Royal palaces in Bavaria, archaeological ensemble in Jamaica, 10 other sites get UNESCO tag

Paris: Twelve historic sites including the Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Germany, the Archaeological Ensemble of the 17th century Port Royal in Jamaica and Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave in Russia were on Saturday inscribed on the coveted UNESCO World Heritage List.

The fresh inscriptions have taken the total number of sites added to the coveted list during the ongoing 47th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Paris to 21.

Nine other cultural sites, including the 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India' -- representing the extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, were on Friday inscribed on the coveted list.

A total of 30 new sites will be examined eventually from July 11-13 with nominations from various countries.

These include 24 cultural sites, five natural sites, and one mixed site, according to UNESCO.

Besides, two existing UNESCO World Heritage Sites will be examined for "significant modifications to the boundaries", a senior official of the world body earlier said.

According to a tally of inscriptions shared by UNESCO on its website, all the 21 new inscriptions fall in the 'cultural' category.

Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream (Republic of Korea), the Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee (Germany), Megaliths of Carnac and of the shores of Morbihan (France), Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex of Monuments and Landscapes (Viet Nam) and Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal (Tajikistan) were added to the UNESCO list earlier in the day.

UNESCO shared the update in a series of posts on X.

The 47th session of the WHC is being held in Paris from July 6-16 at the UNESCO Headquarters.

Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave (Russia), Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe (Turkiye), Minoan Palatial Centres (Greece), Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta (Tatehuarí Huajuyé) in Mexico and Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia - The domus de janas in Italy also earned the prestigious recognition.

The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá (Panama) and the Archaeological Ensemble of 17th Century Port Royal (Jamaica) were also added to the UNESCO World Heritage List during the deliberations of the WHC held on Saturday.