UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 3rd Session [1] Quiz

Answer: Mont-Saint-Michel

Less than a kilometre off the French coastline, the island of Mont-Saint-Michel is a unique destination because it's an idyllic castle town, built in the 16th century, that's cut off with the rising tides of the Atlantic. During the day, visitors can wander the streets, but during the nights, most people leave the island. Mont-Saint-Michel's architecture, Medieval history, and cultural and religious significance made it an easy early choice for UNESCO World Heritage protection.

Answer: El Jem

Built in the then-Roman colony of Thysdrus in the third century AD, the amphitheatre here is found in El Jem (or El Djem) in the modern era and is, now, a moderately well-preserved example of the extravagant architecture used for these types of structures. Stretching nearly five hundred feet across, it's a site that can be explored from its grandstands to its dungeons, giving an accurate look at what was once the pinnacle of entertainment venues.

In the Ancient Roman Empire, only two amphitheatres were bigger-- the Roman Colosseum and the now-destroyed Amphitheatre of Capua, which was used to train the gladiators.

Answer: Virunga National Park

Formed in the 1920s, the expanse that is Virunga National Park is significant because of its vast biodiversity. The park includes two active volcanoes and, with those, hundreds of endemic species that benefit from its unique circumstances. Both Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, the park's key peaks, erupted multiple times in the early twenty-first century.

All of this said, Virunga is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites with a generally consistent level of high risk due to civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Answer: Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia made major gains on the UNESCO list in 1979, securing status on three different sites with this session. The Historical Complex of the coastal city of Split, along with the Palace of Diocletian, is depicted in this question here. A mixture of sites dating back thousands of years, its cultural importance is nearly unmatched in Croatia...or at least it would be if the fortified Old City of Dubrovnik weren't added as well.

Thirdly, the natural beauty of Plitvice Lakes National Park was added in this year. Known for its limestone tufa caves, it's one of the most-visited natural sites near the Adriatic, found in the mountainous karst region just slightly inland from the sea.

Answer: Abu Simbel

Though Egypt received five separate listings on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, it is perhaps the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae that stands out as one of the most extensive since it covers numerous locations across nearly three hundred kilometres of Southern Egypt in and around Lake Nasser.

Despite its addition to the list, UNESCO also mounted a campaign to protect these sites well in advance (more than a decade before) due to the rising waters nearby, resulting from the completion of the Aswan Dam.

It's this effort that led to the formal creation of UNESCO's list. Amongst the protected monuments here are the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae.

Answer: Poland

Though Poland received two UNESCO site listings in its inaugural year, it was this 3rd session that saw the inclusion of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp, one of the most famous sites of Nazi atrocity used between the years of 1940 and 1945. Though a site of immense tragedy, it was one of the locations in Poland to be transformed into a museum shortly after the war, becoming a lasting reminder of those lost during the Holocaust and an enduring, symbolic landmark of international culture.

Answer: Naqsh-e Jahan Square

Iran was another big front-runner for the numerous World Heritage Sites it had inscribed in 1979. In addition to the sites of Chogha Zanbil and similar ruins, Naqsh-e Jahan Square (or Imam Square) was added to the list because of its important to the history and culture of what was the Persian Empire. Constructed in the city of Isfahan, this square was intended to be the home of the Persian capital and all of its government buildings. Today, it remains the home of one of the Middle East's oldest markets (The Imperial Bazaar), two mosques, and the entrance of the royal quarter at Ali Qapu Palace.

Answer: Everglades National Park

There's likely obvious reason behind this selection as Everglades National Park represents a unique ecosystem in the Southeastern United States virtually unseen elsewhere in North America. Comprised of more than six thousand square kilometres of protected wetlands, it's one of the most-visited National Parks of the Southern States and one of the most biodiverse, containing hundreds of unique plants and animals, many of which have seen their habitats threatened by rising sea levels and climate change.

Answer: Persepolis

Historically, Persepolis is a fortress of unique circumstance as it was never intended to be a capital, but it was used by Persian royalty during certain festive times of year as a gathering spot. As it was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, all that remains of Persepolis is ruins, surrounded by the Zagros Mountain range on a high plateau.

It remains a unique archaeological site giving great insight into the empire via its structures, art, and architecture, including a palace, courtyards, the tomb of several Achaemenid kings.

Answer: Norway

Built in the twelfth century, the dark wood church of Urnes Stave is one of the oldest and Norway and finds its place on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list because it exemplifies Viking architecture, Celtic art, and Romanesque stylings and has, for centuries, been renovated regularly and is exceedingly well-maintained.

The church joined the listing in the same year as another Norwegian site-- the heritage buildings of Bryggen in the city of Bergen on the nation's southwest coast.