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The legendary Inca city of Machu Picchu, the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia, the Indian Taj Mahal: there are 1121 Unesco World Heritage Sites in 167 countries worldwide - and the number is increasing every year.
In Germany alone, the UN cultural organization Unesco, which is celebrating its 75th birthday this November, has already placed 46 artistic masterpieces, unique natural landscapes and significant evidence of past cultures under protection.
It's not easy to keep up.
The seal is a "quality feature", says Claudia Schwarz, chairwoman of the Unesco World Heritage Association in Germany.
But not every site succeeds in maintaining interest after the hype surrounding the award of the title - and translating it into visitor numbers.
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This was the sobering result of a tourism study a few years ago: Cologne Cathedral is well known.
However, Germans do not even know about the special status of many sights on their doorstep.
So we're introducing five World Heritage Sites that you may not have heard of:
An architectural monument: the Fagus factory in Alfeld
Lots of glass and steel make the Fagus factory in Alfeld, Lower Saxony, look younger than it is.
Shoe lasts have been produced in the old factory for more than 100 years.
The Fagus factory in Alfeld gives interesting insights into industrial history
Source: dpa-tmn / Julian Stratenschulte
The complex from 1911 is considered the original building of modern industrial architecture and is the first work of the famous architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius.
In 2011, the Unesco World Heritage Committee recognized the extraordinary, weightless elegance of the building and put the Fagus factory on the World Heritage List.
The Fagus factory was the first building by the architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius
Source: Getty Images / Maarten Hoek
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But not only architecture fans get their money's worth here: guided tours of the outdoor area and the Fagus-Gropius exhibition in the former warehouse provide interesting insights into industrial history.
And if you have a weakness for shoes, you can admire 30,000 original models in the model cellar.
Landscape art in Saxony: the Muskauer Park
Garden art, nature painting, world heritage: the masterpiece by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau in Bad Muskau, Saxony, has many attributes.
The Muskauer Park, which was added to the UNESCO list in 2004 as an extraordinary example of a European landscape park and an ideal artistic landscape at the request of a German-Polish application, is like a living painting.
Muskauer Park in Saxony is an exceptional example of a European landscape park
Source: dpa-tmn / Astrid Roscher
With the stylistic devices of landscape painting, the prince coordinated the foreground and background, the spacious park areas blend harmoniously into the surrounding landscape on both sides of the Neisse, park paths continually open up new perspectives in the staging.
In the reconstructed castle, an exhibition about Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau explains
Source: dpa-tmn / Patrick Pleul
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The landscaped garden, which was laid out in 1815 and has a 50-kilometer network of paths, is great to explore by bike or horse-drawn carriage.
Those who want to get to know the eccentric prince and his "parkomania" better can visit the entertaining permanent exhibition in the New Palace.
Beautiful living: Modern housing developments in Berlin
The Museum Island is a must when visiting Berlin.
The palaces and gardens of Potsdam and Berlin are also very popular with many tourists.
In view of this competition, the third world heritage site in the capital is having a harder time.
The six Berlin Modernist housing estates, which were built between 1913 and 1934 as an alternative to the poor tenement of working-class families, became a model for the entire 20th century - and are still popular living quarters today.
Because of its colorful facades, the garden city of Falkenberg in Berlin is also known as the ink box settlement
Source: dpa-tmn / Wolfgang Bittner
A walk through the garden city of Falkenberg in the Treptow-Köpenick district is particularly nice.
The so-called Tuschkastensiedlung by architect Bruno Taut attracts attention with its colorful facades and geometric shapes.
The horseshoe settlement in the Britz district was partly built according to plans by the architect Bruno Taut
Source: pa / dpa / Ben Buschfeld
There are information stations in the Siemensstadt housing estate and in the Hufeisensiedlung, and guided tours are also offered in all six settlements.
To the roots: Germany's old beech forests
Without human influence, two thirds of Germany would be covered with beech forests, but the unique forest ecosystems are dwindling.
The Unesco World Heritage List reveals where you can still find untouched deciduous forests: since 2011, five beech forest areas in the Jasmund, Müritz, Hainich and Kellerwald-Edersee national parks and in the Unesco Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve have been under protection together with other European regions.
World Heritage Jasmund National Park: On Rügen, the old beech forest extends right up to the steep coast with its chalk cliffs
Source: dpa-tmn / Jens Büttner
You can explore the forests, for example, with the help of the free World Heritage App, which guides visitors on selected routes through the various protected areas.
While the beeches on Rügen seem to plunge from the chalk cliffs into the sea, they lean over the moor on the Müritz.
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In the Schorfheide in Brandenburg, the trunks are reflected in clear lakes, in the Hessian basement forest gnarled tree shapes press against barren slopes.
And in Hainich, Thuringia, the mighty trees protrude from a veritable sea of flowers in spring.
10,000 years of history: the prehistoric pile dwellings
The archaeological sites are invisible under water, but sensational finds are still coming to light on Lake Constance: textiles, dugout canoes, wheels - 10,000 years of history are concentrated in the Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen on just 800 meters.
The Stone Age house replicas of the pile dwelling museum on Lake Constance
Source: dpa-tmn / Felix Kästle
The tour of Germany's oldest open-air museum leads through Stone Age villages and fortified settlements from the Bronze Age.
Reconstructed stilt houses and stagings give an insight into the everyday life of our ancestors.
On beautiful autumn and winter days, the lake panorama can also be enjoyed wonderfully from the jetties over the water.
A total of 111 locations with stilt houses in six European countries became Unesco World Heritage Sites in 2001.
More tips for a vacation on your doorstep: