Bridgetown, Barbados enters UN World Heritage List

Earlier this month the historic section of the capital of Barbados became the Caribbean country's first entry on the United Nations-managed World Heritage List after a committee of experts approved its inscription and that of two other sites.

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Paris, said Bridgetown and its garrison deserved a place on the List, which is comprised of more than 900 cultural or natural sites around the world regarded as having outstanding universal value.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that the committee found the Bridgetown site – comprised of a well-preserved old town and a nearby military garrison – to be an outstanding example of British colonial architecture.

“With its serpentine urban layout, the property testifies to a different approach to colonial town planning compared to the Spanish and Dutch colonial cities of the region, which were built along a grid plan,” UNESCO said in a press statement.

We congratulate Barbados on this acheivement.