The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.^[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty are defined as natural heritage.^[2] Bulgaria accepted the convention on 7 March 1974.^[3]

Boyana Church

Madara Rider

Ivanovo

Kazanlak

Nessebar

Rila Monastery

Sveshtari

Pirin

Srebarna

Beech Forests

Location of World Heritage Sites within Bulgaria. Red dots represent cultural sites, green dots are natural.

As of 2022^[update], there are ten World Heritage Sites listed in Bulgaria. The first four sites were listed in 1979: the Boyana Church, the Madara Rider, the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, and the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. Four more sites were listed in 1983, one in 1985, and the most recent one in 2017. Seven of these sites are cultural and three are natural. There is one transnational site, the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, which is shared with 17 other countries. In addition, Bulgaria maintains 16 sites on the tentative list.^[3]

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.^[4]

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World Heritage Sites

Site	Image	Location	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
Boyana Church		Sofia	1979	42; ii, iii (cultural)	The Bulgarian Orthodox Boyana Church in the outskirts of Sofia is an ensemble of three buildings. The first part was built in the 10th century, the second in the 13th, and the third in the early 19th century. Wall paintings dating from all periods have been preserved in full or in fragments and have been carefully restored in the 21st century. The frescos from the mid-13th century that were commissioned by Kaloyan Sebastocrator are considered of the best artistic value in the complex.[5]
Madara Rider		Shumen Province	1979	43; i, iii (cultural)	The Madara Rider is a rock relief depicting a knight on a horse, triumphing over a lion, and accompanied by a bird and a dog. It was carved in a 100 m (330 ft) tall cliff, at a height of 23 m (75 ft), near the village of Madara. It dates to the beginning of the 8th century, when Madara was a sacred site of the First Bulgarian Empire. Near the relief, there are inscriptions in Medieval Greek, describing the events of the early Bulgarian state and its khans.[6][7]
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak		Stara Zagora Province	1979	44; i, iii, iv (cultural)	The tomb dates to the Hellenistic period, at the end of the 4th century BCE. It is a beehive tomb (a tholos), with a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber. The frescos in the tomb depict Thracian culture and burial rites. The tomb is a part of a larger necropolis, located near the ancient Thracian city of Seuthopolis, the capital of king Seuthes III. It was rediscovered in 1944, with frescos remarkably well-preserved.[8]
Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo		Ruse Province	1979	45; ii, iii (cultural)	In the 12th century, hermits started carving churches, cells, and monasteries in the cliffs above the river Rusenski Lom, near the village of Ivanovo. The frescos from the 14th century, during the Second Bulgarian Empire, are some of the finest examples of the Palaeologues style and represent a departure from the earlier Byzantine iconography, by means of composition and motives.[9]
Rila Monastery		Kyustendil Province	1983	216; vi (cultural)	The monastery was founded in the 10th century by Saint John of Rila and was an important spiritual and cultural centre of Bulgaria through centuries. It was especially important as a Christian centre during the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria. The monastery was destroyed in a fire in the early 19th century and rebuilt between 1834 and 1862, at the time of Bulgarian National Revival.[10]
Ancient City of Nessebar		Burgas Province	1983	217; iii, iv (cultural)	The coastal city of Nessebar started as a Thracian settlement and became a Greek Black Sea colony in the 6th century BCE. Most remains date to the Hellenistic period, including the acropolis and a temple of Apollo. The city was an important Byzantine Christian centre in the Middle Ages; a basilica and a fortress remain from this period. The 19th century saw the construction of wooden houses in the style of Bulgarian National Revival.[11]
Srebarna Nature Reserve		Silistra Province	1983	219bis; x (natural)	Lake Srebarna and the surrounding wetlands near the Danube river are important habitats for birds, either as a breeding place, wintering area, or as a stop on a migratory route. There are 178 species recorded in the area, including several that are endangered or globally threatened. The lake is home to the largest colony of Dalmatian pelicans in Bulgaria. A minor boundary modification took place in 2008.[12]
Pirin National Park		Blagoevgrad Province	1983	225bis; vii, viii, ix (natural)	The national park in the Pirin Mountains comprises different types of mountain habitats, from pine forests, alpine meadows, and high mountains, with the highest peak at 2,914 m (9,560 ft). It is home to many plant and animal species, including brown bear and wolf. The site boundaries were extended in 2010.[13]
Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari		Razgrad Province	1985	359; i, iii (cultural)	The Thracian tomb dates to the 3rd century BCE and was rediscovered in 1982. The decoration is extremely well preserved and is a rare example of Thracian architecture. It represents the local art of the Gets, inspired by Hellenism. A prominent feature of the tomb are 10 caryatids which are half women and half plants.[14]
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe*		several sites	2017	1133ter; ix (natural)	The Primeval Beech Forests are used to study the spread of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in the Northern Hemisphere across a variety of environments and the environment in the forest. The site is shared with 17 other European countries. The site was first listed in 2007 in Romania and Ukraine, first extended in 2011, then again in 2017, when the nine properties within the Central Balkan National Park in Bulgaria were added, and finally in 2021.[15]

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In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.^[16] As of 2022^[update], Bulgaria recorded 16 sites on its tentative list.^[3]