If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places associated with ancient art and culture, historical buildings and monuments. And of course, many of these are on the World Heritage List (WHL). But the WHL contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Let"s look at a few of them.
Citadel of Haiti
These monuments were built at the end of the nineteenth century when Haiti became independent and thousands of black slaves in Haiti were free for the first time. These ex-slaves built the monuments, which the WHL describes as "a universal symbol of liberty".
Robben Island in South Africa
This island was used through the centuries as a prison, a hospital and a military base. But it"s probably most famous as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its most famous residents. The WHL says it represents "the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism".
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India
This railway was opened in 1881 and is still operating today. It crosses a difficult area of mountain landscape and it is a great example of railway engineering. The WHL says that it is "the first, and still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway".
Borders of France and Spain
This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farms. People there still use a type of agriculture that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but has almost completely disappeared in modern times.
The city of Brasilia, Brazil
Brasilia is a capital city that was created from nothing in 1956. The WHL calls it "a landmark in the history of town planning". The different areas of the city and the buildings themselves were all designed at the same time carefully. Every part of the city shows the ideas of the planner and architect.
World Heritage
| 1 | Special features | Reasons for being chosen | On which continent |
| Citadel of Haiti | Ex-slaves built them | 2 | 3 |
|
Robben Island in South Africa |
4 | 5 | Africa |
|
Mandela was once a prisoner there |
Freedom over oppression and racism |
||
|
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in In- dia |
The first mountain rail- way for hill passengers |
6 | Asia |
|
Borders of France and Spain |
7 |
A type of agriculture which disappeared |
8 |
|
Interesting geological formations |
|||
| Small farms | |||
| The city of Brasilia, Brazil | 9 | 10 | South America |
| Carefully designed |