List of World Heritage Sites in Belgium


The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. The Kingdom of Belgium accepted the convention on 24 July 1996, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
Currently, there are 13 sites in Belgium inscribed on the list and 16 sites on the tentative list. The first sites in Belgium to be added to the list were the Flemish Béguinages, the Grand Place in Brussels and the lifts on the Canal du Centre, all three of them inscribed at the 22nd UNESCO session in 1998. Further sites were added in 1999, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2017. In total, there are 12 cultural sites, as determined by the organization's selection criteria. The Sonian Forest, as a part of the extension to the site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, is the only natural site. Three of the sites are transnational entries.

List of sites

The table lists information about each World Heritage Site:
NameImageLocationPeriodUNESCO dataDescription
Belfries of Belgium and France*A total of 56 belfries are listed as World Heritage. Among them are 33 Belgian belfries: Antwerp, Herentals, Lier, Mechelen, Bruges, Diksmuide, Kortrijk, Lo-Reninge, Menen, Nieuwpoort, Roeselare, Tielt, Veurne, Ypres, Aalst, Dendermonde, Eeklo, Ghent, Oudenaarde, Leuven, Tienen, Zoutleeuw, Sint-Truiden, Tongeren, Binche, Charleroi, Mons, Thuin, Tournai, Gembloux and Namur.
Flemish BéguinagesBéguinages or begijnhoven are collections of small buildings used by Beguines. These were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries, comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world. The list includes 13 béguinages: Bruges, Dendermonde, Diest, Ghent, Hoogstraten, Kortrijk, Leuven, Lier, Mechelen, Sint-Truiden, Tongeren and Turnhout.
Historic Centre of BruggeBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the north-west of Belgium. Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam, it is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North". Bruges is economically important thanks to its port. At one time, it was considered by some to be the "chief commercial city" of the world.
La Grand-Place, BrusselsThe Grand Place is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures.
Major Mining Sites of WalloniaDuring the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, mining and the heavy industry that relied on coal formed a major part of Belgium's economy. Most of this mining and industry took place in the sillon industriel, a strip of land running across the country where many of the largest cities in Wallonia are located. The named locations of this World Heritage Site are all situated in or near the area of the sillon industriel. Mining activities in the area declined during the 20th century, and today the four mines listed are no longer operational. Nowadays they are each open to visitors as museums.
Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor HortaThe architect Victor Horta was well known for creating buildings in the Art Nouveau style fashionable at the time. Four of his most notable surviving works, Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde and Maison & Atelier Horta, are listed as World Heritage Sites.
Neolithic Flint Mines at SpiennesNeolithicThe Neolithic flint mines at Spiennes are Europe's largest and earliest neolithic mines, located close to the Walloon village of Spiennes, southeast of Mons. The mines were active during the mid and late Neolithic.
Notre-Dame Cathedral in TournaiNotre-Dame Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai. Begun in the 12th century on even older foundations, the building combines the work of three design periods with striking effect: the heavy and severe character of the Romanesque nave contrasting remarkably with the Transitional work of the transept and the fully developed Gothic of the choir. The transept is the most distinctive part of the building, with its cluster of five bell towers and apsidal ends.
Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum ComplexThe Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp about early-modern printing in general and the famous printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus in particular. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Vrijdagmarkt.
Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe*The Sonian Forest is the only Belgian component to the multinational inscription 'Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe'. The list includes 63 beech forests in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine.
Stoclet HouseThe Stoclet Palace was a private mansion built by architect Josef Hoffmann between 1905 and 1911 in Brussels, for banker and art lover Adolphe Stoclet. It was one of the most refined and luxurious private houses of the 20th century and was lavishly decorated inside, including works by the artist Gustav Klimt.
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement*The Maison Guiette is the Belgian component of the multinational inscription 'The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement'. The building was listed among 16 other buildings of Le Corbusier in Argentina, France, Germany, India, Japan and Switzerland.
Maison Guiette was designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier in 1926 and it was finished in 1927. It served as the home and workplace of Belgian painter René Guiette. It is the only remaining building designed by Le Corbusier in Belgium. It is also known as Les Peupliers, named after the street where the building is situated.
The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le RoeulxThe lifts on the old Canal du Centre are a series of four hydraulic boat lifts near the town of La Louvière in the Sillon industriel of Wallonia. Along a particular stretch of the Canal du Centre, which connects the river basins of the Meuse and the Scheldt, the water level rises by. To overcome this difference, the 15.4-metre lift at Houdeng-Goegnies was opened in 1888, and the other three lifts, each with a rise, opened in 1917.

Tentative list

In addition to the sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list. As of 2019, Belgium lists 18 properties on its tentative list.
NameImageLocationUNESCO dataDescription
Ghent historic town centre
Antwerp historic town centre
Historic buildings of the University of Leuven
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
Bloemenwerf by Henry van de Velde
Palace of Justice
High Fens landscape
Roman road from Bavay to Tongeren
Prince-Bishops' Palace
Battlefield of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo Cyclorama
The Mosane CitadelsIncludes the citadelles in Dinant, Namur and Huy.
Hoge Kempen landscape
Koloniën van Weldadigheid Together with The Netherlands. In total 7 colonies were selected for the list, among them are the colonies of Merksplas and Wortel in Belgium.
Cemeteries and memorials of the Great War*Together with France. A total of 105 elements were selected for the list in France and Belgium. 25 sites are situated in Belgium.
Great Spas of Europe*Collaboration with Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom. The city of Spa is selected to be part of the property.
Neanderthal Fossil Sites in Wallonia
Inscription includes the Schmerling Caves in Flémalle, the Sclayn Cave in Andenne, the Goyet Caves in Gesves and the Spy Cave in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre. On the included sites important Neanderthal fossils were found which contributed heavily in the research to the Neanderthal human.
Hospital Our Lady with the Rose