Indeed, it is not. Thank you for the correction.

New biosphere reserves:

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-designates-11-new-biosphere-reserves

But I'm not sure if a WHS is involved.

Connection: Female Christian Mystics

Paris, Banks of the Seine – Marguerite Porete, a French-speaking mystic of the 13th and 14th century, was "burnt at the stake for heresy [at the Place de Grève] in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial". (Wikipedia)

Els, I had also proposed some other connection about a month ago, on the previous page. Maybe you didn't have time with your travel to take a look at them?

Will look into them!

I will do a query on this, the information should already be there in the database. I am afraid there will be too many for a connection. Will post the results, may even turn it into a blog post if returns interesting elements.

Proposal for a new connection:

Connection: Gustav Klimt

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Karlovy Vary: "in 1885, the Municipal Theatre saw the visit [of]
Gustav Klimt, the Austrian painter who also created, together with Franz Matsch, the theatre's hand-painted curtain and mural paintings". (Nomination File, p. 146)

Stoclet House – "In 1904, [Klimt] collaborated with other artists on the lavish Palais Stoclet, the home of a wealthy Belgian industrialist that was one of the grandest monuments of the Art Nouveau age. Klimt's contributions to the dining room, including both "Fulfillment" and "Expectation", were some of his finest decorative works". (Gustav Klimt - Wikipedia)

Vienna – Klimt has painted mural for several buildings in Vienna, e.g. the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the the Burgtheater. His Beethoven Frieze is on display in the Secession Building. His famous painting "The Kiss" is in the Belevedere Palace. (Gustav Klimt - Wikipedia)

Wilderness Quiet parks (WHS on Other Lists)

https://www.quietparks.org/wilderness-quiet-parks

- Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest
- Glacier parks

We would need a third, the next site is right next door
- Namib Sand Sea: Namibrand Nature Reserve

I would like to add another site, but also change up the description for that.

WHS where works of Gustav Klimt can be seen or that have influenced his work.

Ravenna - Klimt's use of gold leaf in paintings was inspired by a trip he made to Italy in 1903. When he visited Ravenna he saw the Byzantine mosaics in the Church of San Vitale. For Klimt, the flatness of the mosaics and their lack of perspective and depth only enhanced their golden brilliance, and he started to make unprecedented use of gold and silver leaf in his own work. (The Kiss (Klimt) - Wikipedia)

I have changed it, but not sure whether it makes the connection stronger. Original Klimt works are more interesting imo

If you feel it makes the connection weaker, then you don't have to add it.

I just felt the Ravenna WHS had a strong influence on what is regarded as his most characteristic work. And for the Le Corbusier connection, we also added WHS that influenced him.

Some more connections for the Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Connection: Assassinations

Great Spa Towns of Europe – German philosopher Theodor Lessing was murdered in Mariánské Lázně. "On 30 August 1933 he was working in his study on the first floor at the Villa Edelweiss (today at Třebízského 33) when he was shot through the window by assassins. He died the next day at the hospital in Marienbad." (Theodor Lessing - Wikipedia)

Connection: Astronomy and Astrology

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "William Herschel came to Bath to be the organist at the Octagon Chapel and with his sister, Caroline, lived at Number 19 New King Street where they built their mirrors and telescopes and eventually in 1781 discovered a new planet, Uranus. Caroline was an accomplished astronomer and discovered three new nebulae and eight new comets." (Nomination File, p. 295)

Connection: Bandstand

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Music was an essential contribution to the cure, and in close proximity to the promenades are bandstands or similar pavilions from which bands played music throughout the day to visitors (examples may be seen in Baden-Baden, Baden bei Wien, Bad Kissingen and Karlovy Vary)." (Nomination File, p. 61)

Connection: Baroque

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The new town of Františkovy Lázně "was laid out initially along a central axis (founded on Baroque principles of axiality and symmetry) within which the principal functions of the spa were concentrated." "Following another fire in 1759, the city [of Karlovy Vary] was reconstructed according to late-Baroque principles." (Ab Ev) "A number of examples of Baroque architecture may be seen in The Great Spas of Europe. Bad Ems has some exemplars, including: one of the earliest hotels in Europe, the 'house with the four towers' located in the Kurpark". "The massive Baroque church of St Mary Magdalene stands high above the Vřídló Hotspring in Karlovy Vary". (Nomination File, p. 64, 317)

Connection: Benedictines

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "In the City of Bath, the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul occupies a central position adjacent to the King's Spring and occupies a site of a Roman temple, a Norman Cathedral and Benedictine monastery." "The baths were managed (...) for 800 years by a Benedictine monastery". (Nomination File, p. 63, 438)

Connection: Canals

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The Kennet and Avon Canal cuts through the Sydney Gardens in the City of Bath. (Nomination File, p. 289)

Connection: Carrara marble

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The "Old Baths" in Baden-Baden "were constructed on the orders of Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden on the site of old Roman baths (remains are preserved in the basement area, including Augustbad, the main round basin carved from Carrara marble)." (Nomination File, p. 214)

Connection: Celtic history

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Bath: "The springs are thought to be the site of the Celtic pagan worship of the goddess Sul". (Nomination File, p. 305)

Connection: Congresses and Conferences

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Baden bei Wien hosted side discussions from the Congress of Vienna from 1814-15." (Nomination File, p. 87) After the First World War, there were several conferences in Spa, e.g. in July 1918 at the Hôtel Britannique. The Château de la Fraineuse "was the site of the diplomatic Spa Conference in July 1920, which settled the question of the repairs owed by Germany." (Nomination File, p. 103) (Spa Conference of 1920 – Wikipedia)

Connection: Contains significant structures from the 21st Century

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Baden-Baden: "the important collection of modern art in the Frieder Burda museum, located since 2004 in the modern building of Richard Meier, a reputed American architect. The museum connects with the existing Kunsthalle dating from the early twentieth century and is considered to be a congenial part of the Lichtental alley." (Nomination File, p. 422) (Museum Frieder Burda – German Wikipedia)

Connection: Damaged in World War I

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Spa: "Theatre rebuilt after destruction of the eighteenth century theatre during WW1". (Nomination File, p. 348)

Connection: Damaged in World War II

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "the famous Weilburg Palace in Baden bei Wien, destroyed during the last days of World War II" – City of Bath: "During World War II, much of this southern part of the city was destroyed by German aerial bombing raids, prompting large-scale reconstruction after the war ended." (Nomination File, p. 362, 442)

Connection: Festivals

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Baden bei Wien hosts several festivals, e.g. "the traditional Festival of Operetta (existing for more than 120 years), the colourful Festival of Roses, and the biggest pan-European Fotofestival: LaGacilly-Baden-Photo." Františkovy Lázně hosts "the International Strauss Festival which is visited by tens of thousands of visitors." Karlovy Vary has "the International Film Festival, one of the oldest film festivals in the world". "The City [of Bath] hosts annual festivals including the celebrated Bath festival (of music) and the Mozart Festival". (Nomination File, p. 89, 127, 148, 442)

Connection: Frescoes or murals by famous painters

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Karlovy Vary: "in 1885, the Municipal Theatre saw the visit [of] Gustav Klimt, the Austrian painter who also created, together with Franz Matsch, the theatre's hand-painted curtain and mural paintings". (Nomination File, p. 146)

Connection: Georgian Architecture

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Bath: "The spa city is celebrated for its exceptional Georgian town planning, Palladian architectural ensembles, squares and crescents." (Nomination File, p. 272)

Connection: Gothic Revival

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "In Baden-Baden's new nineteenth century spa quarter the neo-gothic Protestant church is a significant landmark with its two tall spires." The Château de la Terrasse in Spa was built in 1857 in the neo-Gothic style. The Kurhaus in Karlovy Vary is "in Neo-Gothic style with Neo-Romanesque motifs." (Nomination File, p. 64, 101, 134)

Connection: Historical zoos

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Františkovy Lázně: "Following the American trend, a zoo was also established in [Loimann's Park], and so the forest park began to be known as America." (Nomination File, p. 64, 101, 134)

Connection: Hot springs

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "In the centre of Bath are the Hot Springs, the baths and the Abbey. The hot springs were sacred to the Romans, initiating a continuous tradition of healing." (Nomination File, p. 272) Karlovy Vary also has hot springs, of which the "strongest spring [is] named Vřídlo (Hot Spring) with a temperature of 73.4°C", that "spurts hot water rich in carbon dioxide about 12-14 metres high which is a European phenomenon." (Nomination File, p. 131)

Connection: Icehouses

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Belgium has more than 200 ice rooms spread around Flanders and Wallonia. An exceptional case, Spa alone has more than 15 of these small structures which were used to store food and make sorbet. This high concentration, which can only be explained by the large-scale hotel activity, offers an insight into the evolution of building techniques from 1757 to 1924." (Nomination File, p. 107)

Connection: Ideal City

Great Spa Towns of Europe – From the beginning of the 19th century, the new town of Františkovy Lázně "was further expanded, based on the principle of ideal towns, to form a regular rectangular grid within which the principal functions of the spa were concentrated." (Ab Ev)

Connection: Invention of sweets

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Traditional spa wafers from the Bohemian spa towns (I·ATE Food Term of the Week: Spa Wafers)

Connection: Irrigation and drainage

Great Spa Towns of Europe – All the spa towns have a pipe network for the supply and disposal of the spring water. E.g. a "system of Roman and modern pipe routes is developed in Bath (...) The Roman Great Drain is constructed to discharge used water into the River Avon." (Nomination File, p. 276)

Connection: Legends and Folk Myths

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Spa: "The Sauvenière [source] is well known thanks to the legend of Saint Remacle's foot". (Nomination File, p. 95) According to the legend, the source was discovered by Saint Remacle. The alleged footprint of the saint's sandal still appears in a stone near the spring. According to belief, properties regarding fertility are attributed to the source by drinking the water and placing the foot in the indentation of the sandal. (Source de la Sauvenière – French Wikipedia)

Connection: Leprosy

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The Leper Hospital in the City of Bath (Nomination File, p. 66, 279)

Connection: Life of Mozart

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's wife stayed in Baden bei Wien to cure ulcers on her leg and Mozart stayed with her." (Nomination File, p. 349)

Connection: Location for a classic movie

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Many films have been shot on location in Montecatini Terme, some examples including scenes from Franco Zeffirelli's "Camping" (1957), Anthony Asquith's "The Yellow Rolls Royce" (1964), Mario Monicelli's follow-up to "My Friend" (1982), and Nikita Michalkov's "Oci Ciornie" (1987). (Nomination File, p. 268) Marcello Mastrioanni won the award for Best Actor at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for "Oci Ciornie". (Dark Eyes (1987 film) – Wikipedia)

Connection: Medici

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The first part of the history of Montecatini ends in 1554, when the castle of Montecatini Alto was destroyed by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1519-74). (Nomination File, p. 432)

Connection: Modelled after

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Spa: "The Château de la Fraineuse was built at the end of the nineteenth century. Here, the architect took inspiration from the Petit Trianon built in 1769 for King Louis XV in the park of Versailles Castle. Far from being a simple pastiche, the castle is a genuine tribute to its illustrious model." (Nomination File, p. 102-103)

Connection: Monumental Fountains

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Baden-Baden: The "Josephinenbrunnen" in the Gönneranlage (Nomination File, p. 420) (Gönneranlage – German Wikipedia)

Connection: Napoleon was here

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Vichy: "The Parc des Sources, which still exists, was created in 1812 by Napoleon Bonaparte." (Ab Ev) Baden bei Wien: "Napoleon Bonaparte tasted the Baden thermal waters on 15 October 1809". (Nomination File, p. 75)

OMG, Jurre!

As you can see, it's alphabetical, so I have more... :-D

Connection: Neoclassical architecture

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Generally, throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, neo-classical styles of architecture were adopted for principal spa buildings such as baths, treatment rooms, conversation houses and assembly rooms." Bath Street in Bath is "an exemplary model of civic urban intervention by inserting a neoclassical street through the existing Jacobean fabric of the seventeenth century." (Nomination File, p. 282, 318)

Connection: New Towns

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The new town of Františkovy Lázně "was laid out initially along a central axis (founded on Baroque principles of axiality and symmetry) within which the principal functions of the spa were concentrated." (Ab Ev)

Connection: Nine Years' War

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Baden-Baden: The French "returned to occupy the city in 1688 at the onset of the Nine Years' War, burning it to the ground the next year." (Wikipedia - Baden-Baden)

Connection: Obelisk

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Chotek's Footpath is the "oldest forest promenade" in Karlovy Vary. "In 1804 the obelisk of count Findlater was erected beside the path and in 1834 Theresa's obelisk, commemorating the visit of the Duchess Marie Therese Charlotte d'Angouléme in 1833." In Mariánské Lázně, a sandstone obelisk erected in 1849 "commemorates the fact that J. W. Goethe used to sit with Ulrike von Levetzow on the benches here". (Nomination File, p. 144, 165)

Connection: Octagons

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Bath: "A modest octagonal bandstand with a pyramid roof is in the centre of Parade Gardens." "An important proprietary chapel was the Octagon in Milsom Street. (...) Here small heated rooms for worshippers were arranged around a central octagonal space from which the service was conducted. This became a fashionable chapel and popular with visitors to Bath including Jane Austen. The building closed for worship in 1895 and it has enjoyed several uses since then and is now a restaurant." (Nomination File, p. 285, 287)

Connection: Palladio and Palladian style

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The spa city [of Bath] is celebrated for its exceptional Georgian town planning, Palladian architectural ensembles, squares and crescents", with the "Royal Crescent (1767-75) (...) by Wood the Younger (the triumph of Palladian architecture in England)". "Villa Artemis was built in 1875 after a project of the builder Konrad Eckel, it is one of the purest examples of Neo-Palladianism in Karlovy Vary." "Villa Patriot [in Mariánské Lázně] belongs among the most characteristic examples of Palladian buildings in the villa architecture of the West Bohemian spas." (Nomination File, p. 69, 140, 162, 272)

Connection: Peat

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The spa therapeutic and recreational spa landscape of Františkovy Lázně is an extraordinary example of a cultural landscape that was created from initially monotonous peat lands and moorlands to meet the needs of spa treatments in several steps". Františkovy Lázně "gained in popularity and prominence due, in particular, to its pioneering peat treatments" and "boasts the oldest peat spa in the world". (Nomination File, p. 111, 122, 125)

Connection: Peter the Great

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The international recognition of the city of Spa grew when Russian Tsar Peter the Great visited to take the cure in 1717". (AB Ev) The water of the Géronstère souce "cured Peter the Great of his digestive problems." (Nomination File, p. 96) Peter the Great also visited Baden bei Wien in 1698 and Karlovy Vary in 1711. A monument to him can be found in the town of Karlovy Vary. (Nomination File, p. 87) (Wikipedia - Karlovy Vary)

Connection: Protestantism

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Bad Ems is described as a mainly "Protestant spa", which also provided for the religious needs of its Catholic guests. "The Evangelical church in Mariánské Lázně served a protestant congregation". "In Baden-Baden's new nineteenth century spa quarter the neo-gothic Protestant church is a significant landmark with its two tall spires." There is also a Protestant temple in Spa, which was "the first Anglican temple on the continent", and Protestant churches in Baden bei Wien and Bad Kissingen. (Nomination File, p. 64, 69, 83, 103, 237)

Connection: Queen Victoria

Great Spa Towns of Europe – City of Bath: "Royal Victoria Park, opened by Princess Victoria (future Queen of England) in 1830". (Nomination File, p. 441)

Connection: Railways

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "Railways were also extended to spa towns to promote better access and increased visitation (several spa railway stations are included, for example Bad Ems, with its associated station quarter of hotels and villas)." "Bath Spa railway station by Isambard Kingdom Brunel was opened for Bristol traffic in 1840 and London traffic a year later." (Nomination File, p. 33, 291)

Connection: Reinforced Concrete

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Karlovy Vary: "the construction (1967-76) of the Hotel Thermal Spa meant the destruction of Chebská Street (...). The modern complex includes a Convention Centre and dominates the Teplá River Valley in the northern spa quarter. The monolithic reinforced concrete structure apparently lacks harmony with the historic environment but nonetheless represents a Functionalist style landmark of the post-war socialist era by Czech architects". (Nomination File, p. 452)

Connection: Richard Wagner

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "one of the most significant guests of the nineteenth century was Richard Wagner, who kept a diary on his stay and even dictated notes from Mariánské Lázně to his autobiography, later published as "My Life". His operas "Das Liebesverbot" (The Ban on Love), "Tannhäuser", "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg), and "Lohengrin" are related to the composer's stays in Mariánské Lázně." Bad Ems was also a summer residence for Wagner, where he stayed at the Schloss Balmoral "during his spa break in 1877, working on his opera "Parsifal"".(Nomination File, p. 168, 198)

Connection: Scientific Developments

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The Great Spas of Europe exhibits an important interchange of innovative ideas that influenced the development of medicine, balneology and leisure activities from around 1700 to the 1930s." (Official description) "At their scientific core, spa doctors, physicians and balneologists brought forward advances in medicine, medical diagnostics and analytical chemistry of world significance. (...) The springs, and their geological and hydrological characteristics, also became the subject of seminal works, too". (Nomination File, p. 68)

Connection: Thirty Years' War

Great Spa Towns of Europe – Baden-Baden: "Baden suffered severely during the Thirty Years' War, particularly at the hands of the French, who plundered it in 1643." (Wikipedia - Baden-Baden)

Connection: Tramways

Great Spa Towns of Europe – The tram connection between Vienna and Baden bei Wien was established in 1900. (Nomination File, p. 86)

Connection: Works by Nobel Prize winning authors

Great Spa Towns of Europe – "The future Nobel Prize winner Paul Heyse memorialised the Ems region in his novella, "Der Blinde von Dausenau"." (Nomination File, p. 205)

Ehm, can I humbly proceed with some additions to the connections of "most beautiful villages"? This time it is another initiative, the Bandiere arancioni ('orange flags') by the Touring Club Italiano. It is a sort of WHS selection for small towns: it is not a private and pay-to-enter club like "Italy's most beautiful hamlets", but it is a prestigious acknowledgment given by the Touring Club according to some strict criteria. Or at least serious/motivated criteria. So, from among 270 places, I collected (Piedmont is the strongest region):

- Val d'Orcia: Radicofani and Pienza
- Pienza: Pienza itself
- San Gimignano: San Gimignano itself
- Mantua & Sabbioneta: Sabbioneta
- Piedmont vineyards: Barolo, Grinzane, Ozzano, Rosignano (truly well represented, I might have missed others); while Cella Monte is part of the Borghi più belli d'Italia
- Savoy residences: Agliè with its castle
- Sacred Mounts: Orta San Giulio, Varallo
- Pile dwellings: Ledro, (Arquà Petrarca - in parentheses because the site is nearby but not accessible)
- Langobards: Cividale