Kosovo on the UNESCO World Heritage List

The “Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” was adopted on 16 November 1972 within the framework of the 17th General Conference of UNESCO, which met in Paris between 17 October – 21 November 1972, in order to introduce the cultural and natural assets with universal values, which are accepted as the common heritage of mankind, to create awareness in the society to protect the universal heritage in question and to provide the necessary cooperation for the survival of cultural and natural values that are destroyed and destroyed due to various reasons. The Convention was ratified by the Council of Ministers on 23.05.1982 and published in the Official Gazette on 14.02.1983.

Natural structures, monuments and sites of international importance and therefore worthy of appreciation and protection are recognized as “World Heritage”. After a series of procedures that begin with the application to UNESCO by the member states that have ratified the Convention and are completed after the evaluation of the applications by the experts of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), candidate assets are entitled to this status in accordance with the decision of the World Heritage Committee.

As of 2021, there are 1154 cultural and natural assets registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List worldwide, of which 897 are cultural, 218 are natural and 39 are cultural and natural assets. This number is increasing with the World Heritage Committee meetings held every year. Comprehensive information can be found on the official website of the World Heritage Centers at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list.

Kosovo’s assets on the UNESCO World Heritage List are as follows.

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo: Deçan Monastery, Peja Patriarchate, Graçaniça Monastery and the Church of the Virgin Mary in Prizren – (Friday Mosque)