UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis has 1 site on the UNESCO World Heritage List (1 cultural), the first inscribed in 1999 (Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park). The map below plots it alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 1
- Cultural
- 1
- Natural and Mixed
- 0
- First Inscribed
- 1999
Map of World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Click a dot to read about the site.
Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
Saint Kitts and Nevis · 17.3474° N, 62.8357° W · 14 km from Basseterre
Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a well-preserved fortress on a hill on the island of St. Kitts, in the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. It was designed by British military engineers, and was built and maintained by enslaved Africans. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas.
The complex of fortifications were constructed on Brimstone Hill, a very steeply sloping hill situated close to the sea on the Western, Caribbean coast of St. Kitts.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
More about Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
UNESCO's Description
Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is an outstanding, well-preserved example of 17th- and 18th-century military architecture in a Caribbean context. Designed by the British and built by African slave labour, the fortress is testimony to European colonial expansion, the African slave trade and the emergence of new societies in the Caribbean.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Early history
Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1689 during the Nine Years' War, by Jean-Baptiste du Casse, when the French used them to capture the English Fort Charles. The English, under Sir Christopher Codrington, used the same tactic to recapture the fort a year later. From then on, the English used the hill as a fortress, mounting 24-pound cannon, taking advantage of its 972-foot height.
In 1711 and 1731, lightning destroyed the gunpowder magazine. By 1736, the fort had 49 guns. Since 1795, 40 members of "The St. Christopher Corps of Embodied Slaves" served at the fort, armed with pikes and cutlasses.
By 1780, the fortress was considered impregnable, "The Gibraltar of the Caribbean".
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Key Facts
| Established | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Area | 0.2 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q200521 (CC0).
World Heritage in Saint Kitts and Nevis: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Saint Kitts and Nevis?
- Saint Kitts and Nevis has 1 World Heritage Site: 1 cultural.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Saint Kitts and Nevis?
- Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, inscribed in 1999.
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.