Home Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Heeren Street, with the core zone of the World Heritage Site (11 July 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

On 7 July, 2008, Malacca along with George Town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Together they are recognised as the Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca. Within Malacca Town, the World Heritage Site comprises a 38.62 hectare core zone and a 134.03 hectare buffer zone.

Location Map of Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site

This is as close as I can get to mapping out the UNESCO World Heritage Site based on satellite view of the existing buildings in Malacca historic core.  Sights within the core zone
 Sights within the buffer zone
 Sights outside the core and buffer zones


View Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site in a larger map

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Inscription Year: 2008
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, IV

Core Zone

The core zone of the Historic City of Melaka, as mapped out by the nomination file submitted to UNESCO, comprises two sections bisected by the Malacca River. They form the oldest part of Malacca.

On the east side of the river is the Civic Zone. This includes Porta de Santiago, St Paul's Hill, Stadthuys, Christ Church and the various colonial buildings that dates back to the Dutch and British eras, many of which have been restored and converted into museums.

On the west side of the river is the Residential and Commercial Zone. These comprise the shophouses along Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Street), the elite residences along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street), and the various places of worship along Jalan Tokong (Temple Street), Jalan Tukang Emas (Goldsmith Street) and Jalan Tukang Besi (Blacksmith Street). In total, there are about 600 properties within this zone, including the cross streets that run perpendicular to the main streets such as Lorong Hang Jebat, Jalan Hang Kasturi, Jalan Hang Lekiu and Jalan Hang Lekir.



Ruins of St Paul (11 July 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Places of Interest within the Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site

* Sights of considerable significance
** Sights of major significance
  1. 8 Heeren Street
  2. Admiral Cheng Ho Statue
  3. Baba House
  4. Bastion House
  5. Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
  6. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple **
  7. Christchurch **
  8. Dutch Graveyard
  9. Dutch Square *
  10. Eng Choon Association
  11. Fortaleza de Malaca **
  12. Governor's Museum
  13. Hang Jebat Mausoleum
  14. Hang Kasturi Mausoleum
  15. Kampung Kling Mosque **
  16. Kampung Hulu Mosque *
  17. Melaka Hainan Association
  18. Melaka Islamic Museum
  19. Melaka UMNO Museum
  20. Museum of Architecture
  21. Museum of Ethnography *
  22. Proclamation of Independence Memorial / Malacca Club
  23. Malacca River *
  24. Maritime Museum
  25. Porta de Santiago **
  26. Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain
  27. Sri Poyyattha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple
  28. St Francis Xavier Church *
  29. St Francis Xavier Statue *
  30. St Paul's Hill *
  31. Stadthuys **
  32. Tan Beng Swee Clocktower

Buffer Zone

A buffer zone surrounds the core zone. It is the area bordered by Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, Jalan Kota Laksamana, Jalan Merdeka, parts of Jalan Chan Koon Cheng, the parts of Kampung Banda Kaba. I should point out that the buffer zone on Jalan Kota Laksamana was reclaimed from the sea as late as the fourth quarter of the 20th century. While it provides some "protection" to the heritage row on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, it does not have any properties of "heritage age".

Next Destination

I am trying to describe all the places in the world. Next stop, let's visit Phnom Bakheng in Angkor.

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