Welcome to the integrated web portal for UNESCO’s Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative, supported by the International Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage and by the International Astronomical Union through its Commission C4 on World Heritage and Astronomy. We encourage professional users to register and log in in order to view detailed information, for example on preparing a nomination dossier.
Short case studies
Short case studies follow the format used in the ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Study on Astronomical Heritage (see right). Examples:
Temple of Hathor at Dandara, Egypt
Ulugh Beg's observatory,
Uzbekistan
Dengfeng observatory, China
Jantar Mantar at Jaipur, India
Struve Geodetic Arc, Norway and 9 other countries
University of Illinois Observatory United States of America
Sydney Observatory, Australia
Einstein Tower, Germany
Atituiti Ruga, French Polynesia
East Alpine starlight area, Austria
You can browse the full list of the case studies as well.
Astronomy and world heritage
UNESCO’s Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative exists to help identify, safeguard and promote cultural properties connected with astronomy.
Register and log in to see detailed information on preparing a nomination dossier for the World Heritage List.
Full case studies
Full case studies, structured as sections of draft dossiers, aim to highlight issues that might arise if State Parties were to prepare nomination dossiers highlighting the astronomical values of the properties concerned. Examples:
Stonehenge World Heritage Property, United Kingdom
Chankillo, Peru
Risco Caído and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria, Spain
Observatoire de Paris, France (in French), also Short case study in English and French)
Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Pic du Midi de Bigorre Observatory, France (separately in English and French)
Windows to the Universe, Chile, Spain and USA
Astronomical timing of Irrigation in Oman, Oman
Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, New Zealand
Coming shortly…
Seven-stone antas, Portugal and Spain
Propose a case study
Learn about how to propose a new case study to be published on the portal.
Regional and national resources
We are developing a list of astronomical heritage resources at the regional or national level that are available on other internet sites. If you have items that you would like added to this list, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who is helping us to improve this section.
IAU Heritage Commission
At its 29th General Assembly in 2015, the IAU created a new Commission (C4) on World Heritage and Astronomy. See the Commission’s website for further details.
Meeting reports
Brief reports are available on the August 2015 meetings “Astronomical heritage: processing the UNESCO–IAU initiative” and “Hawaiian, Oceanic and global cultural astronomy: tangible and intangible heritage”.