The first UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the territory of the present Czech Republic were inscribed at the 16th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Santa Fe, United States in 1992, when the country was part of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (also known as Czechoslovakia). At this session, three sites were added: the Historic Centre of Prague, the Historic Centre of Český Krumlov and the Historic Centre of Telč.[1]
With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993, the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic officially adopted the convention on 26 March 1993, inheriting those three sites. As of 2023[update], there are 17 sites inscribed on the list and a further 13 on the tentative list. The most recent addition is Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, added in 2023.
The Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region, the three spa towns in the Great Spa Towns of Europe site and the Jizera Mountains forest as an extension to the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe are transnational sites; the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region is shared with Germany, the Great Spa Towns are shared with six countries and the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests are shared with 17 countries. The Beech Forests are the only natural site in the Czech Republic; the other sites are cultural.[2]