1998 World Monuments Watch


The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund and American Express to call to action and challenge government authorities responsible for important cultural resources to identify sites immediately at risk, and to stimulate public awareness of the tremendous need to preserve and create sustainable uses for significant heritage made by man.

Selection process

Every two years, the program publishes a select list known as the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites that is in urgent need of preservation funding and protection. The sites are nominated by public authorities, local preservation groups, and qualified individuals. An independent panel of international experts then select 100 candidates from these entries to be part of the Watch List, based on the significance of the site's overall significance, the urgency of its situation, the viability of action plans to save it, and the ability of a local constituency to sustainably maintain the site in the future with the means to do so. WMF and American Express award grants to sites included on the Watch List. In addition, the leverage from the listing spurs government agencies and local donors to allocate funds and take an active role in protecting the cultural landmark.

1998 Watch List

The 1998 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was launched on September 8, 1997, by WMF President Bonnie Burnham.

List by country/territory

NumberCountry/TerritorySiteLocationPeriod
1AfghanistanHerat Old CityHerat1100-1899
2AlbaniaButrint Archaeological SiteSarande8th century BC-15th century AD
3ArgentinaUshuaia PrisonUshuaia, Tierra del Fuego1902-1912
4BelgiumPrevious Radio and Television BuildingBrussels1935
5BelgiumTour and TaxisBrussels1897-1907
6BelgiumWortel Colony EstateHoogstraten1822
7BeninRoyal Palaces of AbomeyAbomey1645-1906
8BoliviaArani and Callapa ChurchesArani, Cochabamba & Callapa, La Paz1560 and 1745
9BoliviaRio Lauca Prehistoric Burial TowersDepartment of Oruro1200-1600
10Bosnia and HerzegovinaVillage of PociteljPocitelj1444-Present
11BulgariaMadara HorsemanKaspichan8th-9th century
12CambodiaBanteay Chhmar Temple of Jayavarman VIIThmar Puok, Oddar Meanchey Province1100-1199
13CanadaGulf of Georgia CanneryRichmond, British Columbia1894-1964
14ChileAlameda Railroad StationSantiago1900
15ChileTulor AldeaSan Pedro de Atacama5th century BC-2nd century AD
16ChinaJufu HallXian Nong Tan, Beijing1420
17ChinaNamseling ManorDrachi, Tibet14th century
18ChinaPalpung Tibetan MonasteryBabang Village, Sichuan1725
19CroatiaDucal PalaceZadar16th century
20CroatiaFranciscan Monastery LibraryDubrovnik1667
21CubaReina CemeteryCienfuegos1839
22Czech RepublicFollies and Conservatory in Lednice ParkLednice and Valtice Villages1797-1848
23Czech RepublicPrague's Historic CenterPrague9th century BC-Present
24Czech RepublicHeavenly Father ChapelKutna Hora14th century
25Czech RepublicNebilovy MansionNebilovy, Plzeň District1706-1715
26EgyptMortuary Temple of King Ahmenhotep III,Gurna, Luxor14th century BC
27El SalvadorSuchitoto CitySuchitoto, Cuscatlán16th century
28EthiopiaMentewab-Qwesqwam PalaceGondar18th century
29FijiLevuka TownshipLevuka1830-1925
30France'Galerie des Actions de Monsieur le Prince'Chateau of Chantilly, Chantilly1560-1897
31GambiaJames IslandJames Island460-1860
32GeorgiaTbilisi Historic DistrictTbilisi6th century-Present
33HungarySpa Center Historic EnsembleBalatonfüred1790-1880
34IndiaAhmedabad Walled CityAhmedabad1411-Present
35IndiaJaisalmer FortJaisalmer, Rajasthan12th century
36IsraelGemeindehausGerman Colony, Haifa1869
37IsraelRamla White MosqueRamle Municipality9th century
38ItalyAncient PompeiiNaples1st century BC-AD 79
39ItalyArch of TrajanAnconaAD 115
40ItalyBotanical Garden of University of PaduaPadua1545
41ItalyEtruscan Painted Tombs of TarquiniaTarquinia7th century BC-2nd century BC
42ItalyLimonaia at Boboli Gardens and Gardens of Villa Medici at CastelloFlorence1777-1778 and 1577
43ItalyBasilica NeopitagoricaRome1st century
44ItalyPalazzo Doria PamphiljValmontoneMid-17th century
45ItalyRupestrian churches of Apulia and the City of MateraApulia and City of Matera1000-1753
46ItalyTerra del Sole prison cellsCastrocaro Terme and Terra del SoleMid-16th century
47JamaicaOld Iron BridgeSpanish Town, St. Catherine1800
48JordanPetra Archaeological SiteWadi Mousa1st-6th century
49LaosVat SisaketVientiane1819-25
50LatviaAbava Valley Cultural LandscapeKurzeme13th-19th century
51LebanonEnfehEnfeh 2nd millennium BC-13th century AD
52LithuaniaVilnius Town HallVilnius1503-22
53MalaysiaKampung Cina River FrontageKuala TerengganuLate 19th-early 20th century
54MaltaMnajdra Prehistoric TemplesMnajdra3600 BC-2500 BC
55MexicoCarolina Hacienda Chihuahua1896
56MexicoMadera Cave DwellingsMadera, Chihuahua6th century-7th century AD
57MexicoMetropolitan CathedralMexico City1573-1813
58MexicoMonasteries of San Juan Bautista Tetela del Volcan and TlayacapanMorelos16th century
59MexicoPalace of Fine ArtsMexico City1904-1934
60MexicoTeotihuacan Archaeological SiteSan Juan Teotihuacan100 BC-AD 750
61MexicoVega de la Peña Archaeological SiteFilo-Bobos, VeracruzBefore 1400
62MongoliaBogd Khan Palace MuseumUlan Bator Town1893-1903
63NepalGombas of Upper MustangLo Manthang, Mustang15th century
64NorwayWooden Architecture of TrondheimTrondheim1850-1890
65PakistanUch Monument ComplexUch, Bahawalpur District, Punjab Provinceca 2nd millennium BC-mid-16th century AD
66PanamaSan Lorenzo Castle and San Geronimo FortColon and Portobelo1595-1779 and 1653-1760
67PeruApurlec Archaeological SiteMotupe, Lambayeque7th century AD-14th century
68PeruLa Quinta HeerenLima1888-1930
69Peru"Ransom Room"Cajamarca1430-1460
70PhilippinesKabayan Mummy CavesKabayan, Benguet2nd millennium BC-2nd century AD
71PhilippinesSan Sebastian BasilicaManila1886-1891
72PolandDebno Parish ChurchNowy Targ15th century
73PolandVistulamouth FortressGdańsk1482-1800
74RomaniaConstantin Brâncuși's Endless ColumnTârgu Jiu1937-1938
75RomaniaRoman Catholic ChurchGhelinţa13th century
76RussiaAgate Pavilion of the Catherine PalaceTsarskoje Selo, St. Petersburg1780-1787
77RussiaAlexander PalaceTsarskoje Selo, St. Petersburg1792-1796
78RussiaIrkoutsk Historic CenterIrkoutsk1770-1799
79RussiaPaanajarvi VillageKemi Province14th century-Present
80RussiaRussakov ClubMoscow1929
81RussiaYelagin Island Palace and Park EnsembleSt. Petersburg1780-1826
82SlovakiaHell HouseBanska Stiavnica1500-1850
83SpainWindmills of MallorcaBalearic Islands1600-1950
84TurkeyAni Archaeological SiteOcarli Koyu, Kars3rd-14th century
85TurkeyHagia SophiaIstanbulAD 532-563
86TurkeyPatara Archaeological SiteKas3rd millennium BC-AD 1200
87UgandaMasaka CathedralMasaka, Kitovu Village1927
88UkraineAncient ChersonesosSevastopol, Crimea5th century BC-15th century AD
89United KingdomHadlow TowerTonbridge, England1838-1840
90United KingdomMussenden TempleCastlerock, Northern Ireland1760-1799
91United KingdomSt Francis Church and MonasteryManchester, England1863-1872
92United KingdomThe St Vincent Street ChurchGlasgow, Scotland1857-1859
93United States of AmericaBodie State Historic ParkCalifornia1859-1896
94United States of AmericaFort ApacheWhite Mountain, Apache Tribal Land, Arizona1870-1922
95United States of AmericaLancaster CountyPennsylvania1710-1945
96United States of AmericaMesa Verde National ParkColorado13th century
97United States of AmericaSouth Pass Cultural LandscapeWyomingMid-19th century
98VenezuelaSan Francisco ChurchCoro, Falcon1720-1887
99VietnamMy Son Temple DistrictDuy Xuyen District3rd-12th century
100YemenShibam Historic CityShibam5th century

Statistics by country/territory

The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 1998 Watch List, listed by the number of sites:
Number of sitesCountry/Territory
9Italy
7Mexico
6Russia
5United States of America
4Czech Republic and United Kingdom
3Belgium, China, Peru and Turkey
2Bolivia, Chile, Croatia, India, Israel, Philippines, Poland and Romania