Gyeongju Historic Areas () is a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

, South Korea that was designated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 2000. The protected areas encompass the ruins of temples and palaces, outdoor pagodas and statuary, and other cultural artifacts left by the Koreanic kingdom

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

(57 BC – 935 AD).

Description

The item is organized into five subregions that each contain a number of attractions.

Mount Namsan Belt

The Mount Namsan Belt is based around the holy mountain

Namsan Namsan () is a peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan () in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan. The ...

, in the north of Gyeongju. The mountain itself is considered a large

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

because of the ancient art and artifacts on display in the open. The area includes numerous Buddhist art and artifacts, as well as the ruins of 122 temples, 53 stone statues, 64 stone pagodas, and 16 stone lanterns. Other notable sites include the Namsan Mountain Fortress (built in 591 CE), the Poseokjeong Pavilion site (famous for its abalone-shaped watercourse), and the Seochulji Pond.

Wolseong Belt

The Wolseong Belt is based around the site of the former palace Wolseong. It also contains the Gyerim woodland, the artificial pond

Anapji Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond () are a Silla-era former palace and artificial pond in Gyeongju, South Korea. They were part of the palace complex of ancient Silla (57 BCE – 935 CE). It was constructed by order of King Munmu in 674 CE. The pon ...

, and the observatory

Cheomseongdae Cheomseongdae () is an astronomical observatory in Gyeongju, South Korea. Cheomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia, and possibly even the world. It was constructed during the Silla period, during the reign of Queen ...

. The observatory is the oldest of its kind in East Asia.

Tumuli Park Belt

This area consists of three groups of royal tombs. Most of the tumuli are shaped like domes or mounds of earth. However, some are shaped like gourds or half-moons. Excavated tombs reveal wooden coffins covered with gravel and rich grave goods of gold, glass, and quality ceramics. A famous example of a tomb in this park is the Heavenly Horse Tomb which contained a mural painting on birch bark saddle flap of a winged horse.

Hwangnyongsa Belt

The Hwangnyongsa Belt is centered around the ruins of the temple Hwangnyongsa. According to the excavated foundation stones, Hwangnyongsa was the largest temple ever built in Korea and covered 72,500 m². The area also includes the temple

Bunhwangsa Bunhwangsa () is a temple complex from the Old Silla era of Korea. It is located in Gyeongju. The temple is recorded to have been built in 634 under the auspices of Queen Seondeok. Today the temple is still used by a small group of worshipers bu ...

Sanseong Belt

The Sanseong Belt includes the ruins of fortresses along the east coast of South Korea. It notably includes

Myeonghwalseong Myeonghwalseong () or Myeonghwalsanseong () was a Silla-era Korean fortress on the mountain Myeonghwalsan in what is now Gyeongju, South Korea. On January 21, 1963, it was made Historic Site of South Korea No. 47. It is part of the UNESCO Worl ...

References

External links

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Korean National Heritage Online

Cultural Heritage

Oriental Architecture
{{World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Korea World Heritage Sites in South Korea Archaeological sites in South Korea Buddhist archaeological sites in Korea Tourist attractions in Gyeongju