Bavarian fairy tale castle in a new UNESCO World Heritage Site and French Connac Boulder
After reviewing applications that require extensive research and demonstration processes, UNESCO has added several new sites to the World Heritage List.
These include several European ruins, including the famous fairytale castle of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the boulder carnac stone in northwestern France, and the Minoan Pallatri Center on Crete, Greece.
Fairy Tale Castle
At the meeting in Paris, the World Heritage Committee decided to enhance the World Heritage status of the Royal Buildings of Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and Schachen in Germany.
The magnificent castle on Upper Bavaria has attracted many tourists and has been around for more than 140 years. Last year, King Ludwig II (1845-1886)’s buildings attracted more than 1.7 million visitors, including many international guests, especially from the United States and Asian countries.
“Inclusion of palaces on the World Heritage List is an outstanding honor for these impressive places,” said Maria Böhmer, chairman of the UNESCO Committee in Germany. “They are both architectural masterpieces and witnesses the imagination of art and the quirks of fairy tales.”
Germany previously had 54 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – including the old towns of Strald and Weisser, the Cathedral of Cologne, the Vardden Sea and the Roman border fortifications of the lime.
Ancient structure
The French Connac boulders and the Greek Minorman Center are both ancient structures.
Carnac Stones is a monolithic site near the southern coast of Brittany, dating from 4500-3300 BC.
Minoan Palatial Centers, including Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Zominthos and Kydonia, were key hubs of Minoan Virinization in the Bronze Age, thriving between 2800 and 1100 BC.
The World Heritage Inscription recognizes the historical significance of the website, the architectural integrity and the existence of an integrated conservation and management framework.
Cultural reputation
Although the World Heritage title does not bring any financial support, it does ensure further international attention and cultural reputation.
World Heritage Status is also accompanied by UNESCO’s requirements, which are particularly designed to benefit local residents, which are burdened by the influx of tourists. Among other things, the organization needs a concept of effective visitor management to better control mass tourism.
The consequences of ignoring UNESCO guidelines were demonstrated in 2009 in Dresden’s Elbe Valley, where a new bridge led to the evacuation of World Heritage Status. The construction of the so-called Waldschlöschenbrücke Bridge is considered harmful to the “excellent universal value” of the cultural landscape. This is the first time that UNESCO has removed a European World Heritage Site from the list.
Italy has 60 listed sites, the most locations in any country. Some notable examples include the historic centers of Rome, Florence and Naples, the archaeological sites of Pompeii and Hekranim, and the Amalfi Coast.
Other sites added to the World Heritage List this week include three locations used by Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime, which can be used as locations for torture and executions 50 years ago.
The inscription coincides with the 50th anniversary of the rise of the Communist Khmer government, which during the four-year rule between 1975 and 1979, killed 1.7 million Cambodians.
The UNESCO World Heritage List lists sites considered important to humanity, including the Great Wall of China, the pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India and the Angkor archaeological complex in Cambodia.
