New UNESCO heritage sites in the Balkans

Slovenia, Croatia and Albania. Three beautiful countries in the Balkans. Breath-taking nature, rich history and culture, friendly people. No wonder tourism is booming. People are amazed by the natural beauties and preserved heritage. Just recently, new cultural and natural sites have been added to UNESCO World Heritage List.

At the 41st session in Krakow, UNESCO inscribed 63 new areas of ancient and primeval beech forest in 10 countries onto the World Heritage List, among them the Krokar virgin forest and the Snežnik-Ždrocle forest reserve in Slovenia, which have joined the Škocjan Caves, and the first two Albanian natural sites, Albania’s Gashi River and Rrajce. Albania already has a town of Berat on the UNESCO site. Nicknamed the city of a thousand windows, Berat is located on the Osum River in the heart of one of the Albania’s wine-making regions. Its most striking feature are white Ottoman houses climbing up the hill to the castle, hence the name. Apart from that, there is also the ancient Berat Castle, one of the city’s most well-known attractions.

In May, two more historic sites in Croatia made it to UNESCO World Heritage Site List: St. Nicholas Fortress in Šibenik and the historic defensive walls of Zadar.

The fortified walls of Zadar, built by the Venetians in the 16th century as a defense against the Turkish invasions. Today, only the main part of the walls is preserved, including eight gates built by the well-known architects, e.g. Michele Sanmicheli.

There are four forts in Šibenik and only the fort of St. Nicholas is located on the island of Ljuljevac, at the entrance of the St. Anthony channel. The 16-century fortress is one of the best-preserved defense buildings in Dalmatia.

Apart from the two newly listed UNESCO world heritage sites, Croatia boasts 7 other UNESCO sites, which take you through the exciting history of this magnificent country. Discover Diocletian’s Palace in Split or the Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, take a walk through the Old Town of Dubrovnik, often referred to as “the Pearl of the Adriatic”, or through the historic part of Trogir, where a must-see is the Trogir Cathedral, the most significant example of Romanesque and Gothic art in Croatia. If you do some good old island hopping, do not miss out on Stari Grad Plain on Hvar, where vineyards and olive groves have been preserved since the first Ancient Greek colonies. In Istria, stroll through the town of Poreč, which hides the Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, or head a bit further inland, to Plitvice National Park with its spectacular foaming waterfalls and turquoise lakes, which turns into a frozen fairy-tale land in winter.