the moon, ukraine and gaza among 25 sites on the world monuments watch list for 2025

the moon, ukraine and gaza among 25 sites on the world monuments watch list for 2025

2025 World Monuments Watch list with gaza and the moon

 

World Monuments Fund (WMF) announces the 25 sites on the 2025 World Monuments Watch. The international, non-profit organization first launched the list in 1996. It is a biennial, nomination-based program to build public awareness on how important it is to preserve historic sites and heritage. Among the 25 sites on the 2025 World Monuments Watch list, the Moon makes it for the first time. WMF says this is a way to recognize and preserve humanity’s first steps beyond earth, now that researchers and entities keep testing its properties. This year’s Watch includes a wide variety of cultural heritage sites facing major challenges. 

 

The organization enlists Gaza’s Historic Urban Fabric in Palestine; Ukraine’s Teacher’s House in Kyiv; the Historic Lighthouses of Maine in the US; Africa’s Swahili Coast; the Old City of Antakya, Turkey; and the Chapel of the Sorbonne in France, to name a few. In total, the 25 sites represent 29 countries across five continents and the Moon. These historic sites and landscapes are also located in Albania, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Tanzania. The list is a result of over 200 nominations reviewed and selected by an independent panel of international heritage experts.

2025 world monuments watch
Cinema Studio Namibe | photo by Walter Fernandes; all images courtesy of World Monuments Fund unless stated

 

 

Regional trends from climate change to conflict

 

As the heritage experts review the nominations for the 2025 World Monuments Watch, they find specific regional trends. Climate change is a critical issue for sites and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, while it’s the rapid urbanization in Asia and the Pacific. Nominations from Europe and North America have issues with insufficient funding and resources, and those from Latin America and the Caribbean report tourism as a main concern.

 

Conflict and natural disaster are the pressing challenges around the Middle East and North Africa regions. After the announcement of the 2025 World Monuments Watch list, the non-profit organization’s team is set to evaluate the needs of the nominees and co-design plans for advocacy, preservation, and fundraising. After the funds are raised, the World Monuments Fund expects to collaborate with local partners in these sites to develop a preservation project to help maintain these historic places. So far, WMF has secured two million USD in funding.

2025 world monuments watch
ruins of Qasr al-Basha after a December 2023 airstrike, January 2024 | photo courtesy of Getty/Anadolu

 

 

Complete list of the 2025 World Monuments Watch

 

The complete 2025 World Monuments Watch list includes the Monasteries of the Drino Valley in Albania; the Cinema Studio Namibe in Angola; the Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System around Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; the Buddhist Grottoes of Maijishan and Yungang in China; the Swahili Coast Heritage Sites in Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania; the Chapel of the Sorbonne in France; and the Serifos Historic Mining Landscape in Greece. The remaining 2025 World Monuments Watch lists the Bhuj Historic Water Systems and the Musi River Historic Buildings in India; and the Noto Peninsula Heritage Sites in Japan. 

 

The list also includes the Erdene Zuu Buddhist Monastery in Mongolia; the Jewish Heritage of Debdou in Morocco; the Chief Ogiamien’s House in Nigeria; the Gaza Historic Urban Fabric in Palestine; the Waru Waru Agricultural Fields in Peru; and the Terracotta Sculptures of Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal; the Ruins of Old Belchite in Spain; the Water Reservoirs of the Tunis Medina in Tunisia; the City of Antakya in Turkey; the Kyiv Teacher’s House in Ukraine; the Belfast Assembly Rooms in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; the Great Trading Path and the Historic Lighthouses of Maine in the United States; the Barotse Floodplain Cultural Landscape in Zambia; and the Moon.

2025 world monuments watch
the Ramkund stepwell near Hamirsar Lake has stored water for Bhuj inhabitants for centuries

2025 world monuments watch
aerial landscape of a Waru Waru agricultural field

2025 world monuments watch
the Three Buddha temples at Erdene Zuu house a collection of Buddhist artifacts

2025 world monuments watch
Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the Moon

world-monuments-watch-list-2025-moon-gaza-lighthouses-maine-designboom-ban

Snow-covered ruins of Old Belchite

rubble from the Antakya earthquake
rubble from the Antakya earthquake

Teacher's House in central Kyiv, prior to sustaining damage in the war
Teacher’s House in central Kyiv, prior to sustaining damage in the war

Storm surf at Portland Breakwater Light (“Bug Light”), South Portland | photo by Dominic Trapani
Storm surf at Portland Breakwater Light (“Bug Light”), South Portland | photo by Dominic Trapani

world-monuments-watch-list-2025-moon-gaza-lighthouses-maine-designboom-ban2

mining loading bridge at Mega Livadi, Serifos | photo by Orestis Karamanlis

 

1/14
Terracotta sculptures onament the monastery's Reliquary Chapel
Terracotta sculptures onament the monastery's Reliquary Chapel
Facade of the Assembly Rooms in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter | photo by Joe Laverty
Facade of the Assembly Rooms in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter | photo by Joe Laverty
section of road with stone walls facing Lake Titicaca in Pomata, Puno, Peru | photo by Edgardo Solórzano, Archivo del Proyecto Qhapaq Ñan del Ministerio de Cultura del Perú
section of road with stone walls facing Lake Titicaca in Pomata, Puno, Peru | photo by Edgardo Solórzano, Archivo del Proyecto Qhapaq Ñan del Ministerio de Cultura del Perú
exterior of Yungang's western caves
exterior of Yungang's western caves
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Mingul | photo by Wandrille Potez
Monastery of the Transfiguration, Mingul | photo by Wandrille Potez
traditional macuti house on Mozambique Island
traditional macuti house on Mozambique Island
the Lozi people use a network of built canals for travel, transport, and rituals
the Lozi people use a network of built canals for travel, transport, and rituals
damaged historic building in Kuroshima Preservation District of Wajima
damaged historic building in Kuroshima Preservation District of Wajima
Sorbonne Chapel's dome overlooks the city of Paris
Sorbonne Chapel's dome overlooks the city of Paris
earthen walls form a courtyard on the building's western side | photo by Olatubosun Adeshina
earthen walls form a courtyard on the building's western side | photo by Olatubosun Adeshina
colonial infrastructure such as highways and railroads, visible in the background, were built overtop of and alongside the historic Trading Path | photo by Roderico Y. Díaz, Iximché Media
colonial infrastructure such as highways and railroads, visible in the background, were built overtop of and alongside the historic Trading Path | photo by Roderico Y. Díaz, Iximché Media
tourists visiting the Maijishan grottoes
tourists visiting the Maijishan grottoes
waves crash along a seawall on Mozambique Island
waves crash along a seawall on Mozambique Island
dome in Indo-Saracenic style, part of the larger Osmania General Hospital complex along the Musi River, Hyderabad
dome in Indo-Saracenic style, part of the larger Osmania General Hospital complex along the Musi River, Hyderabad

project info:

 

name: 2025 World Monuments Watch

organization: World Monuments Fund (WMF) | @worldmonumentsfund

KEEP UP WITH OUR DAILY AND WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS
suscribe on designboom
- see sample
- see sample
suscribe on designboom

architecture in albania (29)

architecture in china (1905)

architecture in france (662)

architecture in india (360)

architecture in japan (1597)

architecture in mongolia (8)

architecture in morocco (26)

architecture in nigeria (11)

architecture in palestine (6)

architecture in peru (18)

architecture in portugal (393)

architecture in spain (695)

architecture in tanzania (19)

architecture in the US (1556)

architecture in turkey (82)

architecture in ukraine (44)

human fascination with the moon (66)

X
5