World Heritage Abroad. List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

For a long time people did not think about what they would leave to their descendants. The rulers were replaced, entire cultures were destroyed, there was no trace left of them. Later, people became smarter and preserved works of art, structures of stunning beauty, interesting monuments, etc. Eventually, mankind came to the conclusion that the most valuable objects should be added to a special list. Today, tourists visiting these or those countries are interested in the World Heritage Abroad. The UNESCO project has long been more than successful.

World Heritage

At some point people were distracted from consumption of resources and realized the need to protect natural and historical monuments, flora and fauna. This aspiration is expressed in a special list, the idea of which was realized in 1972 under the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which declared universal responsibility for the preservation of the most significant objects.

Today the list includes more than a thousand items, and all of these monuments are located on the territory of 161 states. Among them there are picturesque corners of nature and amazing creations of human hands, but some objects can surprise those who do not know by what principles this list is made.

Criteria

The world heritage abroad and in Russia are not just buildings and natural monuments. Each object is unique in its own way and is included in the list with certain criteria. Conditionally they are divided into two parts.

For artificial objects, such criteria as the reflection of the relationship of human values, the development of architecture, the uniqueness or exclusivity, the connection with ideas that have public domain are important. Of course, beauty and aesthetics are also taken into account. There are six key factors in total.

As for natural monuments, they should include the phenomena or terrain of exceptional aesthetic qualities, represent an example of the main stages of history, geological or biological processes, or be important in terms of preserving the diversity of the animal and plant world. Only four criteria are presented.

Those World Heritage properties that are located abroad or in Russia, which can be attributed to approximately the same extent as one and the other group, are called mixed, or have a cultural and natural significance. So, what exactly is included in the UNESCO list?

Recession countries

UNESCO World Heritage sites are dispersed around the world extremely unevenly. The states with the largest number of monuments are Italy, China, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, India, Great Britain, Russia and the USA. In total, more than 350 objects are located on their territory, which is more than a third of the total list. Almost all these countries can be said to be heirs of great civilizations and have natural resources. In any case, the beginning of the list is not surprising at all.

Man-made objects

In this category for 2014 there are 779 objects. This includes the most famous and significant buildings and buildings of the world, many of which are symbols of their countries: Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Easter Island, Great Wall of China, Abu Mena in Egypt, Versailles, Cologne Cathedral, Acropolis of Athens, Taj Mahal, temples Prambanan and Borobudur in Indonesia, ancient Samarra, located on the modern territory of Iran, Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan in Mexico, Cusco in Peru, Kizhi churchyard, the church in Kolomna, Stonehedge, the Statue of Liberty, the building of the Sydney Opera ... Often To single out one thing ko difficult that the list gets the entire historic center of various cities - very often is observed in Europe. All the most popular tourist attractions are sure to fall into this list. But sometimes, if there have been some major changes, the object "leaves" the World Heritage. Abroad, two such cases are known: the valley of the Elbe River near Dresden was excluded due to the construction of an automobile road; The reserve of the white oryx, a special kind of antelope, was removed from the list in Oman due to the reduction of its territory and ineffective struggle against poaching. Probably, the situation will change over time, but even if not, every year the special committee considers new and new proposals on the inclusion of various objects in the World Heritage Abroad.

Natural monuments

The most interesting and beautiful monuments in the category "World Heritage Abroad" are objects of nature. Creation rights, that is, buildings, structures, etc., are also curious, but it is much more interesting to observe what was created without the help and intervention of people. The list of such monuments (for 2014) has 197 names. The objects are located in 87 countries of the world. 19 of them are under threat of extinction (for one reason or another). By the way, the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites begins with a natural monument - the Galapagos Islands, which were honored in 1978. And, perhaps, it can be called quite fair, because there are a lot of very rare animals and plants, the archipelago is also famous for its stunning views. And, in the final analysis, still nature remains the most valuable wealth of mankind.

Mixed category

Some of the buildings created by man are so closely associated with the landscape and the environment that it is difficult to call them uniquely man-made. Or, conversely, a person has only slightly changed what has emerged as a result of geological, biological and other natural processes. In any case, UNESCO's World Natural and Cultural Heritage, represented by objects from this category, is truly unique.

There are relatively few such objects - 31, but even briefly about each one is simply impossible, they are so diverse and interesting in their own way. This includes the national parks of Australia and New Zealand, Mount Athos, Machu Picchu, monasteries of Meteora, the wild nature of Tasmania, landscapes and life of Lapland and much more. It is a real miracle that all this wealth has reached our time precisely in this form, and the common task of mankind is to preserve this heritage for descendants.

Russia and CIS countries

In the territory of the former USSR there is a large number of monuments included in the UNESCO list. Some are nominated as candidates. Altogether there are 52 objects, including the Struve geodetic arc, which is located on the territory of several states.

The list includes such names as the Moscow Kremlin, Samarkand, Tauric Chersonese, Bukhara, Lake Baikal, Lena Pillars, Putorana Plateau, Sulaiman-Too Mountain, etc. Having carefully studied the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the territory of the CIS countries, one can even To decide never to go abroad, without exploring the native land - so diverse and interesting objects in it are represented. Well, and then it is already possible to look to the neighbors, and for three seas to move - will be compared with what.

UNESCO World Heritage in Ukraine is 7 objects at the moment, and another 15 are under consideration. From the CIS countries, this country ranks second in the number of items included in the list under consideration. These include, for example, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and the Hagia Sophia in Kiev, the historical center of Lviv, the beech forest of the Carpathians.

Status

It may seem that inclusion in the World Heritage Abroad is just a pleasant bonus, simplifying the tourists and travelers the problem of choice as to where to go and what to see. But this is completely wrong, because many objects are under threat of partial destruction or disappearance and need a special attitude. The inclusion of them in the UNESCO list can additionally guarantee their safety. In addition, the addition of those or other attractions in this list raises their prestige and popularity, which, in turn, attracts more tourists to the country. The development of this sector of the economy makes it possible to receive more money for which it is possible to restore the very cultural monuments that are on the list of UNESCO. So this project is useful in all respects.

Objects under threat

Unfortunately, everything is not so rosy. There is a special section of the list, which lists those natural and cultural monuments that are threatened by critical changes or complete extinction. The reasons can be different: various kinds of catastrophes and incidents, wars, negative effects of climate and time. Not all this can be controlled, so that in a short time humanity may lose some of the objects included in the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage. Now in this "alarming" list of 46 items. None of them is a part of the World Heritage in Russia. Abroad, such situations, unfortunately, are not rare. But the committee is working in this direction.

The list of UNESCO World Heritage sites under threat includes those that appeared very long ago - in the 3-5 millennium BC, so their importance can not be overestimated. Nevertheless, numerous problems, plans for construction and reconstruction, wars, floods, poaching, etc., do not yet allow us to say that these places are safe.

Activities of the Committee

UNESCO is a huge organization dealing with a wide range of problems, the World Heritage Abroad is only one of them. And all the issues related to this topic are decided by the special committee. He meets once a year to decide on the objects that claim to be included in the list. In addition, the committee initiates the creation of working groups that deal with the problems of individual objects. It also acts as a financial institution, allocating funds to the member countries of the Convention at their request. In total, the committee has 21 members. The term of office for most of them expires in 2017.

Similar lists

Of course, cultural and natural monuments are extremely important and valuable, but humanity seeks to preserve not only them. In contrast to material objects, lists were created containing the most significant samples of creativity, the field of knowledge, etc. Since 2001, UNESCO has been keeping records of masterpieces of oral and non-material creativity. But do not think that we are talking about literary works - this list is much broader and more diverse than it seems. This includes the culinary traditions of various countries of the world, the unique skills of individual peoples, characteristic hymns and dances, even falconry!

Another project, designed to preserve UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is called "Memory of the World". And it really is something akin to the repository of various knowledge - after all, this list contains the most important documents of humanity of all times, preserved to the present day. This includes films, photographs, sound recordings, paintings, manuscripts and archives of famous people.

UNESCO's projects aimed at attracting attention to cultural monuments and phenomena of all kinds make it possible not to forget that every person is able to create something great, worthy to remain forever in history. They also help sometimes to stop and think about how many beautiful things were created by ancestors and nature, and how terrible it would be to lose it.