Austria has 12 properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list — eleven cultural sites and one natural property.
Eleven Austrian properties are inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list to confirm the Austrian contribution to world culture. A further property is on the natural heritage list. The cultural treasures of Austria include architecture, natural beauty, and classical music. Currently, Austrian listed sites include Salzburg, Schönbrunn, Hallstatt-Dachstein, Semmering, Graz, Wachau, Neusiedler See, Vienna, Alpine dwellings, spa towns, Roman frontiers, and ancient beech forests.
Sites in Austria on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List
Currently, Austria has 11 sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list:
Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996)
Salzburg, famously the birthplace of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was the first Austrian property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996. The beautifully located town is included on the list as an excellent example of a European city-state ruled by a bishop.
The old town of Salzburg has numerous ecclesiastical and secular buildings from the Middle Ages to the 19th century but its skyline is mostly typified by Baroque towers and roofs. The fortress Hohensalzburg towers over the old town.
Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996)
Baroque Schönbrunn Palace on the western outskirts of Vienna was built to rival Versailles with a sumptuous palace and huge park. Schloss Schönbrunn served as the primary summer residence of the Habsburg family from the 18th century up to the fall of the monarchy at the end of the First World War in 1918.
Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape
The village of Hallstatt has a superb location at the feet of the Dachstein peak on the banks of the Hallstatt Lake. However, natural beauty has to take a back seat here. The main reasons for Hallstatt’s UNESCO listing in 1997 are the importance of the prehistoric Hallstatt civilization and the exploitation of salt, a source of wealth in the Salzkammergut area from the second millennium BC to the mid-20th century.
Beautiful Hallstatt is a popular day-trip destination from Salzburg and even Vienna. Public transportation to Hallstatt is also relatively easy from either city.
Semmering Railway (added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998)
A superb feat of mid-19th-century engineering, the Simmering 41-km (25-mile) railway line opened isolated Alpine valleys to modern commerce and tourism. Many original viaducts and tunnels are still in daily use.
Austria’s modern railways provide excellent transportation for travelers too. RailJet trains are fast, comfortable, and mostly on time. The Einfach-Raus-Ticket is a superb cheap deal when exploring the Austrian countryside in small groups using local trains.
City of Graz – Historic Centre (1999) and Schloss Eggenberg (2010)
Austria’s second-largest city has a historical town center famous for blending architectural influences from the German-speaking world, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Graz also harmoniously blends styles from the Middle Ages to the present.
Schloss Eggenberg was added to the UNESCO listing in 2010 to strengthen the integrity of the site, which is also celebrated for the clear influence of the presence of the Habsburg nobility on the cultural and artistic development of the urban complex.
Wachau Cultural Landscape in Austria
The Wachau Cultural Landscape incorporates the Danube Valley from Melk to Krems (upstream from Vienna) and was added to the UNESCO list in 2000. In addition to the area’s natural beauty, it has numerous interesting towns and architecture, including the famous Baroque monastery Melk (pictured).
Day pleasure cruises on the Danube are popular in this part of Austria — take the train from Vienna (or Linz and Salzburg) and cruise from Krems or DĂĽrnstein.
Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape (added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001)
The UNESCO listing of the Neusiedlersee lake (2001) is shared by Austria and Hungary as it has been the meeting place of different cultures for eight thousand years. The area has numerous 18th and 19th-century palaces and unique rural architecture.
Historic Centre of Vienna
With a history going back to Celtic settlements, the historic center of Vienna City has an interesting blend of architecture with Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century Gründerzeit buildings particularly prevalent. It has been Europe’s musical capital since the 16th century and musical performances form an integral part of life (and vacations) in this beautiful city.
The center of Vienna listing is currently considered in danger due to development plans for the city that are not in agreement with the criteria on which it was added to the UNESCO list in 2001.
Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011)
A collection of 111 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites (5000 to 500 BC) in the Alpine region. This listing is shared among six Alpine nations with only 5 sites in Austria.
Great Spa Town of Europe – 2021
A transnational inscription shared by seven countries related to the international European Spa culture from the 18th century to the early 1930s. These properties generally had in addition to the thermal baths, a Kurhaus, Kursaal, galleries, and gardens where high society could mix, relax, and discuss business.
Baden bei Wien is the only Austrian property on this list. Therme Wien, only 15 minutes by metro from the center of Vienna, is the largest urban thermal baths spa resort in Europe — it is fun to visit but without historic significance.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes (Western Segment Added in 2021)
The Danube Limes covers 600 km of the western front of the Roman Empire which mostly followed the Danube River in present-day Germany, Austria, and Slovakia. The listing includes roads, fortresses, and Roman settlements.
The eastern part other the frontier — the Lower German Limes — is a separate listing shared by Germany and the Netherlands.
Sites in Austria on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List
Despite Austria’s famous natural beauty, only one site is currently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a natural heritage property:
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (2007, 2011, 2017, 2021)
The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians were originally inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007 but the included regions were expanded several times. The latest modified inscription includes 93 regions from no fewer than 18 countries. Four sections are in Austria — at DĂĽrrenstein and the Kalkalpen region.
This listing celebrates the spread of beech trees in a relatively short period to different climatic and geographical regions after the end of the last ice age.
Around a dozen further Austrian properties are on the tentative list for inclusion on the list. However, most have been on the waiting list for two to three decades.
