Palatial Centres (Greece), Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta (Tatehuarí Huajuyé) in Mexico and Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia - The domus de janas in Italy also earned the prestigious recognition.
Port Royal, Jamaica.
The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá (Panama) and the Archaeological Ensemble of 17th Century Port Royal (Jamaica) were also added to the UNESCO World Heritage List during the deliberations of the WHC held on Saturday.
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