EUROPA NOSTRA WELCOMES TWO NEW EUROPEAN SITES ON UNESCO'S WORLD HERITAGE LIST

aug 02

Europa Nostra congratulates the two new European sites that were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Last August, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee elected the canal zone of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the old city of Albi in France to be included in this most famous list of 911 world heritage sites. Five other important European heritage sites were expanded.

It is a wonderful accomplishment and it shows the power of civil society to help preserve important cultural heritage for all Europeans. We especially thank and congratulate all the organisations and stakeholders actively involved in Amsterdam and Albi. Both cities campaigned tiredlessly for more than ten years. The mayor of Albi saw it as an accomplishment for all the people of Albi, not just for now, but also for the future. The city of Amsterdam said it showed the dynamism for creativity and diversity of the city.

Through their power of example we can put the spotlight on the importance of cultural heritage for our quality of life and our sense of belonging. These two newly inscribed sites and the five extensions will greatly contribute to raising awareness for other sites across Europe, including many endangered sites.

Europa Nostra has selected the city of Amsterdam to be the host of its Annual Congress 2011 that includes the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards Ceremony. This prestigious awards ceremony, celebrating the best in heritage restoration, will be presented by Europa Nostra's newly elected President Plácido Domingo.
 

Background Information:

Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht
The historic urban ensemble of the canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new ‘port city’ built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It comprises a network of canals to the west and south of the historic old town and the medieval port that encircled the old town and was accompanied by the repositioning inland of the city’s fortified boundaries, the Singelgracht. This was a long-term programme that involved extending the city by draining the swampland, using a system of canals in concentric arcs and filling in the intermediate spaces. These spaces allowed the development of a homogeneous urban ensemble including gabled houses and numerous monuments. This urban extension was the largest and most homogeneous of its time. It was a model of large-scale town planning, and served as a reference throughout the world until the 19th century.

source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1349

Episcopal City of Albi
On the banks of the Tarn river in south-west France, the old city of Albi reflects the culmination of a medieval architectural and urban ensemble. Today the Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux), the Saint-Salvi quarter and its church are testimony to its initial development (10th -11th centuries). Following the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics (13th century) it became a powerful episcopal city. Built in a unique southern French Gothic style from local brick in characteristic red and orange colours, the lofty fortified Cathedral (late 13th century) dominates the city, demonstrating the power regained by the Roman Catholic clergy. Alongside the Cathedral is the vast bishop’s Palais de la Berbie, overlooking the river and surrounded by residential quarters that date back to the Middle Ages. The Episcopal City of Albi forms a coherent and homogeneous ensemble of monuments and quarters that has remained largely unchanged over the centuries.

source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1337
 

And the extensions of
• Church of the Resurrection of Suceviţa Monastery, Romania
• City of Graz – Historic Centre and Schloss Eggenberg, Austria
• Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System, Germany
• Prehistoric Rock-Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde, Spain
• Røros Mining Town and the Circumference, Norway
 

Extra Resources

An Introduction to Amsterdam's Ring of Canals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqBisHn4H3A

Links

http://www.amsterdam.nl/worldheritage