The spa towns will submit their nomination to UNESCO in January 2019

Mariánské Lázně - The famous spa of Europe will submit its nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List in January 2019. UNESCO is expected to decide on the inscription of 11 cities from seven European countries in the summer of 2020, Vojtěch Franta (Pirates), the relaxed representative of the Karlovy Vary Region for spa tourism, travel, and UNESCO, told ČTK today. The mayors of the nominated cities met today in Mariánské Lázně. In the Czech Republic, the nomination concerns Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, and Františkovy Lázně.

"We have moved forward by a year and during that one year we refined the nomination documentation, which was somewhat hastily put together. We invited so-called critical friends - UNESCO experts, who reviewed the entire nomination, adjusted the texts to make them understandable and written in an engaging manner," Franta said. The so-called outstanding universal value of the nominated assets has also been reformulated so that the nomination is well explained and defended.

At the meeting, according to Franta, a shared responsibility of the cities was mentioned in case the nomination is successful. He recalled the exclusion of the Elbe Valley in Dresden from the prestigious list due to a controversial bridge construction in 2009. "The nomination is serial and international. If there is any development in one city that may contradict UNESCO values, the other cities should be informed, and steps should be taken to ensure that it does not jeopardize the entire nomination," emphasized Franta.

Before the submission of the nomination documentation, all mayors will meet in Prague in September of this year. By then, case studies should be created to determine the impact of inscription on the UNESCO list on other European cities.

Due to the nomination, the heritage protection in the affected Czech cities has been unified and expanded. The so-called spa cultural landscape is now part of their heritage reserves. In addition to the trio of Czech spa towns, the nomination also includes the cities of Bad Ems, Bad Kissingen, Baden-Baden, Baden near Vienna, Bath, Montecatini Terme, Spa, and Vichy.