UNESCO world attractions with a mysterious and dark history

We present to you global sights, ranked at UNESCO World Heritage List, whose past is quite unusual.

Archaeological site of Delphi (Delphi, Greece)

Delphi the surrounding stunning mountain scenery and cultural importance to the ancient Greeks make it one of the most popular UNESCO heritage sites, but the sanctuary has not always been so numerous throughout history. When Christianity became the main religion in Greece, the temple and structures were destroyed and the sanctuary abandoned.

Soon after, locals built the village of Kastri on the ruins of the former sanctuary, using some of the historic marble for about 100 homes. The historical value of the sanctuary was almost lost, but in the 19th century, historians began to visit the village more often, after which they came to the discovery that Delphi once stood here. After many years of excavations and the relocation of Kastri villagers to the neighboring area, UNESCO declared it a world heritage site in 1987.

Stari Most (Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The arched Ottoman bridge that stands today in Mostar crosses the Neretva river and connects the two parts of the city. But the bridge is no longer the one that was originally created here. The structure was first built in 1557 and is considered an important example of Balkan Islamic architecture.

However, it was used as a military supply line during the Yugoslav war and was therefore heavily shelled, causing it to collapse into the water in 1993. UNESCO and the international community immediately intervened with plans for its restoration, which was completed in 2004. The bridge and the old town were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List the following year.

Borobudur Temple (Java, Indonesia)

The Buddhist temple of Borobudur, built in the eighth and ninth centuries, is considered a religious center. The temple was abandoned during the time when Islam prevailed in the region, and it was also covered by volcanic ash from a nearby volcano and the lush flora of the surrounding rainforest. It was almost forgotten until 1811, when excavations began at the initiative of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

More than a century later, in the 1970s, UNESCO and the Indonesian government restored the historically important temple and pledged to preserve it for future generations.

Hashima Island Coal Mine (Hashima Island, Japan)

The small island of Hashima entered the UNESCO list only recently, mainly because of the underwater coal mines that were established here in the second half of the 19th century. These represent an important milestone in Japanese industrialization.

Less well known is the dark side of the island. In the 1930s, until the end of World War II, the island served as a cruel labor camp where Chinese prisoners of war and conscripted Korean civilians were tortured and forced to work in mines until they succumbed to death. The number of victims of the camp at that time remains unknown, but some estimate that more than 1,300 prisoners starved or were exhausted.

Coiba National Park (El Trapiche, Panama)

In the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Panama, lies the largest island in Central America: Coiba. The lush reserve, covered in tropical rainforest, served as a prison between 1914 and 2004, where murderers, rapists and political prisoners of the dictators Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega languished in hard labor.

Since access to the island was limited, its nature remained practically untouched, so in 1992 Panama declared it the Coiba National Park. A year after the Coiba prison was closed, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site for its ecological importance.