United Kingdom

St. George, Bermuda

WHS Score 2.68 Votes 25 Average 2.98

The Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda is the earliest example of an English colonial town in the New World.

It consists of the Town of St George and fortifications on small islands commanding access to the Town and the harbour. Permanent settlement here began in 1612. The forts are authentic examples of the first defensive works built by early European colonists.

Community Perspective: the town is very quaint and looks a bit like an open-air museum for tourists. The best of the forts is Fort St. Catherine, which houses an interesting museum.

>

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
The Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda (ID: 983)
Country
United Kingdom
Status
Inscribed 2000 Site history
History of St. George, Bermuda
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Nov. 18, 2020 royalgazette.com — St George World Heritage Centre to close for good
  • July 29, 2009 royalgazette.com — Bermuda celebrates 400th today with the opening of a World Heritage Centre

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Urban landscape: Colonial
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
View all (18) .
Connections of St. George, Bermuda
Geography
Trivia
History
Architecture
World Heritage Process
  • Inscribed on a single criterion only
    iv. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
Constructions
  • Hospitals
    military hospital
  • Sites of Parliament
    The State House (1620) in St. George's was the first purpose-built home of the House of Assembly, which then constituted the only chamber of the Parliament of Bermuda (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
WHS Names
  • Named after Queen Victoria
    "Fort Victoria" is listed on the UNESCO Web site as location 983-017 (out of 24) despite this comment in the AB review "the integrity of Fort Victoria has been compromised by its conversion to a hotel recreation facility so that it no longer retains the authenticity necessary for inclusion on the World Heritage List"
  • Named after individual people
    Bermuda was named after the Spanish navigator/explorer Juan de Bermudez who discovered it 1503. St George's was named in honour of the founder of the Bermuda colony, Admiral Sir George Somers
News
royalgazette.com 11/18/2020
St George World Heritage Centre to…
royalgazette.com 07/29/2009
Bermuda celebrates 400th today wit…
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 22/11/19.

Els Slots

St. George, Bermuda

St. George, Bermuda (Inscribed)

St. George, Bermuda by Els Slots

I recently amended my WHS coverage strategy from purely looking for the hotspots to also going out of my way twice a year for a difficult/expensive WHS (expecting that when I get older I will have more time to travel, but physical challenges will get harder and the money less easily replenished). An odd one among the latter set of WHS is St. George, Bermuda – one of our most isolated WHS (it’s 1,200km from Independence Hall). The island group of Bermuda is not a particularly hard destination to reach, but it is mostly visited from the US or via a cruise. From Europe, there’s only one British Airways flight a day. And it surely ticks the “expensive” box: start from the UK price level, add a logistical surcharge as most things have to be flown in, take the cruise ship price inflation into account, and finally the American-style 15-20% tipping. In the end, this ‘tick’ cost me some 1,500 EUR.

The WHS is located on and around one of the northernmost islands of the Bermuda archipelago: St. George Island. The town is known as “St. George’s” (short for St. George’s Town), but it seems to have lost its “’s” in the official WHS name: The Historic Town of St. George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda. Note also the addition of “Bermuda” at the end – there are so many towns called St. George around the world that the Bermudians probably wanted it to be clear that their St. George …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 17/05/14.

Klaus Freisinger

St. George, Bermuda

St. George, Bermuda (Inscribed)

St. George, Bermuda by Klaus Freisinger

St. George is known as the oldest continuously inhabited English settlement in the New World, and it is to the English-speaking Americas what Santo Domingo is to the Spanish-speaking part - the site of many "first" and "oldest" superlatives. E.g., St. Peter's Church is the oldest Anglican and Protestant Church in the Western Hemisphere. The State House dates from 1620 and is the oldest building on the islands. The capital was moved to Hamilton in the early 19th century, and today St. George is very quiet and looks a bit like an open-air museum for tourists. It is very well preserved and does a lot to highlight its WH status. Included in the site are several fortifications, some of which are just a short walk from the town and can be visited. The best of these is Fort St. Catherine, which houses a very interesting museum. I also went to nearby Alexandra Battery and Gates Fort, both of which can be visited easily in a pleasant walk from St. George. There is also a fine museum on Bermudian history in the Royal Naval Dockyard on the other end of the island, but this is not part of the WHS. Bermuda is mostly visited by Americans and Canadians, and there is only one flight connection to Europe (British Airways to London). I went there for a short stopover of 3 days after a trip to the US, which was very pleasant and convenient. Otherwise, it could easily be visited on one …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 10/06/05.

Ben Pastore

St. George, Bermuda

St. George, Bermuda (Inscribed)

St. George, Bermuda by Els Slots

For an Atlantic island, Bermuda feels much more like the Caribbean, and the related fortifications reflect as much. This small yet lovely island is usually crawling with tourists, but that's no problem. There always seems to be some corner with the solitude and charm that Bermuda exudes.

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 01/05/05.

Anonymous

St. George, Bermuda

St. George, Bermuda (Inscribed)

St. George, Bermuda by Anonymous WHS Traveller

The Town of St. George is very quaint and the townspeople are very welcoming. The place is filled with old world English charm with its cobblestone streets and old buildings. The related fortifications entail the forts that surround St. George. Some of them are not accessible to the public, but my husband and I managed to visit Fort St. Catherine, Fort George, Alexandra Battery and Gate's Fort. These places are walking distance from the town.

We visited Bermuda for four nights, which was enough time for me. December 2006 was when we were there and it was not very busy with tourists. Personally, I quite liked it this way and I still enjoyed pleasant weather!

Keep reading 0 comments