Obelisk

Connected Sites: 64

WHS where obelisks can be seen in the core zone. An obelisk is a tall, narrow, four-sided, tapering monument that ends in a pyramidal top.

Connected Sites

  • Urbino
    Urbino
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1998
    3.27
    185
    8
    "The Obelisk of Urbino, erected by Cardinal Annibale Albani, is one of the twelve original Egyptian obelisks in Italy and considered as twin of the one in Piazza Minerva in Rome. It comes from a temple of Isis in Egypt and glorifies the Pharaoh Hophra (595 B.C.). Initially placed in the Campus Martius in Rome, it was moved to Urbino in 1737 to celebrate Pope Clement XI. "
    See urbinotourguide.com
  • Schönbrunn
    Inscribed: 1996
    3.50
    507
    14
    Obelisk dates back to 1777. Likely a tribute to Habsburg power and authority. The obelisk’s hieroglyphics have no actual meaning (they’re just meant to look impressive).
    See www.visitingvienna.com
  • Vatican City
    Inscribed: 1984
    4.30
    613
    9
    In the middle of St Peter Square: "It is traditionally known as Caligula’s Obelisk as it was Caligula who in 37 A.D took the monument from Alexandria to have it placed in the Circus Caligula ... The Vatican Obelisk was moved to its current location between 1585 and 1586 under Pope Sixtus V "
    See vaticantips.com
  • Regensburg
    Regensburg
    Germany
    Inscribed: 2006
    3.07
    281
    9
    Obelisk for Karl Anselm von Thurn und Taxis, 1806
    See www.regensburg.de
  • Studley Royal Park
    Studley Royal Park
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1986
    3.10
    131
    8
    Studley Obelisk : "The obelisk at the south western end of Studley Park was erected in 1815 as an 'eyecatcher' at one end of the formal avenue."
    See www.geograph.org.uk
  • Old Havana
    Inscribed: 1982
    3.82
    179
    6
    At Cabana fortress: "The ten Spaniards who perished were interred in La Cabaña fortress in Havana under an obelisk bearing their names."
    See books.google.nl
  • Villa d'Este
    Inscribed: 2001
    3.27
    245
    9
    At the Rometta Fountain: in a small pool floats a boat with a mast in the shape of an obelisk, illustrating the Tiber island (AB ev)
    See www.tibursuperbum.it
  • Trinity Sergius Lavra
    Inscribed: 1993
    3.08
    100
    5
    An obelisk with medallions narrating the history of the monastery was built on the main square (1792).
    See www.flickr.com
  • City of Bath
    City of Bath
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1987
    3.57
    410
    13
    At Queen Square: "erected by Beau Nash in 1738 in honour of Frederick, Prince of Wales"
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • St. Petersburg
    Inscribed: 1990
    4.19
    268
    9
    Rumyantsev Obelisk: "The obelisk commemorates the victories of Count Pyotr Rumyantsev during the Russo-Turkish War between 1768 and 1774, and his service in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792."
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Edinburgh
    Edinburgh
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1995
    4.00
    472
    17
    Political Martyrs' Monument: erected in 1844, "it commemorates five political reformists from the late 18th and early 19th centuries"
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Fontainebleau
    Inscribed: 1981
    3.65
    255
    9
    Marie-Antoinette obelisk (18th century)
    See fr.wikipedia.org
  • Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
    Inscribed: 2000
    2.59
    121
    10
    Obelisk to honour Sidney Gilchrist Thomas
  • Brugge
    Brugge
    Belgium
    Inscribed: 2000
    3.97
    503
    21
    At the Vismarkt
    See commons.wikimedia.org
  • Vigan
    Vigan
    Philippines
    Inscribed: 1999
    2.91
    63
    11
    Obelisk to commemorate conquistador Juan de Salcedo is in front of St Paul’s Cathedral
    See whc.unesco.org
  • Lord Howe Island
    Inscribed: 1982
    3.53
    16
    5
    McCulloch Obelisk
    See www.waymarking.com
  • Old City of Berne
    Inscribed: 1983
    3.35
    310
    10
    At the Kornhausbrücke
  • Val di Noto
    Inscribed: 2002
    3.35
    208
    11
    The Elephant Fountain on the Piazza del Duomo in Catania is a fountain with a "black basalt statue of an elephant". "On the animal's back is an Egyptian-style obelisk, 3.66 meters high, made of granite, hypothetically from Syene; it has no hieroglyphics, but is decorated with Egyptian-style figures that do not constitute meaningful hieroglyphic writing."
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Naples
    Naples
    Italy
    Inscribed: 1995
    3.48
    436
    9
    Obelisco di San Domenico
    See it.wikipedia.org
  • Rome
    Rome
    Holy See, Italy
    Inscribed: 1980
    4.57
    662
    13
    "There are eight ancient Egyptian and five ancient Roman obelisks in Rome" (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Blenheim Palace
    Blenheim Palace
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1987
    3.06
    232
    12
    Small one in a pond
    See www.flickr.com
  • Alcala de Henares
    Inscribed: 1998
    2.58
    185
    10
    One at Plaza de las Bernardas & one at Plaza Palacio, in front of the Archiepiscopal Palace
    See www.mundandy.com
  • Mérida
    Mérida
    Spain
    Inscribed: 1993
    3.21
    168
    6
    Glorieta de las Méridas del mundo
    See commons.wikimedia.org
  • Aranjuez
    Inscribed: 2001
    2.62
    177
    11
    In the Island Garden: " Following the fashion of that time, and evoking Egypt Idols, the composition also includes an Obelisk coming from the personal collection of King Phillip V."
    See commons.wikimedia.org
  • Stonehenge and Avebury
    Inscribed: 1986
    3.74
    430
    18
    Missing stones at Avebury are marked with small obelisks
    See goo.gl
  • Lake District
    Lake District
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 2017
    3.51
    222
    7
    Wilkinson Monument (Iron monument dedicated to the builder of the Ironbridge at Ironbridge Gorge)
    See www.waymarking.com
  • Derwent Valley Mills
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 2001
    2.38
    122
    12
    Belper Obelisk War Memorial
    See derbyshirewarmemorials.com
  • Westminster
    Westminster
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1987
    3.61
    632
    16
    Several graves feature a small obelisk with an extra ornament added to the top. Examples are that of Anna Beaumont and the Villiers Family.
    See www.westminster-abbey.org
  • Funerary and memory sites of the First World War
    Inscribed: 2023
    2.93
    226
    11
    Buttes New British Cemetery - it is the Fifth Australian Division memorial
    See www.ww1cemeteries.com
  • Byblos
    Byblos
    Lebanon
    Inscribed: 1984
    3.16
    93
    4
    Temple of the Obelisks: " The temple's name, given by Dunand, refers to a number of obelisks and standing stones located in a court around the cella. The Abishemu obelisk has been interpreted to include a dedication to Resheph, a Canaanite war god, although this is disputed. Another obelisk has a hieroglyphic inscription Middle Bronze Age king of Byblos Ibishemu, praising the Egyptian god Herysha." (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Ironbridge Gorge
    Ironbridge Gorge
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1986
    2.98
    160
    13
    Coalbrookdale War Memorial, an obelisk but with a cross added to the top
    See www.google.com
  • Struve Geodetic Arc
    Struve Geodetic Arc
    Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine
    Inscribed: 2005
    1.92
    212
    18
    STARO-NEKRASSOWKA Stara Nekrasivka component (and the one at Beresnäki is similar, but not narrow tapering from its base)
    See struvearc.wikidot.com
  • Saltaire
    Saltaire
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 2001
    2.28
    133
    13
    Saltaire Congregational Church War Memorial Obelisk
    See historicengland.org.uk
  • Route of Santiago de Compostela
    Inscribed: 1993
    3.41
    231
    8
    component 1197 Watertrough Fountain
    See maps.app.goo.gl
  • Québec
    Québec
    Canada
    Inscribed: 1985
    3.70
    219
    10
    Wolfe-Montcalm Monument
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Prague
    Prague
    Czechia
    Inscribed: 1992
    4.28
    586
    16
    The obelisk at Prague Castle is a granite monolith and World War I memorial designed by Jože Plečnik, installed at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic. It stands 16 meters high. (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Potsdam
    Potsdam
    Germany
    Inscribed: 1990
    3.52
    372
    10
    Obelisk in Sanssouci Park: "The stone pillar was created in 1748 based on designs by Knobelsdorff and was executed by the stonemason Johann Christian Angermann . The decorative hieroglyphs are either by Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt or his younger brother Johann Christian. The Egyptian characters contain no text, but are the artist's free imagination, as the translation of hieroglyphs was not yet possible in the 18th century." (wiki de)
    See de.wikipedia.org
  • Petra
    Petra
    Jordan
    Inscribed: 1985
    4.61
    289
    21
    "Between the Petra Visitor Centre and the entrance to the Siq (south side of the path), there is a fine tomb with four pyramidal obelisks, built as funerary symbols by the Nabataeans in the 1st century BC. The four obelisks, together with the eroded human figure in the centre, probably represent the five people buried in the tomb."
    See www.lonelyplanet.com
  • Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro
    Inscribed: 2021
    2.91
    325
    6
    Obelisco Dos de mayo (1840) - a war memorial
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Paris, Banks of the Seine
    Inscribed: 1991
    4.19
    681
    20
    Luxor Obelisk
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles
    Inscribed: 2021
    3.93
    253
    12
    A small obelisk tops the Colonna del Peronio on the Piazza della Frutta.
    See it.wikipedia.org
  • Nubian Monuments
    Inscribed: 1979
    4.21
    205
    12
    The unfinished obelisk in the stone quarries of ancient Egypt in Aswan (location 008).
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin
    Inscribed: 2012
    2.06
    142
    9
    Monument aux morts de la compagnie des mines de Lens, situé à l'intersection de la route de Béthune et de l'avenue de la fosse 12" in Lens
    See www.google.com
  • Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites
    Inscribed: 2024
    1.84
    50
    3
    Jongintaba Obelisk (in component 14, The Great Place at Mqhekezweni)
  • Monticello
    Monticello
    United States of America
    Inscribed: 1987
    3.22
    163
    12
    Jefferson's grave has an obelisk-shaped gravestone.
    See www.monticello.org
  • Medici Villas and Gardens
    Inscribed: 2013
    3.07
    233
    8
    "The Boboli obelisk, previously called the Obelisco Mediceo, is an ancient Egyptian granite obelisk, which was moved in the 18th century from Rome to Florence, where it was erected in the Boboli Gardens.... The granite from which the obelisk is carved comes from Aswan and the inscriptions are dedicated to Atum, the deity of the city of Heliopolis. It is suspected to have been first erected in that city during the reign of Ramesses II. In the first century AD, it was moved to Rome"
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Maritime Greenwich
    Maritime Greenwich
    United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 1997
    3.14
    411
    10
    Bellot Memorial and The New Zealand Memorial
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Longobards in Italy
    Inscribed: 2011
    2.81
    227
    14
    Benevento: "In 88/89 AD (year eight of the reign of emperor Domitian) two obelisks carvedfrom red Aswan granite were set up, flanking the entrance of a newly constructedtemple to the Egyptian goddess Isis, in Benevento (ancient Beneventum), Italy.One complete obelisk (Obelisk A) currently stands in the Piazza Papiniano inBenevento while its fragmentary twin (Obelisk B) is in the collection ofBenevento’s Museo del Sannio (inv. 1916)"
    See www.academia.edu
  • Loire Valley
    Inscribed: 2000
    4.09
    292
    10
    René Gasnier monument (to an early aviator)
    See www.aerosteles.net
  • Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
    Inscribed: 1996
    2.82
    168
    10
    Lednice obelisk: "The Lednice obelisk was erected by 1798 on behalf of Prince Alois I of Liechtenstein in the Eisgrub castle complex that belonged to him. The reason is said to have been the end of the First Coalition War in 1797. The chosen form of the monument was also due to the Egyptomania fashion of the time" (wiki de)
    See de.wikipedia.org
  • Kraków
    Kraków
    Poland
    Inscribed: 1978
    4.02
    438
    19
    Floryjan Straszewski monument
    See krakow.wiki
  • Istanbul
    Istanbul
    Turkiye
    Inscribed: 1985
    4.37
    485
    12
    The Obelisk of Theodosius (Turkish: Dikilitaş) is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Heritage of Mercury
    Heritage of Mercury
    Slovenia, Spain
    Inscribed: 2012
    2.65
    152
    8
    In the town center of Idrija, to remember 17 miners who died in a fire
  • Great Spa Towns of Europe
    Great Spa Towns of Europe
    Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom
    Inscribed: 2021
    3.28
    442
    16
    Chotek's Footpath is the "oldest forest promenade" in Karlovy Vary. "In 1804 the obelisk of count Findlater was erected beside the path and in 1834 Theresa's obelisk, commemorating the visit of the Duchess Marie Therese Charlotte d'Angouléme in 1833." In Mariánské Lázně, a sandstone obelisk erected in 1849 "commemorates the fact that J. W. Goethe used to sit with Ulrike von Levetzow on the benches here". (Nomination File, p. 144, 165)
  • Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
    Inscribed: 2000
    2.56
    183
    10
    Wörlitz: War Memorial, to the fallen in the 1870/1 Franco-Prussian War, WWI and WWII. And another one in Dessau, at the old cemetery.
    See de.wikipedia.org
  • Fortifications of Vauban
    Inscribed: 2008
    3.00
    265
    18
    Longwy: Le monument aux Défenseurs de la Place de Longwy
    See www.petit-patrimoine.com
  • Florence
    Inscribed: 1982
    4.45
    588
    15
    2 in front of Santa Maria Novella: "two obelisks, which were made of Serravezza marble, quarried in 1570 and sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati to mark the occasion of the marriage of Cosimo II to Margherita of Austria."
    See www.theflorentine.net
  • Dolomites
    Inscribed: 2009
    4.08
    252
    7
    Drei Zinnen War Memorial
    See www.moesslang.net
  • Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
    Inscribed: 2006
    3.10
    159
    11
    At Billy Bray's grave at Baldhu ("unconventional and eccentric Methodist preacher during the 19th century in the copper and tin mining communities of Cornwall")
    See nl.findagrave.com
  • Canal du Midi
    Inscribed: 1996
    2.55
    234
    11
    Riquet Obelisk (1827)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Belfries
    Belfries
    Belgium, France
    Inscribed: 1999
    2.95
    443
    17
    "The Hôtel de Ville in Antwerpen (1564) is an excellent example of the transposition of Renaissance principles in the central risalith with superposed diminishing registers flanked by obelisks and scrollwork and finished with a pediment, reiterating the theme of the central belfry." (1999 AB Ev)
    See commons.wikimedia.org
  • Bahá’i Holy Places
    Inscribed: 2008
    2.69
    161
    9
    Bahá’í Temples: Carmel West: Place of Revelation This is a small open space, where in 1891 Bahá’u’lláh composed the “Tablet of Carmel”, the charter of the Bahá’í world administrative centre. It is marked by an obelisk marking the site of a future temple.
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Arles
    Arles
    France
    Inscribed: 1981
    3.43
    287
    8
    The Obélisque d'Arles ("Arles Obelisk") is a 4th-century Roman obelisk, erected in the center of the Place de la République, in front of the town hall of Arles, France. (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org
  • Ancient Thebes
    Inscribed: 1979
    4.38
    257
    11
    "The Luxor Obelisks are a pair of Ancient Egyptian obelisks, over 3,000 years old, carved to stand either side of the portal of the Luxor Temple in the reign of Ramesses II (c. 1250 BC). The right-hand (western) stone, 23 metres (75 ft) high, was moved in the 1830s to the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, while the left-hand (eastern) obelisk remains in its location in Egypt." (wiki)
    See en.wikipedia.org