Here are some instructions to help you get started. Click the "X" above on the top right
to close this window at any time.
This web map is a tribute to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and will allow you to explore the sites and their locations
using map search and visualization tools.
You can also explore the historic center of the city of Vienna, one of the famous cultural sites which UNESCO has classified as in danger.
The visualization tools allow you to compare the historic city center as depicted in a map from 1830, with the layout of
today as seen in the underlying OpenStreetMap basemap.
Please Note: If you are using a mobile phone, it is best to view this page in landscape mode
to fully view the map tool panel and for better overall viewing of the map and this Help window.
Also, it is recommended that you use this map on a tablet or laptop for best performance and visualization.
Exploring the map:
- Pan and Zoom -- This map works like other online web maps. If you are on a mobile device or laptop, use touch to drag and
pan and pinch to zoom in and out.
If using a mouse, use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out, and pan around with click and drag.
- Identify features -- Click on the blue World Heritage Site points to identify features on the map.
When you click on the feature, it will be selected in green and a popup window will appear with UNESCO information on the site --
its name, country, category and description. The popup will also provide you a link to view further information on the site at the
offical UNESCO page, and also a link to open the site location in Google Maps.
- Overview Map -- In the top-right corner of the map there is a button to expand and collapse an overview map. As you explore sites, the overview
will update and show you your current location zoomed-out at a smaller scale. The overview's red rectangle shows the extent of the current map view.
- Zoom In/Out -- In the bottom-right corner of the map, there are standard map zoom control "+/-" buttons.
The Map Tools Panel:
On the top left of the map is the tools panel with blue and white background.
Here are descriptions of each of the tools:
- Title bar button -- Click to expand or collapse the tool panel when exploring the map.
- Help button -- Click to open this Help window for reference when needed.
- Explore World Heritage Site locations -- Click to choose one of the heritage site category selection options -- Cultural, Mixed or Natural, as well as the sites in those categories which are in danger.
The selected site features will then turn green and the map will zoom to their extent, and the number of selected features
will show in the Selection box. You can then pan and zoom and explore the selected sites, and also press the 'Next' button
to zoom to each selected site individually.
- Search bar -- Enter search text to find heritage sites of interest. Then choose the field you would like to search on
from the Search field list -- options are Name (default), Country or Description. Press Enter or the Search button to run your search.
- Search button -- Runs your search with the text you've entered. You can press Enter on a keyboard if you prefer.
- Search field picklist -- choose the field you would like to search on -- options are Name (default), Country or Description.
- Selection box -- If site features are selected from your search, the Selection box will turn green and display the
number of selected features. When using the Next button, the Selection box will display which site number from the total returned selection
you are currently viewing.
- Tour -- When the Selection box displays more than 1 site is returned from your selection, you can use the Tour button
to zoom into each of the returned selected sites individually. Tour moves forward through the selected records.
- Back -- The Back button is similar to the Tour button above, but moves backward through the selected records, zooming into each individually.
- Zoom -- Click to zoom out to the full extent of the selected feature(s).
- Home -- Click to zoom out to the full extent of the map.
- Zoom to Previous -- Zooms to the previous map extent in the order which you have previously visited.
- Zoom to Next -- Zooms back to the next map extent in the order which you visited.
- Visit Historic Vienna -- Click to zoom to the historic center of the city of Vienna, one of the cultural sites
which UNESCO has classified as in danger. You can then use the Swipe and Opacity visualization tools to
compare the historic city center as depicted in a map from 1830, with the layout of
today as seen in the underlying OpenStreetMap basemap.
- Swipe Tool -- Use the swipe tool to adjust the edge of the historic map. The tool allows you to swipe away
the historic map to view the present day basemap. Its helpful when you are zoomed in and can compare the outlines of the old
city blocks.
- Adjust Map Opacity -- Adjust the historic map opacity and see through to the base map. Like the swipe tool, it's
helpful to use when zoomed in where you can compare at the city block level.
- Historic map visibility on/off -- Use the checkbox to turn the historic map on and off as needed when exploring.
Further Information
At the bottom of the tool panel are three information buttons.
- Map Info -- Learn more about this web map.
- UNESCO -- Go to the UNESCO web site.
- Feedback -- Send feedback on this map.
Thank you for visiting, and hope you enjoy discovering and learning about UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the following organizations for making this map possible:
- Thanks to UNESCO for sharing open data on its globally important World Heritage Sites.
- Thanks to OpenStreetMap and its contributors for sharing their important work and open basemap.
- Thanks to OpenLayers and its contributors for an excellent free and open source map library on which this map was built.
Green Light Geospatial, 2023