Quite often, we hear that a particular monument, natural site or even the whole city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. And recently, even began to talk about the intangible heritage of mankind. What it is? Who includes monuments and attractions in the famous list? What are the criteria for determining these World Heritage Sites? Why is this done and what does it give? What famous objects can our country boast of? States of the former Soviet Union? Europe and Asia? And the whole world? Let's explore this question.
List history
Oddly enough, the list of UNESCO, which is now widely publicized, has a rather short history. It all began in 1972, when the United Nations department adopted a convention designed to protect and safeguard the cultural heritage of all people in the world. At that time, the first criteria were developed by which these World Heritage Sites of human creation were determined. The international instrument entered into force in 1975. But later there was a “skew”: it turned out that most of the defendants in the list are in Europe, while in Australia, Oceania, America there were very few of them. But in these parts of the world there is also something to guard and protect. Amazingly beautiful nature, unusual mountains, ecosystems, the same Great Coral Reef, for example, or the famous Grand Canyon. Then it was decided to expand the Convention and include natural heritage sites in the list. Criteria have also been developed for them. And finally, already in the twenty-first century, they started talking about what are intangible phenomena. They cannot be "felt", like the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico or the mangroves Sundarban in Bangladesh. However, they are also unique, contributing to the spiritual development of mankind. So a new list was established - intangible property. It, for example, includes the Georgian winemaking method in clay amphora Qvevri and the basic principles of Mediterranean cuisine.
What does ratification of the Convention mean?
What is this document and what is its role? Now the UN Convention on the Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage has been signed by one hundred and ninety states. By this, they pledged to protect the World Heritage Sites located on their territory. It turns out that only obligations result from ratification. But what about the bonuses? They are there too. Firstly, to be on the UNESCO list means to direct a significant tourist flow to this country. Indeed, many people are interested in looking at the very most, that which is designated as an object of the World Heritage. And secondly, there is a simple material gain in this. If a country is not able to fully ensure the protection of a natural or cultural object, financial support from a special World Heritage Fund is allocated to the state to maintain it in good condition. Basically, this applies to historical buildings that need expensive restoration. Therefore, many countries are interested in UNESCO recognizing certain monuments of nature or culture as a world heritage. Fortunately, a special Committee at this organization holds field sessions every year at the request of states in order to consider, according to accepted criteria, whether an object is worthy to be on the famous list.
Is the status of an object for life?
Thus, the honorary list is replenished every year. But does this mean that once you promote your local attraction to the list of World Heritage Sites, the country can relax and rest on its laurels? Not at all. The same Committee vigilantly monitors the ongoing compliance with the accepted criteria. For example, after the construction of an ugly modern bank building in the center of Lviv (Ukraine), the local government was warned that another such building would violate the integrity of the architectural ensemble, and the city could say goodbye to UNESCO membership. But in Oman in 2007, the reserve of the Arabian white oryx was excluded from the honorary list, since the Committee found that the authorities did not think to impede the hunt for the endangered beast. The same fate befell the Elbe Valley near Dresden in 2009. And all because of the automobile bridge, which the local authorities so rashly began to build in the cultural heritage zone.
As wars erupt at one point or another around the globe, and earthquakes, floods, and other natural or man-made disasters occur, UNESCO has established a special list that includes World Heritage sites that are in danger of destruction. Particular attention is focused on them, and if possible, urgent measures are taken to preserve these attractions. These include "Lonely George" - the most famous bachelor in the world. This is a giant tortoise male who lives in the Galapagos Islands National Park. It is interesting in that it is the last living representative of an extinct species. Scientists are working to find a female genetically close to George. Just in case, sperm was taken from a forced bachelor. When science reaches a higher level of development, there is hope to recreate the species artificially.
Criteria for evaluation
What remarkable qualities must a natural or cultural object have to be eligible for inclusion in the famous list, and fall under the auspices of UNESCO? The first thing that comes to mind is its extraordinary beauty. And in relation to natural phenomena or territories, this is really applicable. So, Ha-Long Bay in the Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh, is a spectacle of "extremely aesthetic importance." On the calm surface of the sea, thousands of islands of bizarre outlines are scattered. In order to see this splendor, millions of tourists from all over the world travel to Vietnam. But beauty is not the only criterion. For example, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve or the El Whiskaino blue whale reserve in Mexico is also listed as it is an important natural habitat for endangered species of animals or plants. The World Heritage Site may be a typical example of one of the main stages of the evolution of our planet or be a symbol of geological processes. By this criterion, the Egyptian Valley of Wadi al-Khitan, where the fossils of ancient dinosaurs, volcanoes of Kamchatka, and other interesting natural sights that seek to see and capture thousands of people, are on the List.
World Heritage Sites
In this regard, the selection criteria are more complex and confusing. At first, there were six. To get to the List, the object had to answer at least one of them. For example, it can be something exceptional, unprecedented, what is called a masterpiece of human genius. The Great Wall of China just meets this criterion. But a landmark can also be a typical example of a culture or civilization. The parking lot of an ancient “Beijing” man in the Chinese Zhoukoudian, the Neolithic city of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan or the center of medieval Bruges give us a complete picture of how people lived in those distant and interesting eras. The definition of such an object includes not only one architectural structure, but an entire urban development, with streets, walls and gates. Accra, Damascus, Nessebar, Jerusalem and Salzburg - all of these settlements are connected by one thing - their historical center is the cultural heritage of mankind. According to this criterion, the dwarf state of the Vatican is entirely included in this list.
But the list of honors may include certain sights: cathedrals, bridges, squares, aqueducts, citadels, town halls and senior towers. The main thing is that this architectural structure or technological design should be unique and outstanding for the period of human history. Chartres Cathedral, the ancient Roman bridge in the vicinity of the city of Nimes, windmills near Kinderdijk-Elshout in Holland, and even the steam pump station in Vaude (Netherlands) are all World Heritage sites. But that is not all. Sights that are directly related to beliefs, literary works, traditions and ideas are also considered to be an invaluable spiritual heritage of mankind. Therefore, the list includes many monasteries, temple complexes, ancient temples, dolmens, burials. And some of them are not so ancient. For example, the terrace gardens surrounding the Bahai spiritual center in Haifa (Israel) have no historical value. But the main temple, as well as the golden-headed tomb of Baba, the founder of the Bahá'í religion, were declared World Heritage Sites five years ago.
Natural, cultural and scientific sights
There are places on our planet that have gained their importance not only under the influence of natural processes, but also due to the anthropogenic factor. These are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the highlands of central Sri Lanka, loess rice terraces in the Philippine Cordillera, salt mines in Wieliczka (Poland) and others. It is impossible to separate the pleasant softness of the hills from the cultivated vineyards and proud feudal castles in the Rhine Valley on the stretch from Mainz to Bonn (Germany). Also connected are the ruins of the city of Hieropolis and the limestone springs of Pamukkale in Turkey.
But if these sights are breathtaking among ordinary, inexperienced tourists, only narrow specialists will be able to evaluate the objects of the technological and scientific heritage of mankind. Take, for example, the Struve geodetic arc. On the territory of Russia, only two geodetic ranges were preserved near the city of Kingisepp: Point Z and Point Myakipyllus. For an uninitiated person, these are just plain pyramids made of cobblestones. But geographers and cartographers know that only thirty-four of the once 258 geodetic signs have survived in the world, according to which the brilliant scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve was able to calculate with great accuracy the shape and size of our planet. The chain named after him runs along the twenty-fifth east longitude meridian and crosses several countries - from Norway to Moldova. In some places, these World Heritage Sites in Europe look like a granite ball on a pedestal or a beautiful obelisk.
There are such sights on the UNESCO list that remind us of the sad, and even bloody pages of human history. You will not find anything beautiful in the barracks, crematoria and gas chambers of the Auschwitz (or Auschwitz) concentration camp near Krakow. The Dome of Genbaku (Peace Memorial) in Hiroshima looks ominously. Nevertheless, it is also a World Heritage Site. Although they cannot be called "cultural" in any way.
Wonders of the World and UNESCO List
Do not confuse these two lists. There are not so many wonders of the world. Objects that conquered the imagination of travelers of the ancient world, disappeared from the face of the earth. The modern world has compiled a new list, which includes new natural and cultural attractions. But such "wonders of the world" can be counted on the fingers. But the list of UNESCO consists of 981 items - and this is only as of 2013! Of this list, the majority (759) are cultural sights, another 193 are natural, and 29 are mixed. Many World Heritage Sites, photos of which are very replicated, are located in Italy. This country is a leader in the concentration of valuable attractions on its territory. There are forty-nine of them. China (45) and Spain (44) breathe directly into the back of Italy. Russia, on the other hand, has twenty-five such facilities and, thus, is one of the ten leaders ahead of the United States (21).
Wonders of Europe
World Heritage sites abroad are very numerous. Their densest concentration is observed in Western Europe. In little Austria alone there are eight of them. Anyone who has visited this alpine country knows that the state does not occupy the natural beauties. But there are also cultural attractions. The list includes the historical centers of Vienna, Salzburg and Graz, as well as the palace and park ensemble Schönbrunn. There are also mixed objects: these are the cultivated landscapes of Hallstatt-Dachstein, Wachau (between the cities of Krems and Melk) and Fertø-Neusiedler-See. There is even one phenomenon of scientific and technological value - the old Semmering railway.
Especially densely the objects of the World Heritage of Europe are “stuck” in Italy - the champion of the UNESCO list. There are many historical sights, and leading their origin from the depths of centuries. Stone Age lovers can see rock paintings in Val Camonica in this country. Those who are interested in the ancient world may not limit themselves to the heritage of Ancient Rome. At their service are the Etruscan necropolises near Tarquinia and Cerveteri, the well-preserved ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii near Naples, Syracuse with the rocky necropolis of Pantalica, archaeological excavations in Agrigento and Torre Annunziata. In Sicily you can see the ancient Roman villa Del Casale, in Sardinia - the ancient fortifications of Su Nuraxi, and in the town of Alberobello - the traditional dwellings of the trulli.
The World Heritage Site - the Dolomites - attracts tourists in both winter and summer. But the Venetian lagoon is a mixed attraction created both by nature (reclaimed sand islands) and by human genius. The first centuries of Christianity, the Byzantine Empire, the Renaissance and Baroque - all these eras left their mark on marble, paintings, sculpture and architecture of Italy. It is rare to find a city in which, if not the whole historical part, then at least some churches or senior towers would not be included in the UNESCO list.
Everyone, if not live, then at least in a photograph in a history textbook, has seen such a World Heritage Site in Greece as the Acropolis in Athens. In addition to this attraction and a huge number of artifacts exported to museums around the world, the country can boast of the ancient ruins of Delphi and Epidaurus, the temple of Apollo in Bass, Olympia, Mystra, the sanctuary of Hera on Samos, Pythagorea, Mycenae and Tiryns. Greece is also famous as the center of Orthodoxy. The famous monasteries of Meteora, Mount Athos, the early Christian monuments in Thessaloniki, the monasteries in Nea Moni, Ossios Lucas and Daphne are also included in the honorary list. The Apocalypse cave with the monastery of the Apostle John on the island of Patmos will not leave anyone indifferent.
World Heritage Sites in Asia
“Do not find the treasures wonderful in India” - is sung in the song of the eastern guest in the opera “Sadko”. Its correctness was recognized by UNESCO. However, China was awarded the championship in the number of natural and cultural attractions. In addition to the monumental Great Wall, even visible from outer space, tourists can admire the palaces and tombs of the emperors of the Qing and Ming dynasties in Shenyang and Beijing, the Confucius Temple in Qufu, the Potala historical ensemble in Lhasa, the royal residence in Chengde, the ancient city of Pingyao and others interesting structures. This huge country has a rather impressive list of World Natural Heritage sites. Some mountains, such as Taishan, Huangshan, Emeishan, Wuyishan, were completely protected by UNESCO. There are many national parks in China where endangered species of animals and birds live.
The Hindustan Peninsula is considered not only the place where Buddhism originated, but also the cradle of all Aryan civilizations. Here you can see both rock paintings and burial sites of the Stone Age (Champaner-Pavagadh), and cave temples (in Ajanta, Ellora, on the island of Elephant, in Bhimbetka). World Heritage Sites of India include not only historical and cultural attractions, but also the national reserves of Kaziranga, Sundarban, Valley of Flowers, Nanda Devi, Keoladeo and Manas Wildlife Reserve. There are technical and military facilities in this country under the auspices of the UN cultural department: Fort in Agra, Chhatrapati Shivaji Station in Mumbai. But the recognized pearl of India is still considered the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra.
