The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Denmark ratified the convention on 25 July 1979, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list.[2]
The first site in Denmark to be added to the list was Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church, inscribed at the 18th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in 1994 in Phuket, Thailand.[3] Denmark has eleven sites inscribed on the list and a further six on the tentative list. Three sites, Kujataa, Aasivissuit – Nipisat, and Ilulissat Icefjord, are located in Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.[4]
Eight sites in Denmark are cultural and three are natural.[2] The natural site Wadden Sea is shared with Germany and the Netherlands. In 2014, the Danish part of the site was added to the existing site in the other two countries, listed in 2009.[5]