Swiss UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Brief Description

Caption □ UNESCO World Cultural Heritage □ UNESCO World Natural Heritage □ UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Entlebuch

Information source - www.whc.unesco.org/en/list - Brochure “The UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch ”, UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch

Benedictine Convent of St John at Müstair The Convent of Müstair, which stands in a valley in the , is a good example of Christian monastic renovation during the Carolingian period. It has Switzerland's greatest series of figurative murals, painted c. A.D. 800, along with Romanesque frescoes and stuccoes.

Convent of St Gall The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. From 1755 to 1768, the conventual area was rebuilt in Baroque style. The cathedral and the library are the features of this remarkable architectural complex, reflecting 12 centuries of continuous activity.

Old City of Berne Founded in the 12th century on a hill site surrounded by the River, Berne developed over the centuries in line with a an exceptionally coherent planning concept. The buildings in the Old City, dating from a variety of periods, include 15th-century arcades and 16th-century fountains. Most of the medieval town was restored in the 18th century but it has retained its original character.

Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-Town of Bellinzona The Bellinzona site consists of a group of fortifications grouped around the castle of Castelgrande, which stands on a rocky peak looking out over the entire Ticino valley. Running from the castle, a series of fortified walls protect the ancient town and block the passage through the valley. A second castle (Montebello) forms an integral part of the fortifications, while a third but separate castle (Sasso Corbaro) was built on an isolated rocky promontory south-east of the other fortifications.

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. The present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It is an outstanding example of a centuries-long interaction between people and their environment, developed to optimize local resources so as to produce a highly valued wine that has always been important to the economy.

Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes, brings together two historic railway lines. Opened in 1904, the Albula line is 67 km long. It features an impressive set of structures including 42 tunnels and 144 viaducts/bridges. The 61 km Bernina pass line features 13 tunnels/ galleries and 52 viaducts/bridges. The property is exemplary of the use of the railway to overcome the isolation of settlements in the Central Alps. It constitutes an outstanding technical, architectural and environmental ensemble and embodies architectural and civil engineering achievements.

La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle, Watchmaking Town Planning The site of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watchmaking town-planning consists of two towns situated close to one another in a remote environment in the Swiss Jura mountains. Their planning and buildings reflect watchmakers’ need of rational organization. Planned in the early 19th century, the towns owed their existence to this single industry. Their layout along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops are intermingled reflects the needs of the local watchmaking culture that dates to the 17th century. The site presents outstanding examples of mono-industrial manufacturing- towns which are well preserved and still active.

Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps This serial property of 111 small individual sites encompasses the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements in and around the Alps built from around 5000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. Excavations have provided insight into life in prehistoric times Europe and the way communities interacted with their environment. Fifty-six of the sites are located in Switzerland. The settlements are a unique group of exceptionally well-preserved and culturally rich archaeological sites, which constitute one of the most important sources for the study of early agrarian societies in the region.

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch

The area of the natural World Heritage property of Jungfrau - Aletsch mesures up to 82,400 ha. The site provides an outstanding example of the formation of the High Alps, including the most glaciated part of the mountain range and the largest glacier in Eurasia. It features a wide diversity of ecosystems. The site is of outstanding universal value both for its beauty and for the wealth of information about the formation of mountains and glaciers, the ongoing climate change. It is also invaluable in terms of the ecological and biological processes it illustrates, notably through plan succession.

Monte San Giorgio The pyramid-shaped, wooded mountain of Monte San Giorgio beside Lake Lugano is regarded as the best fossil record of marine life from the Triassic Period (245–230 million years ago). The sequence records life in a tropical lagoon environment, sheltered and partially separated from the open sea by an offshore reef. Diverse marine life flourished within this lagoon, including reptiles, fish, bivalves and crustaceans. Because the lagoon was near land, the remains also include land-based fossils of reptiles resulting in an extremely rich source of fossils.

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona The Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona in the north-eastern part of the country covers a mountainous area of 32,850 ha which features seven peaks that rise above 3,000 m. The area displays an exceptional example of mountain building through continental collision and features excellent geological sections through tectonic thrust, i.e. the process whereby older, deeper rocks are carried onto younger, shallower rocks. The site is distinguished by the clear three-dimensional exposure of the structures and processes that characterize this phenomenon and has been a key site for the geological sciences since the 18th century.

Biosphere Reserve Entlebuch With its strategy of cooperation, participation and communication, the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch has come to be seen as something of a model region in the eyes of other biosphere reserves around the world. People living here in this tract of pre-alpine nature have learned to think in terms of ‘value creation chains’. Local groups and forums bring ideas to fruition that they have previously discussed in formal sessions. Those involved are aiming to negotiate innovative solutions fairly and equitably – all to the benefit of the environment, the economy and society.

More Information on all Sites and Biosphere: - UNESCO Destination Switzerland, www.unesco-destination-schweiz.ch - World Heritage Convention, www.whc.unesco.org - Swiss UNESCO Commission, www.unesco.ch