It is important for every community to tend and cultivate its history, traditions and culture and pass them on to new generations. This heritage is essential to our understanding of our past and our planning for the future, but it can find itself under threat of destruction by natural processes as well as by social and economic change. Some cultural and natural treasures are only of local interest, while others are important to all mankind because they are unique and special. It was to protect these more important treasures that in 1972 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization established the World Heritage Committee and ratified the "Agreement to protect the cultural and natural heritage of the world". That led to the creation of the World Heritage Committee and to the adoption of the document entitled "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage", which has since been ratified by 179 states. There were 788 different heritage sites from 134 countries on the list by 2004. The original two categories - cultural and natural heritage - have been combined into one "cultural landscape" category. This category is reserved for those sites where the natural and man-made environment are closely integrated and form a unit that is worth protecting. The member states themselves decide which sites they will recommend for inclusion on the World Heritage List, but it is the World Heritage Committee which, based on these recommendations, makes the final decision. Hungary is proud to claim eight sites that qualified for the world heritage list of outstanding value. We also give a brief introduction to places which are on the candidate list and which we hope will become Hungarian World Heritage Sites in the future. We wish you a fulfilling and enjoyable visit!

Hungarian National Tourist Office
www.hungary.com