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World Heritage Committee Mtg., Thurs., Dec 15
Peter Stott (pstott@PEG.APC.ORG)
Tue, 20 Dec 1994 19:27:20 +1000
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A daily report covering the activities of the World Heritage
Committee, meeting in Phuket, Thailand, December 12-17, 1994
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Vol. III, No. 4 Thursday, Dec. 15
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21 ADDITIONAL CULTURAL SITES ADDED TO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
PHUKET, THAILAND. Concluding the work begun yesterday to inscribe new
sites on the World Heritage Committee, the Committee after a full day of
discussion and debate, added a further 21 sites to the world list of sites
of "universal" significance, bringing the total inscriptions at the Phuket
meeting to 29. Included among the new nominations today were the first
sites to be inscribed in Denmark, Georgia (2 sites), and Lithuania. In
addition, sites were inscribed for China (4), the Czech Republic, Finland,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Sweden (2), and
Turkey. The list included five cities (Quedlinburg, Vincenza, Luxembourg,
Safranbolu, and Vilnius), and two 20th-century cultural types unusual to
the list, a woodland cemetery (Skogskyrkogarden) and an iron works
(Volklingen).
In addition to the 21 new nominations, there were three property extensions
to existing sites (Cordoba and Grenada in Spain, and Dubrovnik, Croatia).
Notably, Australia's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, inscribed on the List
as a natural site in 1987, was designated a cultural landscape under
cultural criteria v and vi. The 29 new sites added at the 18th session of
the Committee in Phuket will thus bring the total number of sites on the
World Heritage List to 440. The total number of cultural sites on the World
Heritage List is now 326. Natural sites number 97, and mixed cultural and
natural sites number 17.
* * * * * *
The morning session began at about 9:30. In introductory remarks, before
Dr. Cleere's presentation, Herman van Hooff cleared up a minor housekeeping
matter. At the last Committee meeting in Cartagena, the Committee had
refused to include the City of Bukhara on the list until Uzbekistan had
submitted a tentative list. The Centre was happy to inform the Committee
that this requirement had been met in January, and the city had been
accordingly included.
Dr. Cleere prefaced his presentation by explaining the phased evaluation
process used by ICOMOS. He noted that this year, of the 21 new nominations,
13 were in Europe, six were in Asia, and two were in Latin America, further
evidence of the regional imbalance in the list. Although Dr. Cleere's
presentation distinguished straight-forward nominations from those which
had to be sent back for additional information, or had been deferred for
technical reasons from previous meetings of the Committee, they are here
presented in a single 'country' order. The criteria noted are those of the
Committee's Operational Guidelines.
* China: The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples criteria ii, iv
The Mountain Resort in Chengde City was the Qing Dynasty's garden-
type Imperial Palace, built to appease and unite the minority peoples
living in China's border regions. Each year the Emperor would bring
his ministers and entourage to hunt at Mulan. Built between 1703 and
1792, these are the largest ancient Imperial gardens and temples
surviving in China.
* China: The Potala Palace, Lhasa criteria i, iv, vi
"A pearl on the roof of the world," the Potala Palace dominates the
Lhasa valley and covers an area of over 130 ha. Begun in the 7th
century, the property consists of the White Palace and the Red
Palace, with their ancillary buildings, which, although built at
different periods, are well integrated with one another. The result
is an exception aesthetic achievement and the apogee of Tibetan
architecture.
* China: The Temple of Confucius, the Cemetery of Confucius,
and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu criteria i, iv, vi
The Temple of Confucius was built to commemorate and offer sacrifices
to Confucius; the Cemetery of Confucius was where he and his
descendants were buried, and the Kong Family Mansion was the
aristocratic mansion built by his male descendants. The buildings,
damaged and rebuilt many times since the death of Confucius in 479
B.C. are masterpieces that embody the highest achievements of Chinese
architecture and art.
* China: The ancient building complex
in the Wudang Mountains criteria i, ii, vi
The building complex, begun in the early Tang Dynasty AD 627-49,
became the center of Taoism, and under the Ming Emperor Zhu Di the
compound was massively expanded with 9 palaces, 9 temples, 36
monasteries 72 cliff temples, and over 100 stone bridges. The ancient
buildings represent the highest standards in Chinese art and
architecture over a period of nearly 1,000 years.
* Czech Republic: The Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nipomuk
at Zelena Hora in Zdar nad Sazavou criterion iv
Built 1719-1721, the Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nipomuk is an
outstanding example of Baroque Gothic architecture and a masterpiece
of the architect Jan Blazej Santini.
* Denmark: Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones, and Church criterion iii
The complex of Jelling mounds, runic stones, and church is a unique
illustration of the transition between the old Nordic religion and
Christianity. One of the two grave mounds was probably the burial
place of the Viking leader, King Gorm the Old, and the two runic
stones are connected with the mounds. The first wooden church on the
site of the present church structure was built around 960 A.D. when
Harald Bluetooth introduced Christianity into Denmark, as he
proclaimed on the larger of the two runic stones. The present church,
a simple whitewashed structure of calcareous tufa, was constructed
around 1100.
* Finland: Petajavesi Old Church criterion iv
Petajavesi Old Church was designed and built in 1763-64 by the
peasant master-builder Jaakko Klemetinpoika Leppanen. The church is
uniquely representative of log construction in the northern
coniferous area, and of the skills of the peasant population.
* Georgia: The Historical Church Ensemble of Mtskheta criteria iii, iv
Mtskheta, at the confluence of two rivers and the crossing of ancient
trade routes, had been settled as early as the Bronze Age. The city
became the center of the Georgian kingdom, and the old capital was
here until the 5th century when the capital was transferred to
Tbilisi. As the religious center of the country, Mtskheta retained a
prominent role. The main complex is an 11th century cathedral with a
dome and cruciform plan. Mtskheta churches associated with the
cathedral are outstanding examples of medieval ecclesiastical
architecture and bear testimony to the high level of art and culture
in the vanished kingdom of Georgia.
* Georgia: Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery criterion iv
Bagrat III, the first king of united Georgia began construction of
the cathedral in the late 10th century. Gelati Monastery, which
belongs to the "Golden Age" of medieval Georgia, a period of
political and economic strength. Under David IV, the monastery was
begun in 1104 and became the burying place of the Georgian royal
house. The complex represents the 'highest flowering of the
architecture of medieval Georgia'.
* Germany: The Collegiate Church, Castle,
and Old Town of Quedlinburg criterion iv
Quedlinburg was an immensely successful medieval market town. It
became the capital of the East Franconian German Empire. The town is
among the most outstanding historic towns in central Europe,
preserving a high proportion of timber-framed buildings of the
medieval and later periods.
* Germany: Volklingen Ironworks criteria ii, iv
The Volklingen ironworks in Stadtverband Saarbrucken is a unique
monument to the technological history and industrial culture of the
19th and early 20th centuries. It provides an unusually complete
illustration of a large pig-iron production plant of major historical
interest. As far as is known, no other historic blast-furnace complex
has survived which demonstrates the entire process of pig-iron
production in the same way, with the same degree of authenticity and
completeness, and underlined by such a series of technological
milestones in innovative engineering.
* Italy: Vicenza, the City of Palladio criteria i, ii
The city's unique form and appearance are due to the work of Andrea
Palladio (1508-80). The concentration of his works in Vicenza reveals
the stamp that a single artist was able to impress upon the
historical urban fabric and its surrounds. The nomination includes 26
individual buildings in the city and the immediate environs, designed
or attributed to him.
* Japan: Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto
(Kyoto, Uji, and Otsu Cities) criteria ii, iv
Kyoto, which was the Imperial capital of Japan from the time of its
founding until the middle of the 19th century, has been the center of
Japanese culture. The group of historic buildings and gardens in the
nomination are from the period from the 10th to the 19th centuries.
This assemblage of architecture and garden design in th surviving
monuments of Kyoto, is the highest expression of this aspect of
Japanese material culture in the pre-modern period.
* Lithuania: The Old Town of Vilnius criteria ii, iv
From the 13th century until the end of the 18th century, the Old Town
of Vilnius was the political center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
It has been a center of learning and culture since the 16th century.
The town, which grew up at the confluence of the two rivers as an
entrepot between the east and the west, is an outstanding example of
the blending of the cultures of eastern and western Europe. It
constitutes one of the most easterly examples of Gothic, Renaissance,
and Baroque architecture of Europe.
* Luxembourg: The City of Luxembourg:
its old quarters and fortifications criterion iv
It's strategic position, the crossing point of two major Roman roads,
her fortifications and natural defenses have sometimes won for this
city "The Gibraltar of the North." The fortress-city played a
significant role in European history for several centuries. It
preserves major remains of its impressive fortifications and its old
quarters in an exceptional natural setting.
* Mexico: The earliest 16th century Monasteries
on the slopes of Popocatepetl criteria ii, iv
Fourteen monasteries built on the slopes of Popocatepetl to the
southeast of Mexico City. They bear witness to a type of structure,
architectural and urban, which served as the center of new human
establishments for the reorganization of an enormous territory and
for the introduction of new social and cultural elements.
* Peru: The Lines and Geoglypths of Nasca
and Pamapas de Jumana criteria i, iii, iv
The "Nazca Lines", constructed between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D., are the
most outstanding group of geoglyphs anywhere in the world. They
represent a remarkable manifestation of communal religious and social
homogeneity over a considerable period of time.
* Russian Federation: The Church of the Ascension,
Kolomenskoye criterion ii
Built in 1532 by Prince Vasili III, the Church of the Ascension is
one of the earliest tent-roofed churches in Russia. It represents the
first use of the traditional wooden tent design for a stone
structure, and as such was influential in church design of much of
Russia in the following centuries.
* Sweden: The Rock Carvings in Tanum criteria i, iii
The Bronze Age rock carvings in Tanum, from c. 1800 B.C., are in an
area intensively occupied by a farming an fishing society. The range
of motifs provide exceptional evidence of many aspects of life in
this period. The site complements an existing World Heritage rock
carving site in Norway (Alta), representing a hunter-gather
community.
* Sweden: Skogskyrkogarden criteria ii, iv
Skogskyrkogarden is an outstanding example of a designed cultural
landscape which blends landform and natural vegetation with
architectural features to create a landscape that is ideally suited
to its purpose as a cemetery. The design established a new form of
cemetery that has exerted a profound influence on cemetery design
throughout the world.
* Turkey: The City of Safranbolu criteria ii, iv, v
Safranbolu ("City of Saffron") is an excellent and well-preserved
example of the growth of Turkish trading towns on one of the great
caravan routes linking east and west.
Additional Cultural criteria: N. criteria ii, iii
* Australia: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park C. criteria v, vi
Already included on the World Heritage List as a natural site, this
renomination identifies the park as a cultural landscape and the
outcome of millennia of management under traditional Anangu
procedures governed by the native law. It is an outstanding
illustration of a highly successful model of human adaption to a
hostile arid environment which has survived for at least five
millennia.
Extensions:
* Croatia: The Old City of Dubrovnik
The extension of the site to the east and west is integral to the
overall historic cultural monument of the old city of Dubrovnik
* Spain: The Historic Centre of Cordoba
The extension extends the site formerly known as the Mosque of
Cordoba) to the streets and blocks of houses surrounding the
monument.
* Spain: The Alhambra, Generalife, and Albayzin
The extensions adds the Albayzin quarter to the original inscription
of the Alhambra and the Generalife, Grenada. The Moorish residential
district is the oldest part of the ensemble.
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W o r l d H e r i t a g e C o m m i t t e e
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------ XVIII Annual Session, Phuket, Thailand, December 12-17, 1994 ------
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This distribution is made possible through grants from the Samuel H. Kress
Foundation; the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training;
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; and Tufts University's School of
Arts and Sciences. It has been organized with the support of the Inter-
national Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and its Canadian and U.S.
national committees, ICOMOS Canada and US/ICOMOS. It has had the technical
support of the Pegasus Networks (Australia) and the Institute for Global
Communications (U.S.).
The reports are those of an observer of the meetings and do not represent
official publications of ICOMOS, the World Heritage Centre, or any dele-
gation.
Inquiries to the editor, Peter Stott
<pstott@peg.apc.org> or fax to (66-76) 340-479 between December 12 and 17
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