As a relatively small city in Germany, Bremen has quite a significant amount of tourists coming to visit. Last week, as I walked into the Marktplatz (market square) I could tell spring was here as the blue skies and the slightly warmer temperature had once again coaxed out the coach loads of tourists. Throughout winter you notice there is a drop in how busy Bremen is. Only a few ardent visitors are prepared to face the whipping northern icy winds that chase you along the Schlachte promenade to get photographs by the River Weser.

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However, once the daffodils are out, so are the tourists. Usually, there are many groups of tourists clustered in the Marktplatz around the Rathaus (town hall) and Roland statue. These are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, one of the 52 located in Germany. UNESCO is the abbreviation for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Across the world, there are 1,099 UNESCO sites and Germany comes 5th in the world for the highest number of sites, following Spain, France, China and Italy. That’s pretty impressive, right? We’re living in a country brimming with cultural and natural heritage.

Bremen Rathaus guarded by the Roland statue. PHOTO: Sarah E

Once you’ve lived in a place for a significant amount of time, you become accustomed to the location and forget all that it has to offer as you go about your daily business. Recently, I visited another UNESCO World Heritage Site whilst on holiday in Sri Lanka. The ancient city of Sigiriya, also known as ‘Lion’s rock’, was announced as a UNESCO site in 1982. Standing atop the rock after a mighty climb, looking at the amazing view, I realised that whilst on holiday I seek out places like this to visit but take for granted what I have on my doorstep, or within my host country. With this realisation, I decided to look into the UNESCO sites around Germany.

Of the 52 sites that are in Germany, I thought I would have visited around ten, but I was wrong. I can only tick off the following four:

The Hanseatic city of Lübeck
Lübeck is a city in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for over 30 years as it was inscribed in 1987. I visited the city for a weekend break in 2016. On arriving I saw the recognisable Holstentor (Holsten Gate towers) that are the gateway to the city and they have stayed with me since. Although a smaller city, it has a lot of charm and is a very pleasant place to spend a weekend, plus you can visit the coastal resort of Travemünde (a Lübeck borough) on the Baltic Sea by taking a short bus ride or car trip.

The Holstentor in Lübeck. PHOTO: Sarah E

Cologne Cathedral
The cathedral in North Rhine-Westphalia is quite an impressive site so it is no wonder it was inscribed in 1996. As spectacular as it is from the outside, be sure to take a look inside, you can take a guided tour in English for a small fee. When I visited in November it was surrounded by the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) so I got a Glühwein (mulled wine) and took in the cathedral’s splendour.

Berlin’s Museumsinsel
Upon museum island, there are five of Berlin’s top museums: the Pergamonmuseum, Bode-Museum, Neues Museum (New Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) and Altes Museum (Old Museum). Obviously, there is much more to Berlin than Museum Island. The German Way’s Berlin and Potsdam Guide is a good place to start for finding out what else to see and do. To be honest I preferred taking the boat cruise along the River Spree and seeing Museuminsel from the water.

Bremen Town Hall and Roland Statue
Das Bremer Rathaus (town hall) and Roland statue jointly joined the list in 2004. The Roland statue is over 600 years old. According to legend, Bremen will remain free and independent as long as Roland looks over the city so let’s hope it remains in place for 600 years to come. The Rathaus is the only European town hall built in the late Middle Ages that has not been destroyed or altered. It also has a gourmet restaurant and one of Germany’s oldest wine cellars underneath, many reasons to visit.

Guarding the Roland Statue in Bremen. PHOTO: Sarah E

Considering I’ve lived in Germany for three years and witnessed four of 44 sites, and lived in the UK for 29 years and ticked off nine of the 31 in my home country, I’m doing well at exploring Germany’s heritage. Conveniently, Deutsche Welle (DW) has just launched ‘World Heritage 360‘, an app that lets you explore the sites and witness panoramic views without having to step foot outside, although I’d much prefer to see them in person.

Currently, there are 14 sites in Germany that are being considered and may join the 44 existing sites in the coming years. It’s a long process which involves many stages before it is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Firstly, the nominations from the state have to be put forward. In the case of Germany, 16 states put forward the nominations, in the UK nominations come from central Government. An expert panel will review the lengthy applications and then makes its recommendations to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, who meet annually. The experts from 21 nations will make the final decision. It can take up to 18 months before it’s announced who’s made the list.

The World Heritage Committee came together in Azerbaijan in 2019 to decide which sites would join the existing 1,092. The latest place in Germany until then to make it through was Naumberg Cathedral, which is in the eastern part of the Thuringian basin, and the Archaeological Border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke, both were inscribed in 2018. One historical site on the tentative list is Neuschwanstein Castle, which I thought would have been inscribed a long time ago because it’s a popular tourist attraction already, but that doesn’t mean it gets the seal of approval from UNESCO.

Is there a place that’s not on the tentative list that you think should be considered?

-Sarah E