List of World Heritage Sites in Northern Europe

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has designated 36 World Heritage Sites in eight countries (also called "state parties") commonly referred to as Northern Europe: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, i.e. a combination of Nordic and Baltic countries. Greenland lying on the North American continent is not included in this list despite of its political ties with Denmark; it is included in the List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas. The United Kingdom and Ireland are included in Western Europe even though they are sometimes listed in Northern Europe.

Sweden is home to the most inscribed sites with 15 sites, two of which are transborder properties. Three sites are shared between several countries: the Curonian Spit (Lithuania and Russia), the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago (Sweden and Finland) and the Struve Geodetic Arc (ten countries in Northern and Eastern Europe). The first sites from the region were inscribed in 1979, when the Urnes Stave Church and Bryggen, both in Norway were chosen a year after the list's conception. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x). Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Northern Europe, there are 32 cultural, 3 natural, and 1 mixed sites.

The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." None of the sites in Northern Europe has ever been listed as endangered, though possible danger listing has been considered by UNESCO in a number of cases.

Legend

The table is sortable by column by clicking on the at the top of the appropriate column; alphanumerically for the Site, Area, and Year columns; by state party for the Location column; and by criteria type for the Criteria column. Transborder sites sort at the bottom.

Site; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation

Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates

Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee

Area; in hectares and acres. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO

Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List

Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable

Inscribed sites

  * Trans-border site

Site	Image	Location	Criteria	Area ha (acre)	Year	Description	Refs
Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland		Kalmar, Sweden	Cultural: (iv), (v)	—	2000
Birka and Hovgården		Stockholm, Sweden	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	—	1993
Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki		Rauma (Lappi), Satakunta, Finland	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	—	1999
Bryggen		Bergen, Hordaland, Norway	Cultural: (iii)	—	1979
Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement		Christiansfeld, Kolding Municipality, Southern Denmark, Denmark	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	—	2015
Church Village of Gammelstad, Luleå		Norrbotten, Sweden	Cultural: (ii), (iv), (v)	—	1996
Curonian Spit		Neringa and Klaipėda district, Klaipėda County, Lithuania* and Zelenogradsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia*	Cultural: (v)	—	2000
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland		Gävleborg, Sweden	Cultural: (v)	14 (35); buffer zone 537 (1,330)	2012
Engelsberg Ironworks		Västmanland, Sweden	Cultural: (iv)	—	1993
Fortress of Suomenlinna		Helsinki, Finland	Cultural: (iv)	—	1991
Hanseatic Town of Visby		Gotland, Sweden	Cultural: (iv), (v)	—	1995
High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago		Västernorrland, Sweden* and Finland*	Natural: (viii)	194,400 (480,000)	2000
Historic Centre of Riga		Riga, Latvia	Cultural: (i), (ii)	438 (1,080); buffer zone 1,574 (3,890)	1997
Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn		Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	113 (280); buffer zone 2,253 (5,570)	1997
Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church		Jelling, Vejle Municipality, Southern Denmark, Denmark	Cultural: (iii)	4.96 (12.3)	1994
Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė)		Kernavė, Širvintos district, Vilnius County, Lithuania	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	194 (480); buffer zone 2,455 (6,070)	2004
Kronborg Castle		Helsingør, Capital Region, Zealand, Denmark	Cultural: (iv)	—	2000
Laponian Area		Norrbotten, Sweden	Mixed: (iii), (v), (vii), (viii), (ix)	940,000 (2,300,000)	1996
Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun		Dalarna, Sweden	Cultural: (ii), (iii), (v)	43 (110); buffer zone 3,500 (8,600)	2001
Naval Port of Karlskrona		Blekinge, Sweden	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	—	1998
Old Rauma		Rauma, Satakunta, Finland	Cultural: (iv), (v)	29 (72); buffer zone 142 (350)	1991
The par force hunting landscape in North Zealand		Capital Region, Zealand, Denmark	Natural: (ii), (iv)	—	2015	Includes three forest locations: Store Dyrehave, Gribskov and Jægersborg Dyrehave with Jægersborg Hegn
Petäjävesi Old Church		Petäjävesi, Central Finland, Finland	Cultural: (iv)	—	1994
Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site		Notodden / Rjukan, Telemark, Norway	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	—	2015
Rock Art of Alta		Alta, Finnmark, Norway	Cultural: {iii}	—	1985
Rock Carvings in Tanum		Västra Götaland, Sweden	Cultural: (i), (iii), (iv)	—	1994
Røros Mining Town and the Circumference		Røros, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway	Cultural: (iii), (iv), {v}	—	1980
Roskilde Cathedral		Roskilde, Region Zealand, Zealand, Denmark	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	0.40 (0.99); buffer zone 1.50 (3.7)	1995
Royal Domain of Drottningholm		Stockholm, Sweden	Cultural: (iv)	—	1991
Skogskyrkogården		Stockholm, Sweden	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	—	1994
Stevns Klint		Store Heddinge, Zealand, Denmark	Cultural: (viii)	50 (120); buffer zone 4,136 (10,220)	2014	Stevns Klint is a 15 km (9.3 mi) long fossil rich chalk cliff. The fossil record includes evidence of the ash cloud following the Chicxulub meteorite impact that is believed to have caused a mass extinction 65 million years ago. The site also includes evidence of the recovery after the extinction.
Struve Geodetic Arc		Belarus*, Estonia*, Finland*, Latvia*, Lithuania*, Moldova*, Norway*, Russia*, Sweden* and Ukraine*	Cultural: (ii), (iii), (vi)	—	2005
Surtsey		Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland	Natural: (ix)	3,370 (8,300); buffer zone 3,190 (7,900)	2008
Þingvellir National Park		Bláskógabyggð, Iceland	Cultural: (iii), (vi)	9,270 (22,900)	2004
Urnes Stave Church		Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway	Cultural: (i), (ii), {iii}	—	1979
Varberg Radio Station		Halland, Sweden	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	109 (270); buffer zone 3,854 (9,520)	2004
Vegaøyan — The Vega Archipelago		Vega, Nordland, Norway	Cultural: (v)	103,710 (256,300); buffer zone 28,040 (69,300)	2004
Verla Groundwood and Board Mill		Kouvola (Jaala), Kymenlaakso, Finland	Cultural: (iv)	23 (57); buffer zone 80 (200)	1996
Vilnius Historic Centre		Vilnius, Lithuania	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	—	1994
The Wadden Sea		GermanyDenmark*, Germany*, Netherlands*	Natural:Ger2 (viii), (ix), (x)	968,393 (2,392,950)	2009	The Wadden Sea contains the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The coast line is generally flat and has may mudflats, marshes and dunes. The site covers two-thirds of the entire Wadden Sea and is home to many plant and animal species. It is a breeding ground for up to 12 millions birds annually and supports more than 10 percent of the population of 29 species. Was expanded in 2014 to include the Danish part of the Wadden Sea.
West Norwegian Fjords — Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord		Møre og Romsdal, Norway	Natural: (vii), (viii)	—	2005
Ilulissat Icefjord		Ilulissat, Greenland, Denmark	Natural: (vii), (viii)	40,240 (99,400)	2004	On west coast of Greenland, where Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, meets the sea

Tentative List

Denmark (7)

• Amalienborg and its district (1993)
• Kujataa - a subarctic farming landscape in Greenland (2003)
• Aasivissiot. Arnangarnup Qoorua (Greenlandic inland and coastal area) (2003)
• Moler landscape of Limfjord (2010)
• The Trelleborg fortresses (2010)
• Viking Monuments and Sites/Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church (2011)
• Viking Monuments and Sites/The Trelleborg fortresses (2011)

Estonia (3)

• Kuressaare Fortress (2002)
• Baltic Klint (2004)
• Wooded meadows (Laelatu, Kalli-Nedrema, Mäepea, Allika, Tagamoisa, Loode, Koiva, Halliste) (2004)

Finland (6)

• The Carvings from historic time at the island of Gaddtarmen (Hauensuoli) (1990)
• The large Stone Age ruin of Kastelli at Pattijoki (1990)
• The Rock paintings of Astuvansalmi at Ristiina (1990)
• The Holy place of worship of Ukonsaari by the Sami people at Inari (1990)
• Paimio Hospital (formerly Paimio Sanatorium) (2004)
• Saimaa-Pielinen Lake System (2004)

Iceland (7)

• Breiðafjörður Nature Reserve (2011)
• Mývatn and Laxá (2011)
• Viking monuments and sites/Þingvellir National Park (2011)
• Þingvellir National Park (2011)
• The Turf House Tradition (2011)
• Vatnajökull National Park (2011)
• Torfajökull Volcanic System/Fjallabak Nature Reserve (2013)

Latvia (3)

• Viking Monuments and Sites/Grobnia archaeological complex (2011)
• Kuldīga Old Town in the Primeval Valley of the River Venta (2011)
• Meanders of the Upper Daugava (2011)

Lithuania (1)

• Trakai Historical National Park (2003)

Norway (5)

• The Laponian area - Tysfjord, the fjord of Hellenbotn and Rago (extension) (2002)
• The Lofoten Islands (2007)
• Svalbard Archipelago (2007)
• Islands of Jan Mayen og Bouvet as part of a serial transnational nomination of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge System (2007)
• Viking Monuments and Sites/Vestfold Ship Burials and Hyllestad Quernstone Quarries (2011)

Sweden (1)

• The Rise of Systematic Biology (2009)

References

Notes