The UNESCO World Heritage Day 2025
On June 1, 2025, we will celebrate 20 years of UNESCO World Heritage Day! Under the motto “Communicate, connect, inspire”, the German UNESCO Commission and the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Germany Association are inviting all 54 World Heritage Sites in Germany to celebrate this anniversary with hands-on activities, special tours and other events such as free special tours, exhibitions, discussions, concerts, art projects and hands-on activities for children and young people.
Our motto in 2025: Communicate, connect, inspire - 20 years of UNESCO World Heritage Day
The motto on June 1, 2025 “Communicate, connect, inspire - 20 years of UNESCO World Heritage Day” illustrates what has characterized the action day for 20 years: the communication of knowledge, the creation of connections between people and cultures as well as the common goal of awakening and strengthening enthusiasm and commitment for World Heritage sites among the general public, the media and politics. Over the past two decades, World Heritage sites in Germany have helped to deepen understanding of our natural and cultural heritage through their active participation. They have used UNESCO World Heritage Day to give visitors an insight into the special mission of World Heritage sites and to make the unique features and treasures of the respective sites tangible.
The events on UNESCO World Heritage Day offer a varied and individually tailored program with special guided tours, exhibitions and information markets. Visitors can experience what it actually means to be a World Heritage Site and what issues and tasks the local stakeholders deal with on a daily basis. They will also learn how the UNESCO World Heritage designation ensures that all people around the world feel committed to common World Heritage goals across all national, religious, ethnic and other borders. These are international understanding, sustainability and peacekeeping.
The UNESCO World Heritage Day offers visitors from near and far the opportunity to discover the multifaceted nature of World Heritage.
Get active
Stakeholders, institutions and associations from all World Heritage sites in Germany can once again participate in the UNESCO World Heritage Day program in 2025 using analog and digital formats. The campaign website unesco-welterbetag.de serves as a central contact point for this purpose.
From January 1st to May 1st, 2025, organizers of events can not only upload livestreams, interviews, digital tours or other virtual formats from their World Heritage sites; they can also advertise their events nationwide in the central calendar as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Day.
Detailed information on how to actively participate in the UNESCO World Heritage Day as well as impulses and questions on the topic of sustainability can be found in the respective section for event organizers.
An overview of all activities and events at the 54 World Heritage sites in Germany can be found in the digital calendar from February 1st, 2025.
Background
There are currently 1,223 UNESCO World Heritage sites in 168 countries worldwide. 54 of them are located in Germany. Together, they tell diverse stories about how people live, reside and work around the world and provide fascinating insights into the development of our planet.
On the UNESCO World Heritage Day, at the invitation of the German Commission for UNESCO and the German UNESCO World Heritage Sites Association, the World Heritage Sites in Germany offer a diverse program that invites visitors to explore and discover their cultural and natural heritage. There are guided tours and lectures, music and activities, on site as well as in the digital space. They not only raise public awareness of World Heritage Sites as places of particularly careful preservation, but also strengthen their role as mediators of UNESCO goals such as international understanding, sustainability and peace.
