Philippines
Walled City of Manila
The Colonial Urban Plan and Fortifications of the Walled City of Manila are representative of an important global trade town and Far Eastern colonial capital. The city was built by the Spanish in the 16th century to a gridiron plan. They also added the early modern Western fortifications.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Colonial Urban Plan and Fortifications of the Walled City of Manila (ID: 6715)
- Country
- Philippines
- Status
-
On tentative list 2024
Site history
History of Walled City of Manila
- 2024: Added to Tentative List
- Added to tentative list
- Criteria
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org
Community Information
Travel Information
Recent Connections
News
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Recent Visitors
Visitors of Walled City of Manila
- Ammon Watkins
- Ana
- bergecn
- Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
- Boj
- Carlo Sarion
- Cheryl
- Christoph
- Clyde
- Els Slots
- Erik Jelinek
- Errol Neo
- Frederik Dawson
- GabLabCebu
- Hughes1920
- Jeanne OGrady
- Jon Opol
- Kim, Soo-youn
- Kyle Magnuson
- NoahFranc
- Philipp Peterer
- Randi Thomsen
- Riccardo Quaranta
- S. Anril Tiatco
- Shandos Cleaver
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Svein Elias
- SymonMajewski
- Szucs Tamas
- Thomas Buechler
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Zos M
Community Reviews
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My first thought when exploring the fortifications and the Colonial heart of Manila was this must be difficult to preserve. The vegetation seemed like it was overtaking the ruins. Moreover, some parts of the fortifications were crumbling or collapsing in on itself. Considering other climate factors such as total rainfall in a year, Intramuros has unique challenges to address before producing a nomination dossier. My visit to Manila was May 2011 and perhaps the conservation within the historic district has improved.
Intramuros was previously on the Philippines tentative list and rejected in 1989. There are a lot of superlatives in the UNESCO description, such as 'exemplary' town planning that is 'exceptionally' intact, 'revolutionary' intermarriage of Western and New World . . . , 'remarkable' product of early modern Western fortification science, 'unparalleled' and a 'masterstroke' of Colonial urban planning. What can be noticed by any visitor is the grid layout of the streets, the San Agustin Church (WHS) within the walled city, Fort Santiago adjacent to the Pasig River, and Rizal Park abutting the Southern boundary. The existence of 'Intramuros Golf Club' in the buffer zone may pose problems with ICOMOS, since many of the best views of the walls are actually from the greens.
Another Tentative List update by the Philippines in 2024 was 'Corregidor Island and Historic Fortifications of Manila Bay'. One might argue that this nomination should be incorporated together with the Colonial Urban Plan and Fortifications of the Walled City of Manila. …
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