Historic site

A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been recognized with the official national historic site status. A historic site may be any building, landscape, site or structure that is of local, regional, or national significance.

Historic sites may be thought of in three broad categories:

• documentary sites: primary objective is to document a specific historic event or a specific person or group.
• representative sites: primarily focused on representing a historical period or way of life
• aesthetic sites: focused on history of art or conceptions of beauty

Historic site visitors

Historic sites and heritage sites are often maintained for members of the public to be able to visit. Visitors may come out of a sense of nostalgia for bygone eras, out of wishing to learn about their cultural heritage, or general interest in learning about the historical context of the site. Many sites offer guided tours for visitors, conducted by site staff who have been trained to offer an interpretation of life at the time the site represents. A site may also have a visitor center with more modern architecture and facilities, which serves as a gateway between the outside world and the historic site, and allows visitors to learn some of the historical aspects of the site without excessively exposing locations that may require delicate treatment.

See also

• Cultural property
• Heritage centre
• List of heritage registers
• Memory space (social science)
• National heritage site
• World Heritage Site
• National Historic Site of Canada
• Listed building (United Kingdom)
• National Historic Sites (United States)