▲Significance: Its six areas in Liverpool's historic center and docklands played an important role in developing one of the world’s major trading centers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO placed it on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 following a proposal to build a massive redevelopment of the historic docklands.

▲Significance: Situated at the crossroads of different trade routes of the 2nd millennium BCE, Aleppo has witnessed the rise and fall of a handful of empires and civilizations, including the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Arabs, the Mongols, and the Ottomans.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added Aleppo—as well as six other Syrian cities—to its list of World Heritage in Danger in 2013 after escalation of the country's armed conflict.

▲Significance: The site's four main buildings reflect the height of the Byzantine-Romanesque ecclesiastical culture.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added these monuments to its list of World Heritage in Danger in 2006 due to a rise in the region's political instability, which rendered the site's management and conservation difficult.

▲Significance: As the capital of the Kingdom of Chimor, Chan Chan, a large adobe city in the Moche Valley of what is now Trujillo, reached its peak in the 15th century and became the largest city of pre-Columbian South America.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added Chan Chan to its list of World Heritage in Danger in 1986, the same year it was designated as a World Heritage Site. Chan Chan is threatened by illegal farming practices, legal land ownership and relocation issues, as well as urban and infrastructure overdevelopment.

▲Significance: Cyrene, established by the Greeks of the island of Thera (present-day Santorini), was a major city of the Hellenic world. It was later taken by the Romans, who continued to develop it until the earthquakes of 262 and 365 CE when it was deserted, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the city—as well as five other Libyan sites—to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2016, following damage caused by unrest in the country, according to the The Libya Observer.

▲Significance: Considered a holy site by all three Abrahamic religions, Jerusalem's cultural significance is immense. For example, the site of the Dome of the Rock, a seventh-century Islamic shrine, is recognized by the three faiths as the place of Abraham's sacrifice.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added Jerusalem to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982 amid controversy, as stated on its website. Jerusalem is at risk due to destruction of religious properties, urban development plans, lack of maintenance and responsible management, among other reasons.

▲Significance: The two former saltpeter refineries in the remote Pampas of northern Chile served as a community for thousands of workers throughout the first half of the 20th century, until they became ghost towns in the 1950s.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the ghost towns to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2005 when the Tarapacá earthquake caused significant damage to the site.

▲Significance: Austria's capital city evolved from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a medieval and Baroque city and culminated in the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, during which it established itself as the leading European music center.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added Vienna's historic center to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007 in light of a proposed high-rise project that could negatively impact it, according to The Guardian.

▲Significance: Perched 4,000 m above sea level, Potosí was considered the world’s largest industrial complex in the 16th century as a result of its silver mines.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the site to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2014 due to degradation of the Cerro de Potosí, caused by continuing mining operations.

▲Significance: The fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo were built in the 17th and 18th century by the Spanish Crown to protect transatlantic trade.

▲Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the fortifications to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 due to environmental factors, lack of maintenance, and urban developments.

▲Significance: Dating back to 1527, this city is unique for its fusion of local traditions, Spanish Mudéjar, Antillean, and Dutch architectural styles.

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Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the port city to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2005 following two consecutive years of heavy rains that considerably damaged several buildings, according to the Smithsonian.

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Significance: Throughout the 9th century, this former powerful Islamic capital city ruled over the provinces of the Abbasid Empire, which extended from Tunisia to Central Asia.

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Why it's endangered: UNESCO added Samarra to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007, the same year it was designated as a cultural heritage. The main threats to the site arise from a lack of proper management by local authorities, according to UNESCO.

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Why it's endangered: UNESCO placed the tomb on its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 in an effort to mitigate the threats caused by the armed conflict in the region.

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Why it's endangered: UNESCO added the archaeological site to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2001 following agricultural efforts in the area that led to a considerable increase in water levels in the soil, causing several other structures to collapse.

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Significance: The holy city, monastery complex, and Christian pilgrimage hub was built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in the late third century.

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Significance: Built in 1495, this 17-meter pyramidal structure is believed to be the burial site of Askia Mohammad I (sometimes spelled Muhammad or Mohamed), a prolific emperor of the Songhai Empire.

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Significance: Located on the the ancient Silk Road in southern Uzbekistan, this historic center dates back 2,000 years and served as the cultural and political hub of the Kesh region in the 14th and 15th century.

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Why it's endangered: UNESCO added it to the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2016 as a consequence of development of tourist infrastructures that propose the demolition of historic sites and buildings.

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More than 50 of them are currently endangered and, unless measures are put in place, could be ruined beyond repair, according to UNESCO's website. Click to know more about them.

World Heritage Sites that could disappear anytime

Find out their stories before they’re lost to time!

07/11/24 por StarsInsider

TRAVEL Monuments

There are more than 1,000 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, about 830 of which are cultural. These are landmarks or areas that carry such strong cultural, historical, or scientific significance, that international treaties have been signed in efforts to protect them. However, more than 50 of them are currently endangered and, unless measures are put in place, could be ruined beyond repair, according to UNESCO's website.

Click through the gallery to see 15 of the world's most endangered cultural sites.