UNESCO-Welterbetag 2026 auf Zollverein

With this year's World Heritage Day motto, UNESCO is focusing on its central guiding principle: the promotion of international understanding and the preservation of peace and security. UNESCO World Heritage Sites are part of a global network as the heritage of all mankind. Preserving and protecting this heritage can only succeed through understanding, peace, mutual understanding and respect. On World Heritage Day, everyone is invited to experience what it means to be a World Heritage Site and how the UNESCO award ensures that people around the world feel committed to common World Heritage goals such as international understanding, sustainability and peacekeeping across all national, religious, ethnic and other borders.

At Zollverein, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, a special highlight awaits visitors with the opening of the new World Heritage Forum on World Heritage Day: Situated in a central location on Werner-Müller-Platz, the barrier-free forum offers both an informative point of contact and an attractive meeting place. From the outside, the building impresses with its large glass façade and, in future, with an artistic installation by the Folkwang University of the Arts. Inside the forum, guests can use touch screens to research offers on the World Heritage site or book tickets and guided tours online. In addition, a film shown on an oversized LED wall provides information about the importance of Zollverein as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.