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This is a list of cultural heritage sites that have been damaged or destroyed accidentally, deliberately, or by a natural disaster. The list is sorted by continent, then by country.
Cultural heritage can be subdivided into two main types: tangible and intangible. Tangible heritage includes built heritage (such as religious buildings, museums, monuments, and archaeological sites) and movable heritage (such as works of art and manuscripts). Intangible cultural heritage includes customs, music, fashion, and other traditions within a particular culture.[1][2]
This article mainly deals with the destruction of built heritage; the destruction of movable collectible heritage is dealt with in art destruction, whilst the destruction of movable industrial heritage remains almost totally ignored.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was heavily damaged by earthquakes in the 10th and 14th centuries, before being demolished[6] in 1480 to make way for the Citadel of Qaitbay. Some stones from the lighthouse were used in the construction of the citadel, and some other remains have survived underwater.
In November 1995, a fire broke out in the Rova of Antananarivo, a royal palace complex that had served as the home of monarchs in the Merina Kingdom since the 17th century. The fire destroyed or severely damaged all of its buildings.[15] The last 2 phases of the Manjakamiadana's (Queen's Palace) reconstruction were started in 2010, and by July 2020 the entire structure had been fully refurbished.[16]
the university's Special Collections Library, which held over 1,300 collections and over 85,000 books and other items, including a historically significant Bible,
The fire completely gutted the Library's Reading Room but that a fire detection system prevented the fire from reaching the rest of the library, likely preserving most collections; however, some rare collections were likely lost.[20]
A later assessment found that a vast majority of the African Studies Published Print Collection (about 70,000 items) and the entirety of the African Studies Film Collection DVDs (about 3,500 items) had been destroyed, along with documents relating to the university itself as well as any manuscripts or archives being kept in the Reading Room.
Fortunately, the rare and antique collections kept underground, including significant documentation and works of the San and Khoi people who lived in the area in the 1870s, had been preserved.[21][22]
Great Zimbabwe has faced the removal of gold and artifacts in amateurist diggings by early colonial antiquarians [23] notably diggings by Richard Nicklin Hall, who was determined to find evidence that the monument was not built by indigenous Africans until he eventually relinquished this belief.[24] More extensive damage was caused by the mining of some of the ruins for gold.[23] Reconstruction attempts since 1980 caused further damage, leading to alienation of the local communities.[25][26] Another source of damage is due to the site being open to visitors with many cases of people climbing the walls, walking over archaeological deposits, and the over-use of certain paths.[25] These are in conjunction with damage from natural causes over time due to vegetation growth, the foundations settling, and erosion from the weather.[25]
One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001
During the Soviet invasion, large-scale looting occurred in various archaeological sites including Hadda, ancient site of Ai-Khanoum, the Buddhist monastery complex in Tepe Shortor which dates back to the 2nd century AD, and the National Kabul Museum. These sites were ransacked by various pillagers, including the pro-Russian government forces, destitute villagers, and the local crime rings. The National Museum of Afghanistan suffered the greatest damage, in which the systematic looting has plundered the museum collection and the adjacent Archaeological Institute. As a result, more than two-thirds (66%) of one hundred thousand pieces of museum treasures and artifacts were lost or destroyed.[28]
A pair of 6th-century monumental statues known as the Buddhas of Bamiyan were dynamited by the Taliban in March 2001,[29] who had declared them heretical idols. The world’s oldest oil paintings were discovered in Bamiyan, though some were damaged by knives and attempts to destroy them. These paintings, which were identified during UNESCO research in 2008, suffered significant harm from vandalism.[30]
In 1870, a report by the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus recorded 269 Shia mosques in the region.[31] After 1917, many of the city's religious buildings were demolished in accordance with the Soviet government's modernization and anti-religious policies.[32] A mosque in Yerevan was pulled down with a bulldozer at the beginning of the year 1990.[33] Today there is only one mosque remaining in the city.
Azerbaijani authorities destroyed the Armenian cemetery in Julfa in December 2005 in the region of Nakhchivan.[34] The Azerbaijani representative of Nakhchivan denied that there was an Armenian cemetery there in the first place.[35]
At least 43 Shia mosques, including the ornate 400-year-old Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque, and many other religious structures were destroyed by the Bahraini government during the Bahraini uprising of 2011.
Panam Nagar In the 15th century, Isa Khan established the first capital of Bengal at Sonagaon. British thank cloth came from England via the Meghna in the east and Shitalakshya in the west, and muslin from India. Sailing boats used to throng the Shitalakshya and Meghna ghats every day. Around that time, as a result of the commercial activities and permanent settlements of the East India Company, the city of Panam was built in a new colonial architectural style inspired by Europeans. Later, the indigo trade took over this garment trade. The British established an indigo trading center here. W. W. Hunter is of the opinion that Panam was the capital of Sonargaon during the Sultanate period. But in Panam, there is no significant architecture from the Sultanate period, so the truth of this claim is not well proven. In this regard, James Taylor says that the ancient city of Sonargaon was Panam. There is no conflict with this theory in reality. The city has many colonial-style two-story and one-story houses. Most of the houses are from the 19th century (there is a nameplate dated 1813 AD). Panam was originally a settlement for the wealthy merchants of Bengal at that time. The merchants had businesses throughout Dhaka and Kolkata. They built this city. After the Mughals captured Sonargaon in 1611 AD, the construction of roads and bridges established direct communication between the capital city and the Panam area. The location of the Panam Bridge (extinct), Dulalpur Bridge and Panamnagar Bridge and the canals and fences on three sides indicate that Panam was a suburb of Sonargaon. The independent king of Bengal, Isa Khan, visited this city. Bengali culture had developed here since the Sultanate period.
Several landmarks associated with the founding leader of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, were destroyed or damaged in arson attacks and looting that followed the Non-cooperation movement (2024), including his former residence in Dhaka, which was converted into the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, as well as the Mujibnagar Memorial Complex. Other cultural institutions were also destroyed in the violence, including the 19th-century Bir Chandra Public Library in Comilla.[39][40]
The historical Famen Temple went through several periods of destruction. First erected during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220), it was destroyed during the years of the Northern Zhou dynasty (557–581). After being rebuilt, it was destroyed again by an earthquake during the Longqing's years (1567–1572) of the Ming dynasty. After another reconstruction, it was destroyed again during the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976. The present structure was completed in 1987.
The Huang Chao rebellion (874–884) devastated the city of Chang'an, a historical capital of several ancient Chinese empires. The city was sacked and occupied by the rebels who looted and demolished the buildings, whose materials were then reused to build the subsequent capital city of Luoyang. Chang'an never recovered after this obliteration, and it was followed by the decline of the Tang dynasty. Huang Chao's former lieutenant Zhu Wen completed the destruction by dismantling Chang'an and transporting the materials east to Luoyang. A medieval Chinese source claimed that Huang Chao killed 8 million people.[42] Huang Chao's army in southern China committed the Guangzhou massacre against foreign Arab and Persian Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian merchants in 878-879 at the seaport and trading entrpot of Guangzhou.[43]
In 1739, the Pagoda of Chengtian Temple was destroyed after a large earthquake struck the city of Yinchuan. The pagoda was subsequently restored in 1820.[46]
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, which dates back to the 15th century, was destroyed during the course of the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). A modern life-size replica was built in 2015.[47]
Beijing city fortifications which date back to the 15th–16th century were destroyed through the course of the decline of the Qing dynasty in the late 19th to early 20th century. They were severely damaged during the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1901), with the gate towers and watchtowers destroyed and troops of the Eight-Nation Alliance tearing down much of the outer city walls. After the collapse of the Qing in 1912, and end of the Republic of China in 1949, the fortifications were dismantled to build modern ring roads around Beijing. Today, nothing of the Outer City remains intact.[citation needed]
During the Kumul Rebellion in Xinjiang in the 1930s, Buddhist murals were vandalized by Muslims.[51]
Yongdingmen, the former front gate of the outer city wall of the Beijing city fortifications, which dates back to 1553, was demolished in the 1950s to make way for the new road system. It was rebuilt in 2005.
A shrine dedicated to Wei Yan was destroyed by the Chinese government in 1968. A stone tablet which contained the record of his presence was lost after the demolition. The shrine was rebuilt in 1995.[52]
During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, many artifacts, monuments, and buildings belonging to the Four Olds were attacked and destroyed, including:
White Horse Temple in Luoyang, the oldest Buddhist temple in China. Some historical artifacts are still missing.[53]
According to anthropologist Robert E. Murowchick, a quarter million tombs have been raided since the 1990s to rob the antiquities which lay beneath them. Murowchick points out that growing demand for antiquities from both domestic and international markets have encouraged the tomb raiding in China.[55]
China's aggressive development has resulted in the destruction of more than 30,000 items listed by the state administration of cultural heritage, compiled from various archaeological and historic sites. One conservation campaigner tells that the rate of destruction is worse than during the Cultural Revolution. Destroyed heritage sites include the old town in Dinghai, the old town of Laoximen in Shanghai,[56] a centuries-old market street in Qianmen, and a section of the Great Wall of China.[57] Historical neighborhoods of Beijing and Nanjing were also razed.[58][59]
The construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River caused water levels to rise, destroying entire cities as well as many historical locations along the river.[60][61]
In 2016, the Chinese government ordered the demolition of historical housings in the Larung GarTibetan Buddhist institution.[62]
By 2017, the old town of Kashgar had been destroyed by the Chinese government, and replaced by a significantly smaller and lower-quality "theme park" version of the site.[63]
In 1565 CE, after the Battle of Talikota, the capital city of Vijayanagara, with all its temples, palaces, mansions and monuments, was sacked and destroyed by an invading army raised by the five Bahamani Sultanates. What remains now are the ruins of Hampi.
The Shiva temples of Puneshwar and Narayaneshwar in the city of Pune were destroyed by the invader army of Alauddin Khalji. Later a tomb of a Muslim preacher was erected at the sites.
In 1664, Aurangzeb destroyed the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and built the Gyanvapi Mosque over its walls. The remnants of the temple wall can still be seen today, as was depicted in the 19th century sketch by James Prinsep. Christian missionary Edwin Greaves (1909), of the London Missionary Society, described the site as follows: "At the back of the mosque and in continuation of it are some broken remains of what was probably the old Bishwanath Temple. It must have been a right noble building; there is nothing finer, in the way of architecture in the whole city, than this scrap. A few pillars inside the mosque appear to be very old also."[70]
Original Gambir Station before huge renovation in 1988Gambir station after huge renovation
Kraton Majapahit, the royal palace of Majapahit emperors, was destroyed in a rebellion. What remained of the palace and fortifications around it was further looted by treasure hunters during the Dutch colonial era.[72]
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, are believed to have been destroyed sometime after the 1st century AD. Their existence is not confirmed by archaeology, and there have been suggestions that the gardens were purely mythical.
The Round City of Baghdad, the seat of the Abbasid caliph, was sacked by the Mongols led by Hulegu in 1258. Large section of the city as well as irrigation system and the House of Wisdom, a library and intellectual center, were destroyed. The city was attacked again by Tamerlane in 1401, leading to the almost destruction.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) destroyed much of the cultural heritage in the areas it controlled in Iraq. At least 28 religious buildings were looted and destroyed, including Shiite mosques, tombs, shrines and churches.[79] In addition, numerous ancient and medieval sites and artifacts, including the ancient cities of Nimrud and Hatra, parts of the wall of Nineveh, the ruins of Bash Tapia Castle and Dair Mar Elia, and artifacts from the Mosul Museum were also destroyed.
The Baptist Church of Jerusalem in Narkis Street was burned down in 1982 in a suspected arson,[83] and subjected to an arson attack in 2007.[84]
In 1996, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf began unauthorized construction on the Temple Mount, damaging ancient structures and weakening the stability of the Southern Wall. 300 truckloads of topsoil were excavated and dumped in the Kidron Valley without permitting proper archaeological care. (See Temple Mount Sifting Project).
The Shrine of Husayn's Head was a shrine built by the Fatimids on a hilltop adjacent to Ascalon that was reputed to have held the head of Husayn ibn Ali between c. 906 CE and 1153 CE.[95] It was described as the most magnificent building in the ancient city,[96][97] and developed into the most important and holiest Shi'a site in Palestine.[98] The shrine was destroyed in 1950 by the Israeli army, more than a year after hostilities ended, on the orders of Moshe Dayan. This was in accordance with a 1950s Israeli policy of erasing Muslim historical sites within Israel,[99] and in line with efforts to expel the remaining Palestinian Arabs from the region.[95]
The majority of Japanese castles were smashed and destroyed in the late 19th century in the Meiji restoration by the Japanese people and government in order to modernize and westernize Japan and break from their past feudal era of the Daimyo and Shoguns. It was only due to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan that concrete replicas of those castles were built for tourists.[100][101][102] The vast majority of castles in Japan today are new replicas made out of concrete.[103][104][105] In 1959 a concrete keep was built for Nagoya castle.[106]
An earth wall with uneven stones made up the original base of Komine Castle before it collapsed in the 1970s due to rain. The Japanese local government repaired it with concrete and the entire section of the repaired wall was destroyed by the earthquake in 2011 due to using concrete. The Japanese government then begged for photographs of the original wall from local citizens as they had no idea what it looked like to repair it to its original state.[107]
The Japanese used mostly concrete in 1934 to rebuild the Togetsukyo Bridge, unlike the original destroyed wooden version of the bridge from 836.[108]
Japanese had to look at old paintings in order to find out what the Horyuji temple used to look like when they rebuilt it.[109]
During the Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri, tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious statues and temples were smashed and destroyed.[110] Japan then closed and shut done tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in the Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State Shinto cult.
Japanese building company Kongō Gumi started using CAD software and concrete with wood to build temples after the Meiji restoration.[111]
The Japanese built a Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Kannon) statue out of concrete at a temple Ryozen Kannon in Kyoto which was constructed after World War II.[112]
The Japanese in 1958 used concrete to rebuild the Kannon-do temple at the Senso-ji Temple in Toko after it was destroyed in 1945 in World War II.[113]
Shuri Castle, a palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom first built in the 14th century, was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. The Japanese forces had set up a defense perimeter which goes through the underground of the castle. U.S. military targeted this location by shelling with the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) for three days in May 1945. The castle burned down subsequently after. It was later reconstructed in the 1990s. On the morning of 31 October 2019, the main courtyard structures of the castle were again destroyed in a fire.
The Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) of Kyoto was burnt down by an arsonist in 1950, but was restored in 1955.[116]
Candi Number 11 also known as Candi Sungai Batu Estate, a 1,200 year old ruin of a tomb-temple located in the Bujang Valley historical complex in Kedah was demolished in 2013 by housing developers who claimed not to have known the historical significance of the stone edifice.[117]
Mandalay Palace, former 19th century royal palace of the Burmese kings, burned down to the ground in 1945 during the Battle of Mandalay between Allied and Japanese forces.
The Archaeological site of Harappa which dates back to 2600 BCE was heavily damaged during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Bricks from the ruins were brought out and used as track ballast during the construction of Lahore–Multan railway line.[133] Since the discovery, the site was constantly being damaged by the local farmers in the process of turning it into an agriculture land.[134]
Sun Temple of Multan, a grand Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun deity built in 614 CE or earlier, was destroyed in the late 10th century by Ismaili rulers and a mosque was built atop it, which was also destroyed in the 11th century by Mahmud of Ghazni. The ruins of the temple exist in modern day Multan, Pakistan.
Prahladpuri Temple, Multan, was destroyed by a Muslim mob in 1992 in the aftermath of Babri mosque destruction in neighboring India.
Shaheed Ganj Mosque in Lahore was demolished by the Sikhs in 1935. Sikhs had been occupying the public square near the mosque since the capture of Lahore by Bhangi Misl in the 18th century. The conflict concerning the mosque had heightened during the colonial era, as Muslims were forbidden to pray there by the mosque administration. The demolishing of the mosque had led to the Muslims protesters holding marches toward the mosque, which was dispersed by the police opening fire on them.[135]Bouddha sur un trône aux lions
Looters and the Taliban destroyed much of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts left over from the Buddhist Gandhara civilization especially in Swat Valley.[136] Gandhara Buddhist relics were deliberately targeted by the Taliban for destruction,[137] and illegally looted by smugglers.[138]Kushan era Buddhist stupas and statues in Swat valley, including the JehanabadBuddha's face, were demolished by the Taliban.[139][140][141] The government was criticized for doing nothing to safeguard the statue after the initial attempt at destroying the Buddha, which did not cause permanent harm, and when the second attack took place on the statue the feet, shoulders, and face were demolished.[142] A rehabilitation attempt on the Buddha was made by Luca Olivieri and a group from Italy.[143][144]
During the Spanish Colonization of the Philippine islands, the Spanish observed native structures called Kota or citadels made of large wooden houses or lime stones which made up the ancient cosmopolitan city-states of Luzon, Visayas and even in Mindanao.
The City of Cainta was a fortified city. According to the descriptions by early Spanish chroniclers, it was surrounded by bamboo thickets, defended by a log wall, stone bulwarks and several lantakas, and an arm of the Pasig River flowed through the middle of the city, dividing it into two settlements.[145]: 145 with a population with about a thousand inhabitants, and was surrounded by very tall and very dense bamboo thickets, and fortified with a wall and a few small culverins. The same river as that of Manila circles around the village and a branch of it passes through the middle dividing it in two sections. As described in the anonymous 1572 account documented in Volume 3 of Blair and Robertson's compiled translations:[145] In August 1571, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi assigned his nephew, Juan de Salcedo, to "pacify" Cainta. After travelling several days upriver, Salcedo lay siege to the city, and eventually found a weak spot on the wall. The final Spanish attack over 400 residents of Cainta killed including their leader Gat Maitan.[145]
Kota Selurong was the walled city of Manila along the south bank of the Pasig River.[146] Kota Seludong, the seat of the power of the Kingdom of Maynila that was protected by a rammed earth fortress equipped with stockades, battlements and cannons.[147] the Kota were destroyed in 1570 siege, after the Spanish forces invaded the city. Spanish accounts claim that Martin de Goiti ordered his men to set the city in fire.[148]
The Loon Church before and after the 2013 Bohol earthquake. It has since been reconstructed, adhering as faithfully as possible to the original plans and using the original masonry.
During the Battle of Manila in 1945, most of the city's unique architecture was destroyed. After the battle, in the business district, only two buildings dating to before the war remained intact, and these buildings' plumbing had been looted.[149] After the war ended, much of Manila was rebuilt in a modernist style, and thus the original architectural heritage of the city is largely lost.
The Philippine Su Kuang Institute building was demolished in 2017 after the owners sold the building to a private developer within the same year. The 1940s era building was the last Art Deco wooden school structure in Binondo, Manila.[153]
Various mosques and other historic sites, especially those relating to early Islam, have been destroyed in Saudi Arabia. Apart from early Islamic sites, other buildings such as the Ajyad Fortress were also destroyed. This is done for economic reasons, to create room to accommodate hajj pilgrims (including luxury facilities for wealthy guests), as well as for ideological reasons related to the iconoclastic religious doctrine of the state Wahhabi sect. The Ajyad Fortress of the Ottomans was demolished for commercial development of the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower.
Hwangnyongsa, a massive Buddhist temple in Gyeongju which dates back to the 7th century, was burned down by the Mongolians during their invasion in 1238.
Hundreds of Buddhist monasteries were shut down or destroyed during the Joseon period as a part of anti-Buddhism policy. In 1407, during the reign of Taejong, the regulations were imposed on the number of Buddhist temples which limited to 88.[154]Sejong the Great further reduced the number to 36.[155][154] Many Buddhist statues were also destroyed during the reign of Jungjong (1506–1544).
Namdaemun was damaged by fire caused by arson in 2008. It reopened in 2013.
In March 2021, a main hall of the historic Naejangsan temple in Jeongeup, was burned into ashes by a 53-year-old monk arsonist.
The Palace of King Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa was set into fire by the Kalinga Magha lead Indian invaders in the 11th century. The ruins and the effect of the fire is still visible.[156]
The Library of Jaffna, which had over 97,000 manuscripts, was burned in 1981, as a part of the Sri Lankan war.
In June 1932 in Siam—now Thailand—a revolution overthrew 700 years of absolute monarchy. A political structure based on a constitution that required non-royal governments elected by the people, was introduced. On 10 December 1936, the first post-revolution prime minister, Phraya Phahon, held a small ceremony to embed a small plaque the size of a dinner plate into the ground at the spot, in front of Bangkok's Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, where he had first announced the end of the absolute monarchy.[161] The inscription on it read: "Here on 24 June 1932 at dawn, the People's Party proclaimed a constitution for the country's advancement."[162]
Eighty years later, sometime between 2–8 April 2017, the democracy plaque was replaced by a new plaque. Its message read: "To love and respect the Buddhist trinity, one's own state, one's own family, and to have a heart faithful to your monarch, will bring prosperity to the country". Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dismissed the theft and replacement of the plaque as unimportant.[163] The police insisted they could not investigate the plaque's disappearance because they did not know who owned the plaque. Investigation stalled as all 11 CCTV cameras in the area had been removed days before the plaque was taken.[162]
On 20 September 2020, a new updated version of the plaque was installed by democracy activists at Sanam Luang. Within a day of its installation it was removed by persons unknown.[164]
The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was destroyed by arson in 356 BC. It was later rebuilt, but was damaged in a raid by Goths in 268 AD. Its stones were subsequently used in other buildings. A few fragments of the structure still survive in situ.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, another Wonder of the Ancient World, was destroyed by a series of earthquakes between the 12th and 15th centuries. Most of the remaining marble blocks were burnt into lime, but some were used in the construction of Bodrum Castle by the Knights Hospitaller, where they can still be seen today. The only other surviving remains of the mausoleum are some foundations in situ, a few sculptures in the British Museum, and some marble blocks which were used to build a dockyard in Malta's Grand Harbour
The abandonment and confiscation of Armenian monasteries and cultural heritage in places such as Ani contributed to their eventual destruction. In 1974, UNESCO stated that after 1923, out of 913 Armenian historical monuments left in Eastern Turkey, 464 had vanished completely, 252 were in ruins, and 197 needed repair.[165] In 2011, there were 34 Armenian churches functioning in Turkey, primarily in Istanbul.[166]
The country's only Bahá'í Temple, in Ashgabat (called Ishqabad by its followers) which was completed in 1908 was later destroyed in 1962 after being damaged in the 1948 Earthquake.[167]
Vienna's Cathedral of St. Stephen was severely damaged by fire in 1945, towards the end of the Second World War. Incendiary bombs and shelling had set the roof on fire, and the cathedral's original larch girders, said to be made from an entire forest of larches, were destroyed, as were the Rollinger choir stalls, carved in 1487. The building was rebuilt soon after the war.[168]
The Herkenrode Abbey in Hasselt survived the French Revolution, but subsequently fell into disrepair. In 1826 a fire destroyed much of the church, and the remaining ruins were demolished in 1844.
On 25 August 1914, during World War I, the university library of Leuven was destroyed by the Germans against the backdrop of other war crimes. 230,000 volumes were lost, including medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and more than 1,000 incunabula. After the war, a new library was built. During World War II, the new building was again set on fire and nearly a million books were lost.
During World War I, the city of Ypres was destroyed, including its Town Hall and Cloth Hall. These monuments were later rebuilt.
Stari Most, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and monumental Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (white church in the background) were destroyed by Croat forces in the Bosnian War, but were later rebuilt.
Through the course of the Bosnian War, numerous sites of cultural and religious heritage were destroyed:
In the Bosnian War during the Siege of Sarajevo, culturcide was committed by Army of Republika Srpska. The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina was specifically targeted and besieged by cannons positioned all around the city and it was destroyed in the fire, along with 80 percent of its contents. Some 3 million books destroyed, along with hundreds of original documents from the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.[170]
Muslim heritage sites suffered the most, with 614 mosques and several other religious facilities, schools, and institutions destroyed by the authorities of the Republic of Srpska as a part of the ethnic cleansing campaign against the local Muslim populations. The most well known among them include Mehmed Pasha Kukavica Mosque, Arnaudija Mosque, and Ferhat Pasha Mosque. A substantial proportion of these mosques date back to the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian era. Many of them, such as the Ferhadija and Arnaudija mosques, have since been rebuilt with financial and professional assistance from Turkey.
Roman Catholic sites also suffered with more than 269 churches being destroyed, which was associated with the killings of Bosnian Croats, mostly by Bosnian Serbs.[175][176][177]
Parts of the old city of Mostar, including the Stari Most, were destroyed by the Croatian Defence Council during the war. The Stari Most has been rebuilt. Another symbol of the city, the monumental Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was shelled, set afire, and finally blown up by the local Croat forces.[180][181][182] The reconstruction of the church is ongoing.[183][184]
In the Independent State of Croatia 450 Serb Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed along with monumental iconostasis, thousands of icons and number of manuscripts and books which included archival books about births, weddings and deaths.[185][186] The destroyed ritual items were of great cultural and historical importance and beauty.[185]
War damage of the Croatian War (1991–1995) has been assessed on 2,271 protected cultural monuments, with the damage cost being estimated at 407 million DM.[187] The largest numbers – 683 damaged cultural monuments – are located in the area of Dubrovnik and Neretva County. Most are situated in Dubrovnik itself.[188] The entire buildings and possessions of 481 Roman Catholic churches, several synagogues, and several Serbian Orthodox churches were badly damaged or destroyed. Valuable inventories were looted from over 100 churches. The most drastic example of destruction of cultural monuments, art objects, and artifacts took place in Vukovar. After the occupation of the devastated city by the Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary forces, portable cultural property was removed from shelters and museums in Vukovar to museums and archives in Serbia.[187]
After Croatia gained independence, about 3,000 memorials dedicated to the anti-fascist resistance and the victims of fascism were destroyed.[189]
In September 1991, Croatian forces entered the memorial site of the Jasenovac Concentration Camp and vandalized the museum building, while exhibitions and documentation were destroyed, damaged and looted.[190]
The Old Town Hall in Prague was severely damaged by fire during the Prague uprising of 1945. The chamber where George of Poděbrady was elected King of Bohemia was devastated; the town hall's bell, the oldest in Bohemia, dating from 1313, was melted; and the city archives, comprising 70,000 volumes (most of which were transported to the outskirts of Prague due to the fear of the bombardment),[192] as well as historically priceless manuscripts, were destroyed.[193]
The Vinohrady Synagogue (one of Europe's largest Synagogues) was destroyed during the Bombing of Prague.
The Børsen, a 17th century stock exchange building in Copenhagen, was partially destroyed, including its iconic spire, in a fire on 16 April 2024.[194]
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, many historic structures, such as castles and monasteries, were destroyed by the revolutionaries as tangible symbols of the ancien régime. Examples include the Bastille (rapidly demolished in 1789), Cluny Abbey (the largest church in Christendom when built, demolished between 1800 and 1810, and quarried for stone thereafter)[195] and Jumièges Abbey.
On 23 May 1871, the Tuileries Palace, which had been the usual Parisian residence of French monarchs, was almost entirely gutted in a fire set by members of the Paris Commune, leaving only the stone shell. It was subsequently demolished in 1883.
In 1914, Reims Cathedral was burned as a result of shelling during the initial phase of the First World War. The cathedral was rebuilt after the war.
In 1917, the Château de Coucy was blown up by the retreating Germans, destroying its important 13th century donjon.[198]
On 15 April 2019, the roof of the Notre-Dame de Pariscaught fire, severely damaging the bell towers and resulting in the total collapse of the central spire and roof. The fire is believed to have been caused by the ongoing restoration, though an investigation is ongoing.[199]
Many historically and architecturally significant buildings were destroyed or severely damaged during World War II and the post-war period as a result of the Allied policy of area bombing of cities aimed at destroying or weakening infrastructure and war-related industry in the German Reich, as well as demoralizing the population by destroying urban cores and residential neighborhoods. Several hundred cities were destroyed, many of them by more than 80 percent. Striking examples are palaces like Berlin Palace, Monbijou Palace, and City Palace, Potsdam, as well as churches like Dresden Frauenkirche, Berlin Cathedral, and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Several have been rebuilt since 1990 (including all those mentioned except Monbijou Palace and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church).
The Paulinerkirche was a medieval church from 1231 in Leipzig. The church survived the war practically unscathed but was dynamited in 1968 during the communist regime of East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, a new building in a contemporary style, the Paulinum, was built on the site. East German authorities destroyed several other religious and aristocracy-related buildings as not in line with their vision of a "Worker and Peasant State" – some of those buildings had already been damaged by the war, however.
The Church of St. Lambertus in Immerath was demolished on 9 January 2018 as part of the demolition of the entire village to make way for an expansion of the Garzweiler surface mine. The church had been added to the list of heritage monuments in Erkelenz on 14 May 1985.[200]
In October 2020, artworks displayed at various museums at Museumsinsel in Berlin were vandalized with a liquid that left stains on the artifacts.[201]
Numerous synagogues throughout Germany were destroyed during the Nazi era (1933-1945), particularly during or slightly after the November Pogroms of 1938. Their post-war reconstruction was hampered by the erstwhile Jewish community having fled or been murdered and in some cases Old Nazis remaining in local administrative positions preventing rebuilding.
After reunification some important representative buildings of East Germany were demolished, most notably Palast der Republik where asbestos contamination was cited as a reason for demolition
In the course of post-war reconstruction in line with the vision of an automotive city several old towns were destroyed or significantly impacted to make way for highways, parking lots and other car-related infrastructure
During and after the Protestant Reformation religiously motivated iconoclasts destroyed religious art and architecture. This process – with interruptions – lastet until the end of the Thirty Years War
Besides deliberate acts of destruction like the Sack of Magdeburg which all but depopulated a city of some 25,000 inhabitants, the Thirty Years War also destroyed most church records and many buildings due to ransacking, plunder and arson. As most genealogical records were kept in churches at the time, genealogical research meets a bottleneck during that historical era.
The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was destroyed in the 226 BC Rhodes earthquake, and its remains were destroyed in the 7th century AD while Rhodes was under Arab rule. In December 2015, a group of European architects announced plans to build a modern Colossus where the original once stood.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, also a Wonder of the Ancient World, was destroyed around the 5th century CE, although it is not known exactly when or how.
The Parthenon was extensively damaged in 1687 in the Morean theatre of the Great Turkish War (1683–1699). The Ottoman army fortified the Acropolis of Athens and used the Parthenon as a gunpowder magazine and a shelter for members of the local Turkish community. On 26 September, a Venetian mortar round blew up the magazine, and the explosion blew out the building's central portion. About three hundred people were killed in the explosion, which caused fires that burned until the following day and consumed many homes.[202][203] The Parthenon was extensively and permanently damaged when Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (occupiers of Greece in the early 19th century), who admired the Parthenon's extensive collection of ancient marble sculptures, began extracting and expatriating them to Britain in 1801. More damage to the site's heritage came after independence, when all Medieval and Ottoman features of the Acropolis (most notably the Frankish Tower) were destroyed by Heinrich Schliemann in a project to rid the site of all post-Classical influence.
During the Battle of Dublin at the beginning of the Irish Civil War in 1922, munitions were stored at the Four Courts building, which housed 1,000 years of Irish records in the Public Record Office. Under circumstances that are disputed, the munitions exploded, destroying much of Ireland's historical record.
Tower of Paul III and Convent of Aracoeli, demolished to make room for the Victor Emmanuel Monument.
Various historic buildings were demolished in the 19th and 20th centuries to make way for railways, industrial areas, or other modern buildings. Examples include the Castello di Villagonia and the Real Cittadella in Sicily.
Many historic buildings in Italy were destroyed or damaged during World War II. These include the monastery of Monte Cassino, which was destroyed during the Battle of Monte Cassino but was rebuilt after the war.
During the Yugoslavia period there was destruction of Albanian heritage endorsed by the state.[204] A number of Albanian cultural sites in Kosovo were destroyed during the Kosovo conflict (1998–1999) which constituted a war crime violating the Hague and Geneva Conventions.[205] In all 225 out of 600 mosques in Kosovo were damaged, vandalised, or destroyed alongside other Islamic architecture and Islamic libraries and archives with records spanning 500 years.[206][207] Additionally 500 Albanian owned kulla dwellings (traditional stone tower houses) and three out of four well preserved Ottoman period urban centres located in Kosovo cities were badly damaged resulting in great loss of traditional architecture.[208][209] Kosovo's public libraries, in particular 65 out of 183 were completely destroyed with a loss of 900,588 volumes.[210][211] During the war, Islamic architectural heritage posed for Yugoslav Serb paramilitary and military forces as Albanian patrimony with destruction of non-Serbian architectural heritage being a methodical and planned component of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.[209][212]
The Royal Opera House in Valletta in 1911, and its ruins in 2016. The building was destroyed by aerial bombardment in 1942.
Parts of the megalithic Xagħra Stone Circle in Gozo were deliberately destroyed in around 1834–1835 and its megaliths were broken down to form masonry which was used in the construction of a nearby farmhouse. The site was subsequently forgotten for over a century before being rediscovered in the late 20th century.[222]
Other buildings which were not included on the Antiquities List but which had significant cultural importance were also destroyed during the war. The most notable of these was the Royal Opera House in Valletta, which is considered as "one of the major architectural and cultural projects undertaken by the British" by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.[231]
The Gourgion Tower in Xewkija, which was included on the Antiquities List, was demolished by American forces in 1943 to make way for an airfield. Many of its inscriptions and decorated stones were retrieved and they are now in storage at Heritage Malta.[232]
Palazzo Fremaux, a building included on the Antiquities List and which was scheduled as a Grade 2 property, was gradually demolished between 1990 and 2003. The demolition was condemned by local residents, the local government and non-governmental organizations.[233][234]
The Azure Window, a 28-metre-tall (92 ft) limestone natural arch on the island of Gozo in Malta. It was located in Dwejra Bay in the limits of San Lawrenz, close to the Inland Sea and the Fungus Rock. It was one of Malta's major tourist attractions. The arch, together with other natural features in the area of Dwejra, is featured in a number of international films and other media representations. The formation was anchored on the east end by the seaside cliff, arching over open water, to be anchored to a free standing pillar in the sea to the west of the cliff. It was created when two limestone sea caves collapsed. Following years of natural erosion causing parts of the arch to fall into the sea, the arch and free standing pillar collapsed completely during a storm in March 2017.
Villa St Ignatius, a 19th-century villa with historical and architectural significance,[235] was partially demolished in late 2017. This was condemned by numerous non-governmental organizations and other entities.[236]
The German bombing of Rotterdam that took place on 14 May 1940, also known as the Rotterdam Blitz, decimated most of the historical city center of the Dutch city of Rotterdam, which at the time was the second-largest city in the country. During the bombing, hundreds of years worth of architecture and artwork were destroyed within hours.
De Noord, a tower mill which had survived the Rotterdam Blitz, suffered a fire in July 1954 and was demolished soon after.[237]
Kareol, a huge Art Deco building in Aerdenhout. It was built in 1908-1911. It was the largest house being built by a private owner in The Netherlands in the 20th century. It was demolished in 1979.
A small section of the 19th-century quarter Chiado was destroyed by fire on 25 August 1988. The eighteen damaged buildings were rebuilt in the following 20 years.
The 1989 fire of the Central University Library in Bucharest destroyed over 500,000 books and 3,700 manuscripts, including manuscripts of famous Romanian writings, such as many of Mircea Eliade's novel manuscripts.
This 1890s building in Moscow was demolished in September 2008. The property developer was fined $1,500.[241]
In Moscow alone losses of 1917–2006 are estimated at over 640 notable buildings (including 150 to 200 listed buildings, out of a total inventory of 3,500) – some disappeared completely, others were replaced with concrete replicas.
'Mephistopheles', figure on a St Petersburg building on Lakhtinksaya Street known as the House with Mephistopheles, smashed by a fundamentalist Orthodox group in 2015.[242][243][244]
The original buildings of Metrowagonmash plant, founded by Savva Mamontov in 1897 and built in Russian Gothic style, were demolished between 2016 and 2019 to make way for block houses.
A photograph of the site of the National Library of Serbia, bombed on 6 April 1941 on the order of Adolf Hitler himself.[245] Around 500.000 volumes and all collections of the library were destroyed in one of the largest book bonfires in European history.[246]
During February–March 1944, the Soviet conducted the expulsion of the Chechens and Ingush from the North Caucasus as a part of the Soviet forced settlement program of the non-Russian ethnic minorities. The operation resulted in the deportation of 496,000 Chechens and Ingush populations, and the death of around a quarter of them. It was also accompanied by the destruction of local cultural and societal heritages; names of these nations were erased from the books and records; placenames were replaced with Russian ones; mosques were demolished; villages were razed; and the historical Nakh language manuscripts were almost destroyed.
The native Crimean Tatars were deported by the Soviets from the peninsula in May 1944. Afterward, the government engaged in a full-scale detatarization campaign to continue the ethnic cleansing campaign, all the Tatar placenames being replaced with Russian ones, and the Muslim graveyards and religious objects were destroyed or converted into secular places.
With the change in values imposed by communist ideology, the tradition of preservation was broken. Independent preservation societies, even those that defended only secular landmarks such as Moscow-based OIRU were disbanded by the end of the 1920s. A new anti-religious campaign, launched in 1929, coincided with collectivization of peasants; destruction of churches in the cities peaked around 1932. Several churches were demolished, including the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow and St. Michael's Cathedral in Izhevsk. Both of these were rebuilt in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev launched his anti-religious campaign. By 1964 over 10 thousand churches out of 20 thousand were shut down (mostly in rural areas) and many were demolished. Of 58 monasteries and convents operating in 1959, only sixteen remained by 1964; of Moscow's fifty churches operating in 1959, thirty were closed and six demolished.
A photograph of Torre Nueva in Zaragoza in 1876. Because of the Ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal, secularization of church properties in 1835–1836, several hundreds of church buildings, monasteries, etc., or civil buildings owned by the Church were partly or completely demolished. Many of the art works, libraries and archives contained were lost or pillaged in the time the buildings were abandoned and without owners. Among them were important buildings as Santa Caterina convent (the first gothic building in Iberian Peninsula) and Sant Francesc convent (gothic too, one of the richest in the country), both in Barcelona, or San Pedro de Arlanza Roman monastery, near Burgos, now ruined.
Several monuments demolished in Calatayud: the church of Convent of Dominicos of San Pedro Mártir (1856), Convent of Trinidad (1856), Church of Santiago (1863), Church of San Torcuato and Santa Lucía (1869) and Church of San Miguel (1871).[255]
The leaning Torre Nueva in Zaragoza was demolished in 1892 amidst fears that it would topple.[255]
Palacio de los Lasso de Castilla, was 15th century palace in Madrid which became the palace or residence of the Catholic Monarchs. It was demolished during the mid 19th century.
Tre Kronor, main residence of the Swedish Kings, destroyed by fire in 1697. Several important documents of the history of Sweden were lost in the fire.
Klarakvarteren, a part of Stockholm from the 17th century. It was demolished in the 1960–70.
The city of Norrköping was razed in 1719 by Russians. It was reconstructed with grid pattern streets and using the surviving Johannesborg fort as a quarry.
Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Kyiv: Damaged on 1 March 2022 during the Battle of Kyiv, part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The memorial complex, which was under construction at the time, suffered structural damage to a museum building, as well as damage to the adjacent cemetery; other intrinsic elements of the site, including the memorial's synagogue and menorah sculpture, were not damaged.[260][261]
Church of the Tithes, Kyiv: The original 10th century church was destroyed by Mongol forces in the Siege of Kiev (1240). A new church was built on the site in the 19th century, but it too was destroyed by Soviet authorities in 1935.
Great Suburb Synagogue, Lviv: Demolished by invading Nazi forces in 1941.Church of the Ascension in Lukashivka village (Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine) after fighting in April 2022
St. George's church in the Sviatohirsk Lavra complex after Russian shelling in May 2022
Golden Rose Synagogue, Lviv: Oldest synagogue in Ukraine, sacked in 1941 and demolished in 1942 by the Nazi occupation forces.
Khreshchatyk, Kyiv: The main street of Kyiv, containing many historic buildings. It was heavily mined by retreating Soviet forces in 1941, and as a result most buildings were destroyed. Some buildings were restored after the war, but most were replaced with new structures in the style of Stalinist architecture.
Kuindzhi Art Museum, Mariupol: Destroyed on 21 March 2022 during the Siege of Mariupol, part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The museum was dedicated to the life and work of Ukrainian-born artist Arkhip Kuindzhi. Although the works by Kuindzhi held by the museum were reportedly removed from the building prior to its destruction, the whereabouts of the artwork are unknown. Additionally, the status of the remainder of the museum's collection, which included around 2,000 works by fellow Ukrainian artists Ivan Aivazovsky, Mykola Hlushchenko, Tetyana Yablonska, Mykhailo Derehus, and others, remains unknown.[265][266]
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, Kyiv: Demolished by Soviet authorities from 1934-1936. Some frescoes and mosaics were removed and taken to museums in the Russian FSR before demolition, only a portion of which were returned when the Cathedral was rebuilt in the 1990s.
Dunwich, the historic capital of East Anglia, and a major port city of medieval England, has largely fallen into the sea due to gradual coastal erosion following two great storms in 1287.
In Scotland, the Reformation happened later, in 1560, and the monks were generally not evicted, but merely left in their monasteries to die out.[268] By the 1590s most monks had died, and in the early 17th century King James VI reconstructed the monastic estates as temporal lordships. The new owners then either destroyed the derelict monasteries or converted them to residential use.
In the English Civil War, many castles and stately homes were destroyed in sieges (an example being Old Wardour Castle) or slighted or demolished by the victorious Parliamentarians. This was done both to render them militarily untenable and as a symbolic destruction of the old order. Parliament could not afford to garrison al the many castles in England against Royalist insurgents, and an ungarrisoned castle could easily be used as a base by supporters of King Charles. This happened at Pontefract Castle, where the castle was left standing after the first civil war, was retaken by a party of Royalists, and had to be taken again in a lengthy siege.[269] To prevent this recurring, the castle was thoroughly demolished. Raglan Castle was an example of a punitive demolition - the Marquis of Worcester had held out long after every other castle except Pendennis. As punishment his castle was ransacked and, in contrast to the preservation of that at Oxford, his library was deliberately burnt.[270] Examples of destroyed or damaged castles include Corfe, Winchester, Pembroke, Aberystwyth, Helmsley, Bolton and Basing.
The Cotton library owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton was partly destroyed in a house fire in 1731, resulting in the loss of a number of important Late Antique and medieval manuscripts and serious damage to a number of others, including a copy of Magna Carta. The surviving works are now held by the British Library.[272]
Arthur's O'on, a Roman temple or triumphal monument located near the Antonine Wall in Scotland, was demolished by a local landowner in 1743.
St Mary's Church in Reculver, an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture, was partially demolished in 1809.
The Temple of the Sun, a Gothic folly in Kew Gardens designed by William Chambers in 1761, was destroyed when a nearby cedar tree fell on it in a storm in 1916. Strangely, Chambers had also planted the cedar earlier, in 1725.[273]
Charles Church in Plymouth was entirely burned out by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe on the nights of 21 and 22 March 1941. It has since been encircled by a roundabout and turned into "a memorial to those citizens of Plymouth who were killed in air-raids on the city in the 1939–45 war."
Coleshill House, a historic mansion in Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire) was destroyed in a fire in 1952, and many historic items within were lost. The ruins were demolished in 1958. This was part of a wave of country house demolitions in the aftermath of the Second World War and the decline of the aristocracy, which continued into the 1970s.
Several historic structures, such as the Euston Arch in London and the Royal Arch in Dundee, were demolished in the 1960s to make way for redeveloped infrastructure.
Urban renewal in many historic cities, like Exeter, Coventry and York, in the 1960s and 70s compounded the damage of the Blitz by destroying many historic buildings to create roads that were believed to be more suitable for traffic.
The original Wembley Stadium was closed in October 2000 for redevelopment, and demolition commenced in December 2002, completing in 2003. The top of one of the twin towers was erected as a memorial in the park on the north side of Overton Close in the Saint Raphael's Estate.
The Carlton Tavern, an historic pub in Kilburn, London and the only building on its street to survive the Blitz during World War II, was demolished by its owner without prior permission in April 2015.[277] The pub was subsequently rebuilt and re-opened following a community campaign and planning appeals.[278]
Clandon Park House, a historic mansion in Surrey, was severely damaged by fire on 29 April 2015, leaving the house "essentially a shell" and destroying thousands of historic items, including one of the footballs kicked across no-man's land on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.[279]
The Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, considered England's oldest hotel, was almost destroyed by fire on 28 October 2016.[280]
The Mackintosh Building of the Glasgow School of Art was extensively damaged by fire in May 2014, including the destruction of the artistically significant Mackintosh library; but as restoration was completed and nearing reopening a far more devastating fire broke out on the night of 15 June 2018, destroying the building's interior. Alan Dunlop, the school's professor of architecture, said: "I can't see any restoration possible for the building itself. It looks destroyed."[281]
The Crooked House, a historic 18th-century pub and former farmhouse in Staffordshire, was destroyed by fire in August 2023, and the ruins demolished.[282]
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City lost its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 following the decision to build the new Everton Stadium. It is one of only three former World Heritage Sites.
Several Maya sites such as San Estevan and Nohmul have been partly demolished.[283]This has been done by contractors to illegally extract gravel for roadworks.[284]
In January 1839, St. James Anglican Church in Toronto was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt as St. James Cathedral by December 1839. This building was destroyed by another fire in 1849 and replaced by the current structure, the Cathedral Church of St. James, in 1853.
Brock's Monument was heavily damaged after a bombing on 17 April 1840 and subsequently demolished; the monument was rebuilt in 1859.
On the night of 25 April 1849, the Canadian Parliament buildings in Montreal were set ablaze by Loyalist rioters. The resulting fire consumed the Parliament's two libraries, parts of the archives of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, as well as more recent public documents. Over 23,000 volumes, forming the collections of the two parliamentary libraries, were lost.
Metropolitan United Church was destroyed by fire in 1928 and rebuilt in 1929 to match the original 1874 building.
Saint Boniface Cathedral in Winnipeg, built in 1830, was destroyed by fire in 1860, rebuilt in 1862, relocated in 1906, and destroyed by fire again in 1968. The current cathedral was rebuilt in 1972.
The Old Government House, Built in 1876. From 1876-1883 Battleford was the seat of government and known as the Territorial Capital of the Northwest Territories. Battleford and the N.W.M.P. played a significant role during the 1885 North West Rebellion. Burned down by arson in 2003
On the left is the church of La Limpia de la Inmaculada Concepción, nowadays disappeared.
The church of La Iglesia de Nuestro Señor de los Reyes was a Catholic church in the city of Comayagua built in 1555. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1808; finally the mayor's office ordered it demolished in 1829.[288]
The church of Santa Lucia de Jeto in Comayagua was built in 1558 and located on the outskirts of the city, it collapsed in 1808 after an earthquake.
The church of the La limpia de la Inmaculada Concepcion was a Catholic church built in 1621 in Tegucigalpa. It suffered a fire in 1746, and stopped being used frequently. It was finally demolished in 1858 due to its poor condition.
The Caxa Real of Comayagua was heavily damaged due to earthquakes; it remained in ruins until it was rebuilt and re opened in 2013.
Tenampúa, a ceremonial center of the Lenca culture from the classic Mesoamerican period, was heavily damaged during the Second Honduran Civil War in 1924.
The Choir of the Immaculate Conception cathedral was a unique architectonic element in Honduras from the early 18th Century that implemented Baroque and Neoclassical decoration along with Golden pieces inside it, the structure was demolished in 1930 due to the amplification of the cathedral and the possible poor preservation conditions on the structure.
The original building of the National bank of Honduras was a renaissance style building located in the central park of Tegucigalpa, built during the late 19th Century. It was demolished during the 1970s to be replaced by a new building that held government office to this days.
Castillo Bogran, an abandoned 19th-century historical building in Santa Barbara that belonged to President Marco Bogran. The building has deteriorated extensively due to heavy rains, hurricanes, and wind. Only 30% of the structure survives today.
Salitrón Viejo, archaeological site of the Lenca culture that ended up covered under water after the construction of the El Cajon dam, possessing various structures.
In April 2009 a fire occurred at the museum of the Saint Agustin College of Comayagua, destroying several pieces of art dating from the Spanish colonial era, including paintings made in Spain and relics that belonged to national heroes.[289]
On 30 November 2017 a fire damaged the Museum del hombre In Tegucigalpa, strongly damaging the structure of the building. Several pieces were saved but suffered extensive damage.
On 12 March 2019 there was a fire in the Museum of the Palace of Telecommunications in Tegucigalpa; 30% of the collection was destroyed and another part damaged.
Much of the historic downtown of Managua was destroyed by two earthquakes in the 20th century – one in 1931 and a second more devastating one in 1972. Reconstruction efforts after the 1972 earthquake were marred by corruption of the Anastasio Somoza Debayle-regime and much of what could have been saved was lost to graft, incompetence and an ideology of "redesigning" the capital according to then prevalent ideas of city planning
The Nicaraguan Revolution and subsequent Contra War led to the destruction of cultural heritage – for example the colonial era fortress of San Carlos, Rio San Juan was destroyed during an FSLN-led commando raid on the Somocista prison housed in the building
The main waiting room of New York City's Pennsylvania Station c. 1911. The station was largely demolished in 1963.
Pennsylvania Station was a Beaux-Arts style "architectural jewel" of New York City. Controversially, the above-ground portions of the station were demolished in 1963, making way for constructing the Madison Square Garden arena that opened in 1968. The controversy energized a historic preservation movement in New York City and the United States.[citation needed]
The 2008 Universal Studios fire destroyed 40,000 to 50,000 films and video recordings and over 100,000 master audio recordings.
Since the start of the 1960s, the National Historic Landmark (NHL) program and the 1966 start of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), numerous landmarks designated in those programs have been destroyed. In some cases, the destruction was mitigated by documentation of the artifact or reproduction.
On 30 May 2020, multiple historical documents and artifacts were either damaged or destroyed when the Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy was attacked by rioters in Richmond, Virginia.
In 2014, a 4,500-year-old Coast Miwok Indian burial ground and village was found near Larkspur, California, and destroyed to make way for a multimillion-dollar housing development.[299]
NRHD Jobbers Canyon Historic District, in 1989, all 24 buildings were demolished for development, representing the largest National Register historic district loss to date.[301][302]
Rich Bar in Plumas County, California, was a ghost town dating back to California Gold Rush, whose history was documented by Louise Clappe in her famed "Shirley Letters". One notable building, the Kellogg House, still contained original furnishings from the 1800s, and was continuously inhabited by Eva Eyraud, the famed "Woman on Indian Hill", from 1888 (when her family purchased the house from the Kelloggs) up until 1977. Plans to refurbish the house were thwarted when it was destroyed in the Dixie Fire on 23 or 24 July 2021.[303]
The Georgia Guidestones were heavily damaged in a bombing on 6 July 2022 and demolished completely later that same day.[304]
In the course of the construction of the Interstate Highway System thru central areas of many cities and towns, much of their historic architecture was destroyed to accommodate the new roads. Only with the freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s did the process slow down. Other buildings were destroyed to make room for surface parking lots demanded by mandatory parking minimums or the desires of business owners. Big box stores also led to a withering of smaller-scale retail and in many cases the abandonment and subsequent demolition of the buildings that formerly hosted such businesses.
Much of the tangible and intagible cultural heritage of Native Americans was deliberately or accidentally destroyed in the course of the Native American genocide. The system of residential schools in many cases broke oral tradition and led to language death or severe language decline. The latter was openly admitted policy for decades under the slogan "Kill the Indian, Save the Man".
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch was demolished in 2021 by order of Bishop Paul Martin[313] following damage in the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. The cathedral was listed as a category 1 heritage building.[314] Previous Bishop Barry Jones had approved a plan to restore the building (Archived 19 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine[315]) but these plans were thrown out following his death in 2016. After extensive destruction of significant heritage buildings in the quakes and the loss of many community hubs within Christchurch, the decision to demolish not only the Cathedral but also many other Catholic churches (damaged and undamaged) was regarded by many in the city as an act of cultural vandalism.
The Anglican ChristChurch Cathedral was severely damaged in the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Demolition was planned and partially done before being stopped entirely in 2012 after government concerns. In 2017 it was announced that the church would be reinstated.
Cramner Court, Christchurch, was demolished in 2012, after suffering from damage owing to the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. Like many other heritage buildings in Christchurch, its demolition was seen as controversial.[316]
On 18 October 1977, a fire burned the Teatro Argentino to the ground in La Plata. The building was later rebuilt, but in a different style.
On 3 April 1979 a fire destructed about half of the grand Hotel Castilla along Avenida de Mayo. The ornate Avenida Theatre housed inside survived intact, but the destroyed portions of the building have not been rebuilt.
Many of the quipu, an Andea system of encoding information in ropes via color and knots used by the Inca and other civilizations have been lost to decay of organic material and deliberate destruction. The knowledge of reading quipu was still present well into the colonial era but has since been lost.
In 1969, an original Flag of the Treinta y Tres from the Cisplatine War was stolen from the history museum. The national symbol was taken on 16 July 1969 by a revolutionary group called OPR-33. The historical flag was last seen in 1975 in Buenos Aires but has been considered missing since the day of its theft. This is still a matter of political debate.[320][321]
On 17 October 2004, a fire in the Parque Central Complex of Caracas, Venezuela, destroyed the tower's planoteca, an archive containing the entire history of the country's public building plans spanning two centuries, including aqueduct and sewer systems.[322]
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^Elton, Jude. "Exhibition Building and Grounds". SA History Hub. History Trust of South Australia. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
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