Germany is home to yet another World Heritage Site: A 600-kilometre-long section of the Danube Limes, which stretches from southern Germany to Slovakia and once marked the frontiers of the Roman Empire, has been added to UNESCO’s list of outstanding sights and attractions. 

51 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany

The responsible committee of the UN Organization for Education, Science, Culture and Communication (UNESCO) announced the decision last Friday at its meeting in Fuzhou, China, taking the total number of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List to 1.154. Germany is now home to 51 cultural and natural sites of “outstanding universal value."

Speaking after the decision, Maria Böhmer, President of the German Commission for UNESCO, said: “For the Romans, the Danube was not just a natural border, it was also an important connection route for goods and, above all, for ideas. The Danube Limes not only separated, but also connected, very different worlds… It is an outstanding testimony to Roman civilisation, whose strength has always been to absorb external influences.” 

Glimpse into life in Roman Empire in Germany

The section transcribed by UNESCO - the western segment of the Danube Limes - formed part of the Roman Frontier that encircled the Mediterranean Sea. It runs over 600 kilometres through Lower Bavaria, Austria and Slovakia, and is peppered with ancient sites, including roads, legionary fortresses and their associated settlements, small forts, and temporary camps, and gives a fascinating insight into the lives of soldiers stationed here thousands of years ago. 

It is the fifth site in Germany to be honoured in UNESCO’s most recent session, after four successful applications for the towns of Bad Elms, Baden-Baden and Bad Kissingen, which were recognised for their historic spas, as well as the Lower Germanic Limes, the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, and the Jewish sites in Speyer, Worms and Mainz.