This is a list of World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh with properties of cultural and natural heritage in Bangladesh as inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List or as on the country's tentative list. Three spots of Bangladesh have been declared world heritage sites till 2009. These are: Paharpur Buddhist Monastery of Noagaon, Bagerhat Mosque City and the Sundarbans. The first two sites are parts of world cultural heritage and the rest belongs to world's natural heritage, as the Sandarbans is the largest mangrove forest of the world.
The World Heritage Committee includes a site in its heritage list considering several criteria. It declared Paharpur a new world heritage site considering the fact that it was a unique architectural monument of pre-Islamic era located to the south of Himalaya. The temple in the centre of the single largest architectural complex of the ancient periodwas a rare example of artwork on stone reliefs and terracotta plaques of Pala era depicting an extraordinary aesthetical outlook. It has been presumed that the architectural design of the Paharpur monastery had influenced the architects of Ananda Temple of Pagan, Myanmar and Lor Jangrang and Chandi Sheua temples of Java.
Bagerhat-Khalifatabad the mosque city of mediaeval age famous for its various archeological edifices is situated in Bagerhat district, north of Sundarbans. shatgumbad mosque. bibi begni Mosque, chuna khola Mosque, Zindapeer Mosque, nine-domed Mosque, Rejakhoda Mosque, Ranabijoypur Mosque, Shabekdanga Namajghar, singra mosque, Khan Jalan's Residence and the Tomb complex are remarkable heritage sites of high archaeological merit.
Nine-Domed Mosque is a rectangular shaped mosque situated on an area of 15.24 square metre on the west bank of nearby Thakur Dighi, a huge water body, also has four corner towers and one archway on each of the east, north and south walls. The interior of the mosque is divided by two rows of stone-pillars into three longitudinal aisles and nine bays. One dome on each of the bays gave the mosque a unique identity. The Nine-domed Mosque is a rare example in the mosque architecture of Bengal.
Zinda Pir's Mosque The single-domed, although included in the world Heritage site list, the government of Bangladesh has not yet declared it as a protected monument. The department of archaeology renovated the largely damaged mosque, which had similar features of corner towers and archways like Chunakhola Mosque.
The Rejakhoda Mosque appeared to be a six-domed mosque which is situated 200 metre west of the Zinda pir's Mosque. A small part of the remains still exists there. Rana Bijoypur Mosque' The single-domed mosque was built on an area of 12.17 square metre. Its dome is the largest among all the nearby mosques. Its corner towers are similar to other mosques and rich in band decoration.
Shabekdanga a village located 5 k.m east of Shatgumbad Mosque, has got an ancient prayer house called Shabekdanga Namajghar. Perhaps it is the earliest example of chou-chala architecture that exists in Bengal.
Singra Mosque the single domed mosque was constructed about 150-metre southeast of the Shatgumbad Mosque on an area of 12.09 square metre.
Khan Jahan's Tomb is a single-domed square monument. Its architectural design has similarity with the eklakhi mausoleum at Hazrat Pandua. The residence complex of khan jahan is located at a place, 300 metre east of Shatgumbad Mosque. Primary phase of its excavation work has not yet been completed. During the reign of Sultan nasiruddin mahmud shah (1436-1459) of Iliyas Shahi dynasty Commander Ulugh Khan Jahan (death 1459 AD) built the architecturally rich Bagerhat town on the Bhairab river along the Sundarbans about six hundred years back. Later during the reign of nasiruddin nusrat shah (1519-1532), the city was known as a mint town. In 1535 AD, Sultan ghiyasuddin mahmud shah renamed the town as Khalifatabad-Badarpur. The town was also traced in the map drawn by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. The name of the town was Haweli Khalifatabad up to the eighteenth century. Detail information about Khan Jahan is unavailable, but the landmark buildings and monuments bear testimony of his creation of distinctive architecture. The architecture of Bagerhat represents a Muslim urban site of mediaeval age, which still exits being an administrative centre of the government. Considering all these merits, the world heritage Committee enlisted this town in the World Heritage list in 1985.
