Małopolska UNESCO World Heritage Route

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The UNESCO World Heritage List was created in 1972. Following its name, the idea is to protect the most valuable monuments and regions of the world, important not only from historical but also from cultural and natural points of view. Being included in this prestigious list, which the UNESCO World Heritage List has become, is not easy. Nominated sites must meet several criteria, and a special committee decides on their inclusion in the register.

A necessary but not sufficient condition is the exceptional and universal value of the nominated site and its authenticity. Besides goods of nature and culture, a cultural and natural heritage known as a cultural landscape has been distinguished since 1992. It expresses the interdependence between humans and their natural surroundings. In Poland, the architectural and park complex in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is an example of such a place.

The variety of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Voivodeship proves the unique importance of Małopolska's cultural heritage. These include:

The Old Town in Kraków,
Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination camp,
The Salt Mine in Wieliczka,
The Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka,
The Salt Mine in Bochnia,
The Architectural and Park-Landscape Complex in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska,
Four wooden churches: in Dębno Podhalańskie, Sękowa, Binarowa and Lipnica Murowana,
Four wooden Orthodox churches: in Brunary Wyżne, Kwiatoń, Owczary and Powroźnik.

We invite you to get acquainted with the list of all objects within the territory of Poland inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Małopolska UNESCO Route is a car route presenting all the monuments inscribed in the UNESCO list of cultural heritage in Małopolska. It is over 300 km long.