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Like most others, I visited the Munakata Taisha a.k.a. Hetsu shrine. I hadn’t planned on writing a review, but I think I have an important tip for future visitors: make sure you see “everything”. The layout of the site is confusing and signage is in Japanese only, so it is easy to overlook something or not do it justice because you don’t know the meaning of what you see. 

Right at the entrance you can pick up a flyer (in Japanese of course) with a map that shows the main parts:

1. Main wooden worship hall from the 16th century (rebuilt after it burned down). This is the main focus when you enter via the torii and cross the garden with the two ponds.
2. Sacred open-air ritual site, one of the few remaining outside of Okinoshima. It is reached via a forest path and several steep flights of stairs from the northeast behind #1. See photos with this review.
3. Okitsu and Nakatsu shrines, also known as Shrine Number Two (Teinigu) and Shrine Number Three (Teisangu). They're the newish-looking buildings on a path to the left when you’re on your way to #2. They represent the two eponymous shrines on Okinoshima and Oshima Islands.
4. Shinpokan: modern building on the west side of the main complex and near the smaller parking lot. It houses many votive objects found on Okinoshima.

There’s also a “Sea Road City Museum” at the other end of the big parking …

Edit: to be honest after seeing a new review I was a bit shocked that Sindudurg Fort is open again and it was just closed for the time I was there, or maybe even worse just on that day! But either way, I saw the fort from a distance, large distance, and I wouldn't inscribe it. Perhaps there are better forts along the coast and I think the entire meaning of "at one time there was the need for build these military forts" has more meaning. The original review is below.

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I could leave this to someone who saw more forts or maybe just let India pick the ones they want to inscribe first, then get it inscribed, and finally visit. Well, I figured since I'm already at Goa I may as well do a short detour to Sindudurg Fort and tick this off - only that Sindudurg Fort is CLOSED!! One is supposed to supposed to get a boat tour from Malvan 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM daily but, no, this wasn't possible. The official website still talks about it being open too. I thus think someone will visit the forts near Mumbai and tell you more about the actual forts. Officially you take a tour when it starts, it then gives you ~1h fort time to explore before taking you back.

This "must-visit destination" doesn't seem very must-visit either so I don't feel sad about missing out. When I got to the Malvan beach …

Visit 14th+15th of sept.2024

I took the bus from the whs Hollokö to Budapest and from there the train to Komaram,the hungarian part of the twin city, which is separated by the Danube river.It was rainy both when I arrived late in the afternoon and the following day... there were hardly any moments without drizzle. After I left my bag at my accommodation in the slovak part I visited the nearby Povnost Komarno, which is closed to the public. Only a few tours take place there and the one for the same day was canceled at short notice due to bad weather. I was still able to take some photos from the inside by simply following an incoming truck...but I only had a few moments before I was thrown out of the fortress grounds again. I went to the adjacent premises of a company, from where you could at least see parts of it. I also visited the bratislava bastions and two other bastions in the slovak part.Komarno's city centre is nothing special at all,and its most famous place,the europaplatz,is a kind of newly built disneyland market square,very kitschy and better suited to an american theme park than to a european city.

Despite my raining coat , I was soaking wet after my strenuous tour through Komarno. It should also be noted that the slovak Komarno made a pretty neglected and run-down impression, a dying city with a rapidly declining population.The next morning I visited the hungarian part …

Babur's Gardens were founded by Babur, an eminent ruler and warrior, founder of the Mughal dynasty. Babur loved Kabul and the oasis of peace he had created so much that he ordered to be buried there in a roofless tomb, so that after his death the Kabul’s rain and the Kabul’s wind would cool him. At first, the wish was not fulfilled - Babur was buried in Agra, but after a few years his body was moved to Kabul and placed in a white tomb. In addition to the tomb, there is the Shah Jahan Mosque (the builder of the Taj Mahal) and the so-called The Queen's Palace from the 19th century. Babur Gardens suffered terribly during the civil war of 1992-1996, but was later very comprehensively rebuilt.

Babur Gardens is a candidate for inclusion on the UNESCO list in 2026, but I must admit that I am not entirely convinced by this proposal. There is nothing special about the gardens themselves today, they look like a moderately attractive park. Do constructions like Babur's Grave and other buildings warrant entry? In my opinion, not necessarily. The state party submitted a very extensive description justifying the OUV, based, among others, on the statement that Babur’s Gardens are the first example of Mughal gardens, but is this enough for becoming a WHS? Hopefully we will find out in 2026 and that this proposal will be eventually assessed.

First, I’d like to thank Philipp for making the effort to cover the Furuichi cluster so I could cross that from my to-do-list. Even when limiting myself to the Mozu cluster, I found it a labour-intensive visit as I walked 8.2 km across 3 hours in the heat (still 33 degrees Celsius in late September). I did: Sakaihigashi Station – Sakai City Hall Observation Lobby – kofun in the north – hike towards Daisan Park along the westside of Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Sakai City Museum – small kofuns in the park - Itasuke kofun – ceremonial Gate to Nintoku-tenno-ryo – Mozu Station. A useful downloadable map with hiking routes along the points of interest can be found here.

I’d like to focus on what can be seen at the Sakai City Museum. The museum has a central location in the park and charges a small entrance fee (200 yen). You will be ushered directly into the film theatre, where an animated film with English subtitles explains their historical context, how the kofun were made, and how they looked like. The kofun were monumental platforms for burial ceremonies, made out of earth and dry stone walls (not tree-covered as nowadays) – the result looked a bit like Mesoamerican sites such as Monte Alban. The rulers of the time were trading with the Baekje in Korea and the Liu Song in China and were also influenced by their cultures. They also learned (from what is now Mongolia) that you could ride …

Bukhara is the middle child of uzbekistan's whs cities. Less monumental and lively than Samarkand, but more so than khiva. Less cohesive than khiva, but more so than Samarkand.

It is by far also the most diverse of them too. While khiva and Samarkand almost exclusively shine through a particular period (19th century and 15th century respectively) Bukhara has a bit of everything. It has brilliant pre-timurid architecture (samanid Mausoleum), timurid masterpieces (Ulugh begh madrasa) and later additions up to the 20th century (arq). 

However out of the three cities I'm actually tempted to rank it last and that probably has to do with how touristic it felt. I think the high speed train has multiplied the number of people that go to the city in recent years. It was overcrowded and honestly overpriced.

The kunya arq was also a bit of a disappointment especially in retrospective when compared to the palaces in khiva. 

The main pool has lost much of its charm, now infested with comically kitsch decor.

The madrasas are beautiful but surprisingly repetitive

On the bright side the kalyon mosque (phto) is perhaps the most impressive mosque in uzbekistan and the minarete is amazing.

Overall Bukhara left me mildly disappointed though with its splendid array it definetely deserves a place in the list. 

Visit: the 19th of septembre 2024.

After a long trip through Hungary and Austria (flood of the century that caused the local train system to collapse) to visit my missing world heritage sites there, I stayed overnight -on my way back to Berlin- in the small town of Zwoenitz. The following morning I arrived at the paper mill shortly before 10.30am and was lucky enough to be able to join a guided group tour with around 20 pensioners. Mister Stoelzel, who has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to the paper mill, personally led a group of pensioners through the still-functioning facility. 

The mill was first mentioned in a document in 1568. With over 400 years the paper mill in Zwoenitz is the oldest of its kind in Europe,producing cardboard until 1973.

The entire process from filling the spherical cooker with waste paper to the usable cardboard is clearly visible by having the visitor walk from one production maschine to the next machine; machines that are still functioning (from the cooker to the mill for fine grinding then to the mill for coarse grinding to the cutting machine and the wetcard board squeezer to the 2 large upper attic floors, where the cardboard was dried (both cold and with heat).

All information boards are in german, english and czech.There is a small screening cinema with a film from the 70s that does an excellent job of showing the cardboard manufacturing process at the zwoenitz …

Balkh (ancient Bactria) is perhaps the most important archaeological site in Afghanistan. It is located about 30 km from Mazar-e-Sharif. The city has been inhabited since at least the 6th century BC. it was conquered by Alexander the Great, and then became the center of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and finally Islam. Perhaps the most important monument of Balkh is the Citadel (photo 1), where Alexander's Greeks were already stationed. The original 60-kilometer walls have been reduced to approximately 10 kilometers, but only a few sections can be seen in good condition.

Many of the buildings proposed for entry are located outside the Citadel . Here are the ruins of the oldest Haji Piyada mosque in Afghanistan (also called the Nine Domes Mosque – photo 2), whose rich decorations still delight to this day. We also visited the ruins of Sayed Subhan Quli Khan's madrasa (photo 3) and, above all, the magnificent Timurid Green Mosque (photo 4).

Although I was a bit disappointed shortly after visiting Balkh, after delving into the detailed descriptions of this TWHS, I realize that it has great potential to become a WHS.

While you are here, you will definitely not miss the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif. One of the prettiest mosques in the world.

I visited in April 2024 the town of Frederiksoord. I parked my car to the Museum de Proefkolonie which was going through renovations at the time but the museum and its restaurant were fully operational. I decided to skip the museum exhibition but I went to ask help for exploring the town. The staff at the museum were very helpful and provided me with a map of different walking and cycling routes around Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord and a small booklet about the history of the free colonies. The staff recommended the green route which was titled "Sterrebosroute" and the route seemed to go around the whole town and all the sights of interest so I decided to follow the recommendation.

The walking routes were well marked so it was easy to follow them. The day was warm and sunny spring day so it was a perfect day for a leisurely stroll. I explored the horticultural school garden which was still quite dead in April but the horticultural school (pictured) next to it was a beautiful building. Across the school is the hotel of Frederiksoord and the old post office which are also both very beautiful buildings. The hotel is still in operation so you can also stay in Frederiksoord if you want. Along the route there were information signs of all the sights of interest both in English and Dutch which was very helpful. The route mostly zigzagged through the Sterrebos forest that was not very interesting except that …

Fatehpur Sikri is a rather interesting site as it reflects mughal ambition as if carved in stone and left for us to wonder.

The city was in many ways akbar's attemt to reinvent the mughal dynasty and in such way it also reflects its eventual failure to do so. Mughal India would never again follow the syncretic ideals of akbar and his city was left instead collecting dust.

I would've given the site 1 star less had it not been for the mosque, which is delightful in its ambition. The tomb of Salim Chishti (photo) brings the jali to its ultimate form, creating a semi exterior gallery of outmost delicacy. Meanwhile the darwaza shows mughal architects were not afraid to use size to its most dramatic extremes in order to create majestic settings. The mosque is also refreshingly active, something I found lacking in agra's and Delhi's jama masjids.

Overall while I was somewhat disappointed with the palace complex, the mosque was the best I saw in the Golden triangle. 

We expect Hikone Castle to be nominated in 2027, it has already requested a preliminary assessment. It is one of the few items left on Japan’s Tentative List, where it has lingered since 1992. At the moment of writing, it has a perfect 100% recommendation score by our community members. So my hopes were up for my visit, also because I hadn’t been to a classical Japanese site during this trip yet.

At the ticket counter, it’s worth it to get the most extensive ticket, that covers palace museum, castle and gardens. It is the combination of these 3 elements that gives Hikone-Jo an edge over similar Japanese castles. You cannot see the iconic donjon from afar (at least not when approaching from the train station), but what you will notice is the extent of the fortifications. There are two moats, still filled with water. Walls are steep and gates are strategically placed. 

The palace museum starts with a few exhibition rooms (one with fine samurai armor). It then transforms into a reconstruction of the palace as it would have been when the daimyo (feudal lord, from the hereditary Li clan) lived here. It’s an endless series of tatami rooms, which resemble those countless rooms in European palaces. From his living quarters, he could sit and contemplate looking out over a picture-perfect little garden (see lower photo).

A steep uphill walk then follows to the donjon (castle keep) and the main towers. The interior of the donjon …

I visited the monuments of Bamyan during one day in September 2024. For an appetizer, there was Shahr-i Ghulghulah, which can be translated as the City of Screams. This rather terrifying name comes from the destruction of the city by Genghis Khan's troops, which left no one alive. Apparently this was because Genghis Khan's beloved grandson had been killed earlier during the siege of Bamyan, but the Mongols did not need too many excuses to destroy everything living among their defeated opponents. The City of Screams never recovered from this massacre and today it is a complex of charming ruins on the mountainside.

The main course was something that doesn't exist. The world's largest standing Buddha statues, carved into rocks in the 6th century AD. and barbarously destroyed by the Taliban during their first rule in 2001. Despite several attempts and the scaffolding existing for unknown reasons, these statues have not been recreated, only niches remain. They can be viewed from below and above, because a system of corridors led to the head of each statue. Currently, the corridors located next to the smaller, 37-meter statue are open. Visiting the niches is more of an exercise in the imagination, because without the statues they are much less interesting. As a side note - it seems that the current Taliban are more liberal for now, but in my opinion this is just an illusion. After consolidating their power, they may return to the barbaric practices known from 1996-2001.

18 years after my first visit, I made the most of being based in the Netherlands for the summer to try to understand this somewhat enigmatic site.

But where to choose? Well quite by accident I hit a jackpot.

The Waterlinie Museum

This fantastic museum just outside Utrecht focuses on the New Dutch Waterline section that runs from Muiden on the Ijmeer, south to the Waal (essentially the Rhine) river at Gorinchem. The elegant concrete brutalist bunker has been inserted into the centre of the original fort, and its central courtyard now has a beautiful concrete 3D map of the whole system that can be filled with water to fully illustrate how water defence system can be used to flood a band across the central Netherlands to protect Holland and Amsterdam from attaches from the South and East.

The museum has interactive screens and models that are partially aimed at children, but for the first time explained to me the system and how it works, in a way that finally got it beyond just a theoretical, “I think I understand it”.

Perhaps the highlight of the museum though was the VR experience that simulated a flight over the top of the whole defence system, allowing you to pick out the features of the landscape that are part of the defences or the fields that would end up inundated. It may sound slightly tacky, but this was actually the best example of a VR experience in …

An amazing place to visit, the magnitude of the building given it is constructed wholly of brick is nothing short of staggering. A bastion for the Cathers, the audio tour is well worthwhile to support a tour around the inside of this impressive biulding. The gardens and walkways around the curtilage of the Cathedral are equally impressive and the views down and across the river are staggeringly beautiful. 

We visited Lübeck in September 2024.

Lübeck is an old venerable Hanseatic city. But Lübeck is not just a city with a lot of history, brick art and many impressive churches. Lübeck is also a city with a lot of lively life, streets with beautiful renovated houses and many attractive shops (Marzipan too of course). 

The Holster Tor is certainly a highlight and a hike along the harbor is simply lovely. 

It´s not a modern city with just a few patches of history. 

I have seen also Wismar and Stralsund but Lübeck clearly is the queen of the Hanseatic cities. 

Samarkand is one of those cities which could easily be in the list a couple of times had they wanted to. And in a way it might have fit the place better, as Samarkand is better understood as a set of masterpieces that happen to be in a city. That is especially true compared to the likes of Bukhara or itchan Kala which shine because of their cohesion.

I would say there are 5 main components in Samarkand which could've had a decent shot to get into the list. 

1. Gur e amir, this is the accidental mausoleum of the timurid dynasty (it wasn't built with that intent). Its rather small size is easily forgone once you see the luxurious decoration of the interior. I found it gave the best glimpse into the luxury Timur's palaces must've sported, which is otherwise hard to spot in Samarkand. Check out the jade wall tiles!

2. The Registan. The most iconic monument in Samarkand is indeed impressive. Here we get to see the famous timurid like for the monumental. Compared to later styles in the region the use of brick gives the madrasas an almost mellow colour and a much more elegant though less colorful appeal. It's perhaps the poster child of timurid architecture. I cannot talk about the interior because I was unfortunately not let in.

3. Bibi khanym mosque. This mosque was one of Timur's jewels for Samarkand. Built with the spoils of the sack of Delhi, …

Visit: the 17th of sept. 2024

In the middle of the chaos of the once-in-a-century floods in Austria with countless canceled or interrupted train connections I tried my luck and luck was with me as I was able to board a train very early in the morning from Vienna to Muerzuschlag from where I had to take another train to Semmering.Shortly after 8.00am I arrived at Semmering. It was like a miracle that I reached Semmering by train, as many metro lines and tram connections in Vienna were canceled.

I took some photos of the historic train with the Unesco plaque next to the train tracks of the station. Then I went inside the station and read through the information boards about why Semmering was a masterpiece of rail construction.Outside the train station there is a large information board with the possible trails in the area. Since I was always looking at the Austrian railway app with one eye to know if and when I could return to Vienna by train, I decided that I should take a shorter trail than the one originally thought. I had to somehow get from Vienna via Salzburg to Munich that day because I had an appointment in the Bavarian capital Munich early in the morning the next day.

I decided to take the so-called "railway"(bahnweg in german) route. A trail that first leads uphill to the 20 Schilling view (the viewpoint offers a special view of the 184 meter long …

In the summer of 2010 before we said goodbye to Norway, we had one final roadtrip to visit a large part of this country. We drove as far North as Lofoten, then cut across to Sweden and came back south through there. We crossed the polar circle in Norway and passed it again by a nice sign on the way back. This is the Laponian area of Sweden. There was a nice museum in Jokkmokk on the indigenous people who were living here and we found this sign on the side of the road with a detailed description. The site has both natural, hiking and people components to it. As we had limited time and were traveling with young baby we stopped at the museum, took pictures of the signs, but did not have the time for hiking or much exploring.

As I had taken a Japanese history class in college and learned all about the Tokugawa shogunate, I had to work visiting Nikko into my travel plans. We took the (super early) express train from Asakusa station and made it to Nikko right when the temples started opening.

The highlight is Toshogu shrine, as it is the grandest and contains the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu. But it is also chocked with hordes of school tour groups at all times, even if you go early. It is worth braving the crowds however, because the carvings are amazing. The restoration team did a wonderful job. Taiyuin is almost just as grand and much more peaceful than Toshogu. This one contains the remains of Tokugawa Iemitsu. The mountain and forest atmosphere is also in itself peaceful.

These were the most ornate buildings in Japan and they are well worth a visit! 

There was a large Jewish community in Erfurt, but in 1349 there was a pogrom, many Jews were killed, the rest were expelled, and property was taken. Apparently, this nomination became a kind of correction of this historical grievance, although very little of the Jewish heritage of those times has survived here. Basically, the object includes three buildings: 

1) The old synagogue, which was converted into a warehouse after the pogrom, has survived. The famous Erfurt treasure is on display, with many silver coins and ornaments, as well as a Jewish wedding ring. According to the coins, the treasure can be dated to the time of the pogrom, it is clear that Jews tried to hide their property. Maybe because of the treasure, it is strictly forbidden to take pictures in the old synagogue. It also displays Jewish manuscripts that were taken during the pogrom in Erfurt, got into the Augustinian monastery, from where these sacred books were sold to the state library in Berlin. But only facsimiles of these books are on display.

2) Mikveh, a pool for ritual ablutions. I was a bit lucky here, because this mikveh can be seen only during group tours, just such a tour was taking place, I sneaked in quietly and took a couple of photos.

3) And one stone house, which belonged to the Jews, where a painted ceiling was found, was separately added to the list. How to get inside to see that ceiling is unclear.

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