The Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt would like to become a world cultural heritage. Photo: Andreas Arnold / dpa
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Fuzhou (dpa) – The cultural and natural sites of the world heritage must be better protected from the perspective of Unesco.
At the beginning of the two-week meeting of the World Heritage Committee on Friday, the President of the German Unesco Commission, Maria Böhmer, warned of threats to the 1121 sites around the world from climate change, environmental destruction, mass tourism and armed conflicts. Because of the corona pandemic, the meeting in Fuzhou, China, was postponed a year ago and is now being made up at least online.
Among the around 40 nominations are five applications with German participation: the Mathildenhöhe artists’ colony in Darmstadt, the Jewish cultural heritage in Mainz, Speyer and Worms, the health resorts of Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen as part of important historical baths in Europe and the Roman border walls Danube Limes and Lower German Limes. These requests will be decided on Saturday and Sunday in a week (July 24th / 25th), it was said. So far there are 46 world heritage sites in Germany.
At its meeting, the committee will also discuss what needs to be done to protect endangered sites. World Heritage sites are also “laboratories of the sustainability transition,” said Böhmer. “If we want to preserve them, we have to do even more in the future to ensure that our sites work in an ecologically compatible and socially fair manner, while at the same time being economically sound.”
The consequences of unsustainable development can be felt in many of these places around the world. “Above all, environmental changes in the course of climate change have a serious impact on our natural and cultural heritage,” said Böhmer. “The climate crisis has become one of the greatest risks to World Heritage sites, and we could lose some of them forever.”
53 World Heritage sites are currently classified as endangered. “More could follow.” Böhmer expressed concern that, for the first time in the history of the World Heritage Convention, two sites could lose their title: For example, a decision is to be made on the port district of Liverpool on Sunday, which is endangered by an urban development project. On Monday, discussions will be held about the Selous game reserve in Tanzania, which is on the red list for poaching.
In the middle of next week there will also be a discussion about who is to be added to this list of protected sites. For example, the world famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia could be included. It is threatened by the effects of climate change such as warm water and coral bleaching. To prevent entry, the Australian government has invited more than a dozen ambassadors on a snorkeling trip to the famous coral reef. Among them are diplomats from nine countries who have voting rights in the Unesco committee, reported the Australian news agency AAP.
The five applications with German participation:
RESORTS
Baden-Baden (Baden-Württemberg), Bad Ems (Rhineland-Palatinate) and Bad Kissingen (Bavaria) are competing with eight other European health resorts as “Great Spas of Europe”. These include baths that gained international importance from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. The eleven spa towns that are part of the application also include Spa (Belgium), Vichy (France), Bath (United Kingdom) as well as Karlsbad, Franzensbad and Marienbad from the Czech Republic.
MATHILDENHÖHE
The Mathildenhöhe artists’ colony in Darmstadt (Hesse), founded at the end of the 19th century, with 15 buildings, a park and sculptures is considered to be the intersection of modern architecture. It’s not just an Art Nouveau ensemble, but also a step towards the Bauhaus. Peter Behrens was one of the first artists to later teach the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius.
JEWISH HERITAGE
Mainz, Speyer and Worms are the places of the Jewish Middle Ages. With these so-called Schum sites according to the Hebrew initials of the three cities in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, Jewish cultural property in Germany would be recognized as a world heritage for the first time. The Schum sites, also called “Jerusalem on the Rhine”, are considered to be the cradle of European Jewry.
LOW GERMAN LIMES AND DONAULIMES
The Lower Germanic Limes and the western part of the Danube Limes are applying for the serial World Heritage “Frontiers of the Roman Empire”. The Limes on the Rhine begins in Rheinbrohl in Rhineland-Palatinate, runs through North Rhine-Westphalia with castles and legionary camps and ends at the North Sea in the Netherlands. Applicants are North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Netherlands.
The western part of the Danube Limes is an application from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The Danube Limes extends in the Bavarian section from Bad Gögging in the Kelheim district via Regensburg and Straubing to Passau.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210714-99-374295 / 3
Brochure from the city of Baden-Baden on application
Information on application for health resorts in Baden-Baden
World Heritage Sites in Baden-Württemberg
World Heritage criteria of the Unesco
Presentation of the city to Mathildenhöhe
Directives for the implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention
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