UNESCO World Heritage

The international campaign to save Abu-Simbel was the first step towards the Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. This convention is based on the revolutionary idea to entrust humanity with the protection and preservation of outstanding cultural achievements and exceptional natural phenomena that are of outstanding universal value.

The World Heritage List includes 936 sites, of which 725 are cultural, 183 natural and 28 mixed. They are located in 153 countries.

The 'stilt houses' are remnants of prehistoric settlements in lakes and moors around the Alps. This serail transboundary site consists of 111 of the roughly 1,000 known sites in six countries (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia). The remnants of the prehistoric settlements provide a lively insight into the origin and development of erarly agrictultural societies in the Alpine region.