Nepal's Historic Landmarks: Before and After the Earthquake

UNESCO World Heritage Sites and other landmarks were destroyed by the quake.

By
ABC NEWS
April 27, 2015, 3:19 PM ET
4 min read

— -- The earthquake that struck Nepal this past weekend has had some devastating effects on the country.

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Beyond the tragic loss of life, the fabric of the country has been forever altered by the destruction of some of its most famous cultural sites.

This undated photo posted to Flickr on Dec. 6, 2011 shows the Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Volunteers work to remove debris at the historic Dharahara tower, a city landmark, after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 25, 2015.

As shown by the images below, several temples at Kathmandu’s Basantapur Durbar Square have crumbled as a result of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, and all that remains of the city's landmark Dharahara tower is its base, its eight stories felled April 25, 2015.

People visit the old royal palace at Basantapur Durbar square, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Volunteers and emergency workers search for bodies buried under the debris of the temples at Basantapur Durbar Square on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Durbar Square is a UNESCO World Heritage site, one of seven groups of monuments in the Kathmandu Valley to hold such a distinction. The Dharahara tower was built for the queen of Nepal in 1832, reports the Washington Post, and was rebuilt after a 1934 earthquake.