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Unesco

Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region, Germany and Czech Republic: Nearly two dozen sites across two countries—from mining towns to forested shaft depressions to underground caverns—showcase a mining culture and history that influenced the course of medieval Europe. The Ore Mountain landscape was the most important source of silver ore for the continent between 1460 and 1560, and in subsequent years, the area produced tin and uranium.

Early mines and earthen blacksmith tower furnaces in five locations date back nearly three millennia, and showcase the significance of metal-working in the region.

Hyrcanian Forests, Iran: These truly ancient forests along the southern reaches of the Caspian Sea have stood 25 to 50 million years. The landscape is home to 180 species of birds and 58 species of mammals, including the vulnerable Persian leopard.

Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, Japan : These elaborate earthen tombs were built into shapes like scallops, squares, and keyholes and filled with armour and clay sculptures. The tombs represent the funerary tradition for elite members of the Japanese Kofun period from the third to sixth centuries, and demonstrate a hierarchical society.

Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano a Valdobbiadene, Italy: The terraced vines of this lush rural landscape are evidence of centuries of agriculture, and remain dedicated to Prosecco viticulture today.

Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria, Spain : These prehistoric cave dwellings, granaries, cisterns, and temples are thought to belong to a star and “Mother Earth” cult. The site is proof that the largest of the Canary Islands was inhabited by a culture that predated the ancestors of modern-day Spaniards.