Germany and its UNESCO World Heritage Site

Did you know that Germany is Europe’s leading cultural destination?

With 46 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Germany is the fourth most visited country in the world, just ahead of France!

Germany is actually a collection of reunited regions in the center of Europe, each with a long, rich and eventful history.  

As you know, I love castles, churches, impressive architectural ensembles and translating them into images through my lenses (and in particular my ultra wide angle lens). When I was asked to cover the UNESCO sites in Germany, I jumped enthusiastically into my car to photograph them and show them to you in pictures!

Yes, Germany, when you live in France, it’s easy, you can simply go there by car whenever you want (very practical when you’re with your family like me for example). And the highways in the East and North of France are generally very fluid.

List of UNESCO sites visited in Germany

Here is the list of the 20 UNESCO sites visited in Germany:

1. Aachen Cathedral
2. Zollverein Coal Mine IndustrialComplex
3. The Wadden Sea at Saint Peter Ording
4. Hamburg: The Speicherstadt and the Kontorhaus district with the Chilehaus
5. Goslar and its Rammelsberg Mine
6. Wilhelmshöhe Castle
7. Hainich National Park
8. Wartburg Castle
9. Margrave’s Opera
10. Regensburg
11. Bremen City Hall
12. Old Town of Lübeck
13. Palace and Gardens of Sans-Souci in Potsdam
14. Kingdom of Parks and Gardens in Dessau-Wörlitz
15. Naumburg Cathedral
16. Corvey Abbey
17. Fagus Plant
18. Augustusburg and Falkenlust Castles
19. The Romantic Rhine
20. Trier

Circuit made by car

I made two photo reports of 10 UNESCO sites each over 15 days and about 3,000km each time:

• The first one in summer 2019
• The second in autumn 2020

Driving in Germany is quite easy: the freeways are free and the directions are clear. Contrary to popular belief, the speed is not unlimited everywhere, but only in sections. The limits change quite often. So you have to be careful and drive as “smooth” as possible to avoid unnecessary fuel consumption.

Presentation of the 10 UNESCO sites visited

Here are the 20 UNESCO sites in Germany that I visited and photographed! Each site has specific architectural, topological or lighting features that make each of them a real photographic challenge!

At the end of each section, I give you a few tips on how to best photograph these exceptional sites each time:

• The best time of the day and the season
• The recommended (or forbidden) material
• Remarkable points of view (spots)

Material used for this report

• Case: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Canon R5
• Lens: Ultra Wide-Angle 11-24mm, Standard 24-70mm, Telephoto 70-200mm
• Drone: DJI Mavic Pro 2