Møns Klint’s steep, white cliffs and chalk hills have been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The announcement, made on Sunday, marks Møns Klint as the 12th site in the Kingdom of Denmark to receive this prestigious recognition, joining other significant locations like Roskilde Cathedral, Stevns Klint, and Kronborg.

The inclusion signifies the site’s importance not only to Denmark but to humanity as a whole. UNESCO’s World Heritage List, established in 1972, aims to protect the world’s irreplaceable cultural and natural heritage, obligating the responsible parties to safeguard these sites for future generations.

Vordingborg Municipality confirmed the designation on its website, noting that the inclusion was not expected until the following year. Inclusion on the World Heritage List marks that a place is significant – not only for the population in the country in question, but for all of humanity.

The application for nomination was submitted to UNESCO in January 2024. Nils Natorp, director of GeoCenter Møns Klint, previously highlighted the cliff’s significance, stating that Møns Klint is one of the best places in the world to understand the Ice Age, offering a direct view into the processes of that era.

Møns Klint was added to Denmark’s tentative list for world heritage in 2018, a necessary step before being nominated to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. States can submit proposals to the World Heritage Committee, which holds annual meetings.

The Jelling Monuments were the first Danish site added to the list in 1994. Other locations in Denmark currently on the tentative list for potential inclusion include the Moler Cliffs on Mors and Fur, the Workers’ Movement’s association and assembly buildings, Salt and seaweed on Læsø, Dragør’s old town and harbor, and Frederiksstaden with Amalienborg.