UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
Definition of the cultural heritage
 |
|
What is meant by “cultural heritage”?
Answer:
The term “cultural heritage” encompasses several main categories of heritage:
- Cultural heritage:
> Tangible cultural heritage:
. movable cultural heritage (paintings, sculptures, coins, manuscripts, etc.)
. immovable cultural heritage (monuments, archaeological sites, and so on)
. underwater cultural heritage (shipwrecks, underwater ruins and cities and so on)
> Intangible cultural heritage (oral traditions, performing arts, rituals, and so on)
- Natural heritage (natural sites with cultural aspects such as cultural landscapes, physical, biological or geological formations, and so on)
- Heritage in the event of armed conflict.