News

World heritages frequently make the headlines, and so does the List in general.

So What is This About?

Happy Birthday Taj Mahal
2004-09-27

Monday, September 27, 2004, marks the 350th anniversary of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj probably is the most inspiring WHS. The Moghul tomb in Agra, Northern India, was built between ca. 1632 and 1654.

This birthday does not mean the monument has been decorated with garlands: archeological concerns have forced organisers to shift the event away from the monument.

Link: Taj turns 350
Theme: Miscellaneous



A visit to the Minaret of Jam
2004-09-11
Besides visiting WHS, one of my other interests is reading travel books.
Recently I read one about Afghanistan: The places in between by Rory Stewart.
Crossing this country on foot, he passes the valley of Jam - home of the delicate minaret.
The author is one of the few outsiders that has made it here: Although the people that lived in the area had never talked of the tower and none of the nineteenth-century travellers had known of its existence, a foreigner did reach it in 1957. André Maricq's careful study confirmed that this had been the tallest minaret in the world at the time of its construction. Thereafter a number of archaeologists had made the difficult journey, but they were unable to decide how it related to the mysterious Ghorid Empire. The Russian invasion of 1979 stopped further visits.
Good to read his (not too optimistic) eyewitness report. If you are interested in this region, I can recommend reading this book.


Link: Rory Stewart - The places in between
Theme: Miscellaneous



Duchess Anna Amalia Library in flames
2004-09-03
Thursday night a huge fire raged in Weimars Anna Amalia library, one of the 12 parts of the Classical Weimar WHS. The fire affected thousands of irreplaceable books and the building itself.

The library dates from 1761, when Duchess Anna Amalia commissioned the State Architect to convert the three-storey Renaissance “Little French Castle” of 1562-9 into a library. Goethe was Director here from 1797 to 1832.

Link: German fire destroys 30,000 rare books
Theme: Calamities



Filling the gaps
2004-08-29
Not exactly breaking news, but surfing around I came across an ICOMOS action plan for filling the gaps in the current World Heritage List.
The report is relatively explicit in which gaps there are: nomadic pastoralist cultures, agricultural landscapes relating to staple or other economic crops, irrigation, non-christian religious sites and modern heritage all can be described as under-represented categories.
The analysis (table 5) also shows the complete over-representation of historic towns in Europe on the list (9% of the total).
An interesting read for WHS-followers.

Link: ICOMOS
Theme: Unesco and the List



Extension of this website
2004-08-08
There are still dozens of ideas to improve this website. You should see me busy with my laptop in the evenings on the balcony, adding all the orange bullets to the appropriate sites. But due to some programming I did for another website I can now finally implement my plans for the community page.

With over 600 entries, the 'Add your own review' is a great success. From now on it is possible to change the text of your reviews, and even add pictures.
People also send me e-mails every day, telling about their connection with the World heritage list. I'd like to provide an opportunity to share these stories with a broader audience, via adding a 'profile'. There's now one about me for a start.

Link: Community page
Theme: This website



Behind the scenes
2004-07-30
An alert WHS-enthousiast spotted this regional newspaper article. It describes the deliberations that went on when Liverpool was being discussed as a proposed WHS.
Indulge yourself in a story about the personal connections of the Egyptian representative, and how Liverpool was gloriously rescued by the French.
It all resembled 'Eurovision on a global scale', according to the Liverpool council leader Mike Storey.

Link: Cheshire Online Regional News
Theme: Unesco and the List



Destinations Scorecard
2004-07-24
National Geographic Traveler recently published a ranking of 151 tourist destinations. The magazine conducted a large survey to find out which places have thrived despite all modern perils and which haven't.

Comparing this list to Unesco's List (WHL):
* none of the Top-4 of best-preserved destinations in the world as such is on the WHL: the Norwegian fjords, Cape Breton Island (Canada), South Island (New Zealand) and Torres del Paine (Chile)
* the highest ranked WHS is Tasmania, followed by the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Quebec city historical center and the Kyoto historical district (I know people who firmly will disagree with the last one)
* some famous WHS can be found at the bottom of the list: the Acropolis, the Piramids, the Great Smokey Mountains and Venice

Link: National Geographic Traveller
Theme: Other lists



Worldheritage coffee creamer
2004-07-19
I know people who collect WHS-stamps, or postcards from WHS.
But I just heard about another group of collectors: those obsessed about the little things on top of the coffee creamer. For them, and all general worldheritage enthousiast, a Swiss company has developed a series of coffee cream cups depicting famous sites. Angkor, or the Djenné mosque, the Great Wall and the Piramids.
By the way, as a coffee cream lid collector, do you peel off the lids very carefully or do you just keep the whole cup intact?

Link: Welterbe Kaffeerahmdeckel
Theme: Miscellaneous



New World Heritage List in Danger
2004-07-06

The news about the inclusion of new world heritages is always followed by an update of a less joyful list: the World Heritage List in Danger.
This year, the almost legendary gothic Cologne Cathedral has been selected, according to Unesco's website: The World Heritage Committee sounded the alarm for the integrity of the urban landscape around the Cathedral after hearing of the construction of several high-rise buildings on the bank of the Rhine River opposite the Cathedral.
Local officials are not happy with this. Es kann nicht sein, dass eine Stadt, weil sie einen Dom hat, sich nicht weiter entwickeln darf, Cologne's mayor was quoted saying by a local newspaper.

Link: Overview sites in danger
Theme: Unesco and the List



New entries in 2004
2004-07-01
The annual countdown is over: the World Heritage Committee has started its deliberations which new sites to add. Location this year is Suzhou, China. I will add daily updates, to be seen via the link below.

Link: New entries in 2004
Theme: Unesco and the List