The West Bohemian spas have a chance of being inscribed on UNESCO, but Luhačovice no longer does

Prague - After a two-day meeting of the working group in Prague, the cities of Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně have a chance to be included on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list. The nomination would be promoted along with five other European spa towns. The town of Františkovy Lázně also has a chance to be nominated. On the other hand, the Luhačovice spa, which was also discussed in this context, will not be nominated. This was stated by Ministry of Culture spokeswoman Simona Cigánková during today's meeting.

According to her, among the seven main nominations accepted at the meeting of the international working group, besides Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně, are the English spa town of Bath, the German spa town of Baden-Baden, Spa in Belgium, the French town of Vichy, and the Italian town of Montecatini Terme.

In addition to this main group, there is another group of locations whose integrity and authenticity will still be further assessed. "In this group, experts from the Ministry of Culture have added Františkovy Lázně, which still has a chance for nomination," said the spokeswoman. However, Luhačovice will not be nominated. They did not make it to the top of the list because, according to the spokeswoman, they do not sufficiently meet the criteria set by the nomination of major European spas.

The mayor of Mariánské Lázně, Petr Třešňák (Pirates), told ČTK today that he is glad his city remains in the nomination. "Even though it could be expected. But for my part, I would be glad if Františkovy Lázně, which is the third in the spa triangle, and Luhačovice were also among the nominated cities," Třešňák told ČTK.

According to the mayor, Otakar Skala (independent), Františkovy Lázně will continue to strive to stay in the nomination. "It has been clearly declared that the spa triangle of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské and Františkovy Lázně forms a single unit, and the nomination of one without the other would not make sense. Moreover, these are cities that were the initiators and are the cornerstones of the entire spa nomination. In that sense, the mayor of Karlovy Vary also wrote to the Minister of Culture," Skala told ČTK.

Czech spas with natural springs are part of the nomination of Significant European Spa Towns. Selected are those spas that were sources of spreading cultural influences related to spa traditions. The nomination is a joint activity of seven countries, with the Czech Republic coordinating it. Originally, including Luhačovice, it involved a total of 16 spas from seven countries. It is unclear whether any foreign spas were also removed from the proposal after the current working group meeting.

In December, the press reported that the working group proposed to exclude the Austrian towns of Baden and Bad Ischl and the five German towns of Bad Ems, Wiesbaden, Bad Kissingen, Bad Pyrmont, and Bad Homburg from the nomination. Representatives of some allegedly excluded towns stated that the changes stemmed from competition among the spas within each country.

It is not clear when the spa nomination will be submitted to the UNESCO committee for consideration. However, the proposers of the proposal are cautious and aim to prepare the nomination as thoroughly as possible because once a proposal is rejected, the site can no longer be nominated again.

The Czech state would like to reverse the stagnation that has accompanied the number of sites listed on UNESCO for over ten years. The Czech Republic has 12 entries on this list, but none have been added since 2003. Although the number of Czech sites is double the average of countries with entries, Czechs would like to continue to acquire them.

There are 19 candidates, with spas often mentioned alongside further joint nominations of multiple countries - the Ore Mountains landscape with Germany or sites of Great Moravia with Slovakia. Greater tourism is associated with being listed on UNESCO, and sites with the highest protection can also receive state subsidies in the Czech Republic.

Among Czech sites, nomination documentation is also being developed for the Třeboň fishponds, the transmitter and hotel at Ještěd, the Terezín fortress, and the extension of the historical center of Prague, particularly the Plečnik church in Vinohrady, the Müller villa, the Břevnov monastery, and the Hvězda summer palace.