UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Uruguay
Uruguay has 3 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (3 cultural), the first inscribed in 1995 (Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento). The map below plots every one of them alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 3
- Cultural
- 3
- Natural and Mixed
- 0
- First Inscribed
- 1995
Map of World Heritage Sites in Uruguay
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Uruguay. Click a dot to read about the site.
Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento
Uruguay · 34.4715° S, 57.8512° W · 1 km from Colonia del Sacramento
Founded by the Portuguese in 1680 on the Río de la Plata, the city was of strategic importance in resisting the Spanish. After being disputed for a century, it was finally lost by its founders. The well-preserved urban landscape illustrates the successful fusion of the Portuguese, Spanish and post-colonial styles.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento Is Listed
- (v)
- An outstanding example of traditional human settlement or land use.
Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape
Uruguay · 33.1178° S, 58.3317° W · 3 km² · 3 km from Fray Bentos
Located on land projecting into the Uruguay River west of the town of Fray Bentos, the industrial complex was built following the development of a factory founded in 1859 to process meat produced on the vast prairies nearby. The site illustrates the whole process of meat sourcing, processing, packing and dispatching. It includes buildings and equipment of the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, which exported meat extract and corned-beef to the European market from 1865 and the Anglo Meat Packing Plant, which exported frozen meat from 1924. Through its physical location, industrial and residential buildings as well as social institutions, the site presents an illustration of the entire process of meat production on a global scale.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape Is Listed
- (ii)
- An important interchange of human values.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
Church of Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes
Uruguay · 34.7440° S, 55.7660° W · 39 km from Montevideo
The Church of Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes (Spanish: Iglesia de Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes), also known simply as Iglesia de Estación Atlántida, is a Roman Catholic parish church and a World Heritage Site in Estación Atlántida, Uruguay.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Iglesia de Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Church of Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes Is Listed
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
More about Church of Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes
UNESCO's Description
The Church of Atlántida with its belfry and underground baptistery is located in Estación Atlántida, 45 km away from Montevideo. Inspired by Italian paleo-Christian and medieval religious architecture, the modernistic Church complex, inaugurated in 1960, represents a novel utilization of exposed and reinforced brick. Built on rectangular plan of one single hall, the church features distinctive undulating walls supporting a similarly undulating roof, composed of a sequence of reinforced brick Gaussian vaults developed by Eladio Dieste (1917-2000). The cylindrical bell-tower, built in openwork exposed brick masonry, rises from the ground to the right of the main church facade, while the underground baptistery is located on the left side of the parvis, accessible from a triangular prismatic entrance and illuminated via a central oculus. The Church provides an eminent example of the remarkable formal and spatial achievements of modern architecture in Latin America during the second part of the 20th century, embodying the search for social equality with a spare use of resources, meeting structural imperatives to great aesthetic effect.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Description
The temple is dedicated to Christ the Worker and Our Lady of Lourdes. It constitutes a renowned architectural landmark, it was designed in 1958 by the engineer Eladio Dieste. It is architecturally striking, described as "a simple rectangle, with side walls rising up in undulating curves to the maximum amplitude of their arcs" these walls supporting a similarly undulating roof, composed of a sequence of reinforced brick Gaussian vaults developed by Eladio Dieste.
The cylindrical bell-tower, built in openwork exposed brick masonry, rises from the ground to the right of the main church facade, while the underground baptistery is located on the left side of the parvis, accessible from a triangular prismatic entrance and illuminated via a central oculus.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Iglesia de Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Key Facts
| Established | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Area | 0 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q26721344 (CC0).
World Heritage in Uruguay: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Uruguay?
- Uruguay has 3 World Heritage Sites: 3 cultural.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Uruguay?
- Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento, inscribed in 1995. The most recent is Church of Cristo Obrero y Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, inscribed in 2021.
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Uruguay in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Uruguay is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.