Founded in 2026, World Heritage Explorer is built by a small team passionate about exploring, documenting, and sharing the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Our goal is to make information about UNESCO World Heritage Sites accessible, engaging, and inspiring for everyone.
By combining open knowledge, research, and digital tools, the platform helps users discover remarkable cultural and natural places around the globe and learn about their significance and protection.
Simon D. Kist
Founder & Creator
Simon D. Kist founded World Heritage Explorer with the vision of making the world’s heritage easier to explore and understand online. With a strong interest in humanity, universal values, global culture, history, and geography, he created the platform to bring together information about UNESCO World Heritage Sites in an accessible and engaging way.
Through World Heritage Explorer, Simon aims to help people discover remarkable places around the globe and raise awareness of the importance of protecting cultural and natural heritage. As project lead, he guides the platform to remain both educational and engaging for a global audience.
Simon launched the platform on January 2, 2026.
Richard Heidler
Core Team
Richard Heidler is a passionate data scientist who contributes to the development and growth of World Heritage Explorer. As part of the core team, he supports the project’s mission of expanding knowledge about the world’s most significant cultural and natural sites.
Richard is deeply committed to Open Data. His creativity, ideas, and valuable contributions play an important role in shaping the platform and ensuring that World Heritage Explorer continues to grow as a resource for explorers, travelers, students, and heritage enthusiasts.
ORCID: 
0000-0002-4534-4195
Our Mission
World Heritage Explorer aims to make knowledge about the world’s most important cultural and natural sites accessible to everyone. By presenting structured information about places recognized by UNESCO, the platform encourages curiosity, education, and appreciation for the diversity of global heritage.