UNESCO World Heritage

UNESCO World Heritage is unique

From the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon to the Wadden Sea and our very own Rietveld Schröder House. All over the world you will find buildings and (natural) areas that are so special and significant that they must be protected and preserved for future generations. At this point, there are around 1,200 locations on the World Heritage List. Here you can find the complete list.

Connecting through stories

Each location tells an inspiring story that touches people all over the world. By telling and passing on these stories, history remains alive and people worldwide learn to appreciate each other's culture and nature. World Heritage connects and thus contributes to respect for each other.

25 years of World Heritage by 2025

A century after the construction of the house, it is still a source of inspiration. The Rietveld Schröder House is a highlight of modern architecture according to the ideas of the De Stijl art movement. The 1924 residence has a unique design with horizontal and vertical surfaces and lines and use of primary colours. Furniture maker Gerrit Rietveld designed the house for and together with Truus Schröder as an exuberant experiment with a radical use of space. The Rietveld Schröder House is so unique that it gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2000.

Visit World Heritage in the Netherlands

In total, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has thirteen World Heritage Sites. These special locations tell something about the story and position of the Netherlands and the Dutch in the world in terms of water, society and design. This includes:

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About UNESCO

Only UNESCO can grant World Heritage status. But the organization does much more than just protect heritage. UNESCO is also the United Nations Education and Science Organization. Through international cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture, UNESCO is committed to increasing respect for each other and contributing to peace in the world.

Rietveld Schröder House Management Plan 2024-2034

This management plan describes what is known as Outstanding Universal Values - cultural and/or natural values that are so exceptional that they transcend national borders and are of common interest to current and future generations of all humanity. In 1972, UNESCO laid down the World Heritage Guidelines in the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. In 1992, the Netherlands signed this treaty and committed itself to preserving the World Heritage on its territory. Part of this is that a management plan is required for each World Heritage Site. In the management plan the approach for the coming years is described (2024-2034).