Addendum
to Press Release No.2001-141
DESCRIPTION OF SITES NEWLY INSCRIBED
ON
WORLD HERITAGE LIST
Helsinki
(Finland), December 14 –
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, meeting in Helsinki since December
11, has added
31 sites to the World Heritage List. The List now numbers 721
sites of “outstanding universal value” in 124 countries. Sites
in Botswana and Israel appear on the List for the first time.
Here
is a brief description of the new cultural and natural sites,
as well as extensions, added to the List:
AUSTRIA
Historic Centre of Vienna
Vienna developed
from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque
city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It played an
essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great
age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th
century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural
ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the
late 19th century Ringstrasse, lined with grand buildings,
monuments and parks.
AUSTRIA/HUNGARY
Cultural Landscape of Fertö-Neusiedlersee
The Fertö-Neusiedler lake area has been the meeting place of different
cultures for eight millennia. This is graphically demonstrated
by its varied landscape, the result of an evolutionary symbiosis
between human activity and the physical environment. The remarkable
rural architecture of the villages surrounding the lake and several
18th- and 19th-century palaces adds to the area’s considerable
cultural interest.
BOTSWANA
Tsodilo
With one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world, Tsodilo
has been called the “Louvre of the Desert”. Over 4,500 paintings
are preserved in an area of only 10 km2 of the Kalahari
Desert. The archaeological record of the area gives a chronological
account of human activities and environmental changes over at
least 100,000 years. Local communities in this hostile environment
respect Tsodilo as a place of worship frequented by ancestral
spirits.
BRAZIL
Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol
das Rocas Reserves
Peaks of the Southern Atlantic submarine ridge form the Fernando
de Noronha Archipelago and Rocas atoll off the coast of Brazil.
They represent a large proportion of the island surface of the
South Atlantic and their rich waters are extremely important for
the breeding and feeding of tuna, shark, turtle and marine mammals.
The islands are home to the largest concentration of tropical
seabirds in the Western Atlantic. Baia de Golfinhos has an exceptional
population of resident dolphin, and at low tide the Rocas Atoll
provides a spectacular seascape of lagoons and tidal pools teeming
with fish.
Cerrado
Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks
The two sites included in the designation contain flora and fauna
and key habitats that characterize the Cerrado – one of the world’s
oldest and most diverse tropical ecosystems. For millennia, these
sites have served as refuge for several species during periods
of climate change and will be vital for maintaining the biodiversity
of the Cerrado region during future climate fluctuations.
Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás
Goiás testifies
to the occupation and colonization of the lands of central Brazil
in the 18th and 19th centuries. The urban layout is an example
of the organic development of a mining town, adapted to the conditions
of the site. Although modest, both public and private architecture
form a harmonious whole, thanks to the coherent use of local materials
and vernacular techniques.
CHINA
Yungang Grottoes
The Yungang
Grottoes, in Datong city, Shaanxi Province, with their 252 caves
and 51,000 statues, represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist
cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Five Caves
created by Tan Yao, with their strict unity of layout and design,
constitute a classical masterpiece of the first peak of Chinese
Buddhist art.
CUBA
Alejandro
de Humboldt National Park
Complex geology
and varied topography have given rise to a diversity of ecosystems
and species unmatched in the Caribbean, one of the most biologically
diverse tropical island sites on earth. Many of the underlying
rocks are toxic to plants so species have had to adapt to survive
in these hostile conditions. This unique process of evolution
has resulted in the development of many new species, and the park
is one of the most important sites in the Western Hemisphere for
the conservation of endemic flora. Endemism of vertebrates and
invertebrates is also very high.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Tugendhat Villa in Brno
The Tugendhat Villa in Brno, designed by the architect Mies van der Rohe,
is an outstanding example of the international style in the modern
movement in architecture as it developed in Europe in the 1920s.
Its particular value lies in the application of innovative spatial
and aesthetic concepts that aim to satisfy new lifestyle needs
by taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by modern industrial
production.
FRANCE
Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs
The fortified
medieval town of Provins is situated in the former territory of
the powerful Counts of Champagne. It bears witness to early developments
in the organization of international trading fairs and the wool
industry. The urban structure of Provins, which was built specifically
to host the fairs and related activities, has been well preserved.
GERMANY
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen
The Zollverein
industrial landscape in Land
Nordrhein-Westfalen consists of the complete infrastructure
of a historical coal-mining site, with some 20th-century buildings
of outstanding architectural merit. It constitutes remarkable
material evidence of the evolution and decline of an essential
industry over the past 150 years.
ISRAEL
Masada
The site of
the self-immolation of approximately a thousand Jewish patriots
in the face of a large Roman army, Masada is a symbol of the ancient
kingdom of Israel. Built as a palace complex and place of refuge
by Herod the Great, King of Judaea (reigned 37–4 bc),
Masada’s extensive remains survive on the summit of this seemingly
impregnable fortress, set in a rugged natural landscape of great
beauty. The siege works of the Roman army and other related sites
lie unexcavated at the base of the rock.
Old City of Acre
The historic
townscape of the walled port city of Acre is characteristic of
Islamic town planning, with narrow winding streets and fine public
buildings and houses. Beneath the 18th and 19th century Ottoman
Acre, lie almost intact the remains of its predecessor, the Crusader
city, dating from 1104 to 1291. Crusader Acre is today mostly
subterranean and has only recently begun to be revealed.
ITALY
Villa d’Este, Tivoli
The Villa
d’Este in Tivoli, with its palace and garden, is one of the most
remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture
at its most refined. Its innovative design along with the architectural
components in the garden (fountains, ornamental basins, etc.)
make this a unique example of an Italian 16th century
garden. The Villa d’Este, one of the first giardini delle meraviglie, was an early
model for the development of European gardens.
KENYA
Lamu Old Town
Lamu Old Town
is the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa,
retaining its traditional functions. Built in coral stone and
mangrove timber, the town is characterized by the simplicity of
structural forms enriched by such features as inner courtyards,
verandas, and elaborately carved wooden doors. Lamu has hosted
major Muslim religious festivals since the 19th century, and has
become a significant centre for the study of Islamic and Swahili
cultures.
Lao People’s Democratic REPUBLIC
Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within
the Champasak Cultural Landscape
The Champasak
cultural landscape, including the Vat Phou Temple complex, is
a remarkably well-preserved planned landscape more than 1,000
years old. It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship
between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to
river bank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines
and waterworks extending over some 10 km. Two planned cities on
the banks of the Mekong River are also part of the site, as well
as Phou Kao mountain. The whole represents a development ranging
from the 5th to 15th centuries, mainly associated with the Khmer
Empire.
MADAGASCAR
Royal Hill of Ambohimanga
The Royal
Hill of Ambohimanga consists of a royal city and burial site,
and an ensemble of sacred places. It is associated with strong
feelings of national identity, and has maintained its spiritual
and sacred character both in ritual practice and the popular imagination
for the past 500 years. It remains a place of worship to which
pilgrims come from Madagascar and elsewhere.
MOROCCO
Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador)
Essaouira
is an exceptional example of a late-18th century fortified town,
built according to the principles of contemporary European military
architecture in a North African context. Since its foundation,
it has been a major international trading seaport, linking Morocco
and its Saharan hinterland with Europe and the rest of the world.
POLAND
Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica
The Churches
of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica, the largest timber-framed religious
buildings in Europe, were built in the former Silesia in the mid-17th
century, at a time of religious strife following the Peace of
Westphalia. Constrained by the physical and political conditions,
the Churches of Peace bear testimony to the quest for religious
freedom and are a rare expression of Lutheran faith in an idiom
generally associated with the Catholic Church.
PORTUGAL
Alto Douro Wine Region
Wine
has been produced by traditional landholders in the Alto Douro
region for some 2,000 years. Since the 18th century, its main
product, port wine, has been world famous for its quality. This
long tradition of viticulture has produced a cultural landscape
of outstanding beauty that reflects its technological, social
and economic evolution.
Historic
Centre of Guimarães
The historic
town of Guimarães is associated with the emergence of the Portuguese
national identity in the 12th century. An exceptionally well-preserved
and authentic example of the evolution of a Medieval settlement
into a modern town, its rich building typology exemplifies the
specific development of Portuguese architecture from the 15th
to 19th century through the consistent use of traditional building
materials and techniques.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Central
Sikhote-Alin
The Sikhote-Alin mountain range contains one of the
richest and most unusual temperate forests of the world. In this
mixed zone between taiga and subtropics, southern species such
as the tiger and Himalayan bear cohabit with northern species
such as the brown bear and lynx. The site stretches from the peaks
of Sikhote-Alin to the Sea of Japan and is important for the survival
of many endangered species such as the Amur tiger.
SPAIN
Aranjuez Cultural Landscape
The Aranjuez
cultural landscape is an entity of complex relationships: between
nature and human activity, between sinuous watercourses and geometric
landscape design, between the rural and the urban, between forests
and the delicately modulated architecture of its palatial buildings.
Three hundred years of royal attention to the development and
care of this landscape have seen it express an evolution of concepts from humanism and political
centralization, to characteristics such as those found in its
eighteenth-century French-style Baroque garden, to the urban lifestyle
which developed alongside the sciences of plant acclimatization
and stock-breeding during the Age of Enlightenment.
SWEDEN
Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun
The enormous mining excavation
known as the Great Pit at Falun is the most striking feature of
a landscape that illustrates the survival of copper production
in this region since at least the 13th century. The 17th
century planned town of Falun with its many fine historic buildings,
together with the industrial and domestic remains of a number
of settlements spread over a wide area of the Dalarna region,
provide a vivid picture of what was for centuries one of the world’s
most important mining areas.
SWITZERLAND
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn
This is the most glaciated part of the Alps, containing
Europe’s largest glacier and a range of classic glacial features
such as U-shaped valleys, cirques, horn peaks and moraines. It
provides an outstanding geological record of the uplift and compression
that formed the High Alps. The diversity of flora and wildlife
is represented in a range of Alpine and sub-Alpine habitats and
plant colonization in the wake of retreating glaciers provides
an outstanding example of plant succession. The impressive vista
of the North Wall of the High Alps, centred on the Eiger, Mönch
and Jungfrau peaks, has played an important role in European art
and literature.
UGANDA
Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi
The Tombs
of Buganda Kings at Kasubi constitute a site embracing almost
30 ha of hillside within Kampala district. Most of the site is
agricultural, farmed by traditional methods. At its core on the
hilltop is the former palace of the Kabakas of Buganda, built
in 1882 and converted into the royal burial ground in 1884. Four
royal tombs now lie within the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, the main
building is circular, surmounted by a dome. It is a major example
of an architectural achievement in organic materials, principally
wood, thatch, reed, wattle and daub. The site’s main significance
lies, however, in its intangible values of belief, spirituality,
continuity and identity.
UNITED KINGDOM
Derwent Valley Mills
The Derwent
valley in central England contains a series of 18th and 19th century
cotton mills and an industrial landscape of high historical and
technological interest. The modern factory owes its origins to
the mills at Cromford, where Richard Arkwright’s inventions were
first put into industrial-scale production. The workers’ housing
associated with this and the other mills remain intact and illustrates
the socio-economic development of the area.
Dorset and East Devon Coast
The cliff exposures along the Dorset and East Devon
coast provide an almost continuous sequence of rock formations
spanning the Mesozoic Era, or some 185 million years of the earth’s
history. The area’s important fossil sites and classic coastal
geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth
sciences for over 300 years.
New Lanark
New Lanark
is a small village set in a beautiful Scottish landscape where
the philanthropist and Utopian idealist Robert Owen established
a model industrial community in the early 19th century. The imposing
mill buildings, the spacious and well-designed workers’ housing,
and the educational institute and school still testify to Owen’s
humanism.
Saltaire
Saltaire,
West Yorkshire, is a complete and well-preserved industrial village
of the second half of the 19th century. Its textile mills, public
buildings and workers’ housing are built in a harmonious style
of high architectural standards and the urban plan survives intact,
giving a vivid impression of Victorian philanthropic paternalism.
UZBEKISTAN
Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures
The historic
town of Samarkand is a crossroads and melting pot of cultures.
Founded in the 7th century bc
as ancient Afrasiab, Samarkand had its most significant development
in the Timurid period from the 14th to the 15th centuries. The
major monuments include the Registan Mosque and madrasahs,
Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound and the Gur-Emir
ensemble, as well as Ulugh-Beg’s Observatory.
The decision to extend sites already on the List concerns the
following sites:
CHINA
Historic Ensemble
of the Potala Palace, Lhasa (extension to include the Norbulingka Palace)
The Potala
Palace, winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century,
symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional
administration of Tibet. The complex, comprising the White and
Red Palaces with their ancillary buildings, is built on Red Mountain
in the centre of Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,700m. Also
founded in the 7th century, the Jokhang Temple Monastery is an
exceptional Buddhist religious complex. Norbulingka, the Dalai
Lama’s former summer palace, constructed in the 18th century,
is a masterpiece of Tibetan art. The beauty and originality of
the architecture of these three sites, their rich ornamentation
and harmonious integration in a striking landscape, add to their
historic and religious interest.
CYPRUS
Painted Churches in the Troodos Region (extension to include the Church of the Transfiguration
of the Saviour)
This region
is characterized by one of the largest groups of churches and
monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire. The complex of 10
monuments included on the World Heritage List, all richly decorated
with murals, provides an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine
painting in Cyprus. They range from small churches whose rural
architectural style is in stark contrast to their highly refined
decoration, to monasteries such as that of St John Lampadistis.
ECUADOR
Galápagos Islands (extension to include the marine reserve)
Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the
South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding
marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase
of evolution”. Located at the confluence of three ocean currents,
the Galápagos are a “melting pot” of marine species. Ongoing seismic
and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands.
These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands,
led to the development of unusual animal life – such as the land
iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch – that
inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution following his visit
in 1835.
KENYA
Lake Turkana National Parks (former name of site: Sibiloi/Central Island
National Parks – extension to include South Island National Park)
The most saline of Africa’s large lakes, Turkana is
an outstanding laboratory for the study of plant and animal communities.
The three national parks serve as a stopover for migrant waterfowl
and are major breeding grounds for the Nile crocodile, hippopotamus
and a variety of venomous snakes. The Koobi Fora deposits, rich
in mammalian, molluscan and other fossil remains, have contributed
more to the understanding of paleo-environments than any other
site on the continent.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Volcanoes of Kamchatka (extension to include Kluchevskoy Nature Park)
This is one of the most outstanding
volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes,
a variety of types, and a wide range of related features. The
six sites included in the serial designation group together the
majority of volcanic features of the Kamchatka peninsula. The
interplay of active volcanoes and glaciers forms a dynamic landscape
of great beauty. The sites contain great species diversity, including
the world’s largest known variety of salmonoid fish and exceptional
concentrations of sea otter, brown bear and Stellar’s sea eagle.
SPAIN
Mudejar Architecture of Aragon (extension to site formerly called Mudejar Architecture
of Teruel)
The development
in the 12th century of Mudejar art in Aragon resulted from the
particular political, social and cultural conditions that prevailed
in Spain after the Reconquista. This art, influenced by Islamic
tradition, also reflects various contemporary European styles,
particularly the Gothic. Present until the early 17th century,
it is characterized by an extremely refined and inventive use
of brick and glazed tiles in architecture, especially in the belfries.
