# List of World Heritage Sites in Belgium

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. The Kingdom of Belgium accepted the convention on 24 July 1996, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
Belgium has 16 sites inscribed on the list. The first sites to be added to the list were the Flemish Béguinages, the Grand-Place in Brussels and the lifts on the Canal du Centre, at the 22nd UNESCO session in 1998. The most recent inscriptions were the Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front), a transnational site shared with France. The Sonian Forest, part of the 18-country site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, is the only natural site in Belgium; the others are cultural sites, as determined by UNESCO's selection criteria. Belgium's five transnational sites also include the Belfries of Belgium and France, shared with France, the Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, shared with six other countries, the Colonies of Benevolence, shared with the Netherlands, and the Great Spa Towns of Europe, shared with six other countries. In addition, Belgium has 15 sites on its tentative list. Belgium has served on the World Heritage Committee twice.

## World Heritage Sites

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.
World Heritage Sites :
| Site | Location (province) | Year listed | UNESCO data | Description |
| Flemish Béguinages | several sites | 1998 | 855; ii, iii, iv (cultural) | Béguinages (French) or begijnhoven (Dutch) are collections of small buildings used by Beguines. They were founded in the 13th century in the Flemish cultural region, comprising unmarried or widowed religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world. The list includes 13 béguinages: Bruges, Dendermonde, Diest, Ghent (Klein Begijnhof, Groot Begijnhof), Hoogstraten, Kortrijk, Leuven (Great Beguinage pictured), Lier, Mechelen (Groot Begijnhof), Sint-Truiden, Tongeren and Turnhout. |
| The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (Hainaut) | Hainaut | 1998 | 856; iii, iv (cultural) | The lifts on the Canal du Centre are a series of four hydraulic boat lifts, each one covering a change in level of around 15 m (49 ft) over a distance of 7 km (4.3 mi). They were constructed at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century and are still functioning. Originally serving as a connection between the river basins of the Meuse and the Scheldt to support transport, in particular coal, the channel is now mainly used for leisure navigation. |
| La Grand-Place, Brussels | Brussels | 1998 | 857; ii, iv (cultural) | The Grand-Place, the central square of the City of Brussels, is surrounded by a collection of buildings that reflect the evolution of a highly successful mercantile city. Most buildings were constructed after the end of the 17th century, following the Bombardment of Brussels by the French in 1695. The Town Hall from the 15th century was partially spared and represents a masterpiece of the Brabantine Gothic. Most buildings are in the Baroque style while the building housing the Brussels City Museum was restored in the 19th century in the neo-Gothic style. |
| Belfries of Belgium and France* | several sites | 1999 | 943bis; ii, iv (cultural) | This site comprises a total of 56 belfries, bell towers of civic buildings instead of churches, that were built between the 11th and 17th centuries in different architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. They symbolized the wealth and the influence of the towns. In 1999, 32 belfries in Belgium were originally listed, and in 2005, the site was expanded to include the belfries in France and the belfry in Gembloux in Belgium. Some of the belfries include: Cathedral of Our Lady & Antwerp City Hall in Antwerp, St. Rumbold's Cathedral & City Hall in Mechelen, Belfry of Bruges, Belfry of Kortrijk, Cloth Hall in Ypres (pictured), Schepenhuis in Aalst, Belfry of Ghent, Oudenaarde Town Hall, St. Peter's Church in Leuven, St. Leonard's Church in Zoutleeuw, Belfry of Mons, Belfry of Thuin, Belfry of Tournai, and Belfry of Namur. |
| Historic Centre of Bruges | West Flanders | 2000 | 996; ii, iv, vi (cultural) | During the Middle Ages, Bruges was one of the main commercial and cultural centres of Europe. A prominent feature of the city is a network of canals that played an important role in mercantile traffic. The medieval city plan has been well preserved, as well as several Brick Gothic buildings and architectural ensembles from other periods. In the 15th century, the city was the cradle of the Flemish Primitives, with wealthy patrons supporting painters such as Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling. |
| Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels) | Brussels | 2000 | 1005; i, ii, iv (cultural) | Belgian architect Victor Horta was one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau style. This site comprises four representative houses he designed in Brussels at the end of the 19th century: Hôtel Tassel (interior pictured), Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta. The houses demonstrate the novel aspects of the Art Nouveau style: use of steel and glass in construction, the use of curved lines in decoration, and the introduction of modern technical utilities. |
| Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes | Hainaut | 2000 | 1006; i, iii, iv (cultural) | The flint mines at Spiennes are Europe's largest and earliest neolithic mines. Between the last third of the 5th millennium and the first half of the 3rd millennium, these mines were used to extract flint, a crucial material for stone tools. People were using different extraction techniques, the most prominent being by digging shafts up to 16 m (52 ft) deep. Archaeological remains of tool manufacture have been found on site, illustrating a standardized production and highly skilled craftsmanship. The site is associated with the Michelsberg culture. |
| Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai | Hainaut | 2000 | 1009; ii, iv (cultural) | The church was built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style while the 13th century choir was rebuilt in the Gothic style. The architecture reflect the exchange of influences from France and Rhineland and the building can be seen as a precursor to the grand Gothic cathedrals of the following centuries. |
| Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex | Antwerp | 2005 | 1185; ii, iii, iv, vi (cultural) | The Plantin Press was one of the three leading printing centres in Europe, along with Paris and Venice. Established in the 16th century by Christophe Plantin who was succeeded by Jan Moretus, it was the most prolific European press of the late 16th century and operated until 1867. After that, the building was converted into a museum. The complex preserves the technical printing equipment, an extensive library (pictured), and business archives that document the cultural traditions during the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods. |
| Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe* | Flemish Brabant, Brussels, Walloon Brabant | 2017 | 1133ter; ix (natural) | This the forests of this transnational site, shared among 18 European countries, demonstrate the postglacial expansion process of such forests and exhibit the most complete and comprehensive ecological patterns and processes of pure and mixed stands of European beech across a variety of environmental conditions. The site was originally listed in 2007 and expanded four times. The Sonian Forest in Belgium was added to the list in 2017. |
| Stoclet House | Brussels | 2009 | 1298; i, ii (cultural) | The Stoclet Palace was a private mansion built by architect Josef Hoffmann between 1905 and 1911 in Brussels, for banker Adolphe Stoclet. It is one of the best examples of the Vienna Secession style. The interior was lavishly decorated with works of prominent contemporary artists, including Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser. The building was influential in the development of Art Deco and Modern architecture. |
| Major Mining Sites of Wallonia | Hainaut, Liège | 2012 | 1344rev; ii, iv (cultural) | This site comprises four major coal mining complexes in Belgium, Grand-Hornu Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier (pictured), and Blegny-Mine. While mining activities date back to at least the 17th century, the peak activity took place in the 19th and the second half of the 20th centuries when the mines were among the largest in Europe. Today, they are no longer operational. They preserve technical heritage of the industrial revolution related to mining and heavy industry. The mines were also a meeting point of different cultures, with workers coming from various European countries and Africa. The Bois du Cazier was the site of a major mining disaster in 1956. |
| The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement* | Antwerp | 2016 | 1321; i, ii, vi (cultural) | This transnational site (shared with Argentina, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and India) encompasses 17 works of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier was an important representative of the 20th-century Modernist movement, which introduced new architectural techniques to meet the needs of the changing society. Maison Guiette (pictured) is listed in Belgium. |
| The Great Spa Towns of Europe* | Liège | 2021 | 1613; ii, iii (cultural) | This transnational site comprises 11 spa towns in seven European countries where mineral waters were used for healing and therapeutic purposes before the development of industrial medication in the 19th century. The town of Spa (pictured) is listed in Belgium. |
| Colonies of Benevolence* | Antwerp | 2021 | 1555; ii, iv (cultural) | In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, large sections of the population of the Low Countries were left impoverished. To address the social issues, the Society of Benevolence was founded in 1818 and, under the supervision of Johannes van den Bosch, constructed seven agricultural colonies for families, orphans, beggars, and retired military personnel. This approach was innovative with the combination of education, healthcare and (forced) labour to ensure the self-sufficiency of the colonies. Four colonies are listed, three in the Netherlands and Wortel (one of the houses pictured) in Belgium. |
| Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)* | several sites | 2023 | 1567rev; iii, iv, vi (cultural) | The transnational site, shared with France, includes 139 cemeteries and memorials on the Western Front of the First World War, 43 of which are located in Belgium. They include two Belgian military cemeteries, 26 Commonwealth military cemeteries and monuments, five French military cemeteries and monuments, two German military cemeteries, one Commonwealth-German military cemetery, one French-German military cemetery, one Canadian monument, one Irish monument, the crypt of the Yser tower, the Fort of Loncin, and two military plots. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is pictured. |

## Tentative list

In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. Belgium lists 15 properties on its tentative list.