Žatec was not added to the UNESCO list, the nomination has been postponed

"The Intergovernmental Committee for World Heritage did not inscribe the Czech Republic's nomination: Žatec, the city of hops, on the World Heritage List at its ongoing 42nd session in Bahrain; the nomination was postponed, or rather recommended for revision and expansion to include examples of hop cultivation. At this moment, the nomination was primarily focused on the processing of hops," said Cigánková. "Although we cannot celebrate the results of our work this year, we have gained an independent opinion on how the international expert community perceives the significance of hop cultivation and processing in the Žatec region," she added.

According to her, the theme itself was described as an interesting contribution to "the presentation of agricultural heritage with implications for the specialization of the city." Therefore, it was recommended that the Czech Republic deepen the theme. In the future, Žatec may apply for the nomination again.

"This is something we anticipated preliminarily. It’s a small plus for us; we were afraid of receiving a stop signal. This way, we got a chance to elaborate more on the individual themes," said Špička, who manages the UNESCO group in Žatec, to ČTK.

The session in Manama will last until July 4. This year, three dozen natural and cultural sites have been nominated for inscription. So far, UNESCO has inscribed notable sites such as the ancient port of Kalahat in Oman, a collection of buildings in Victorian and Art Deco styles in Mumbai, India, the largest oasis in the world Al-Ahsa in Saudi Arabia, mountain monasteries in South Korea, and remains of fortifications and palaces in the Iranian province of Fars.

The nomination of Žatec has been evaluated gradually since 2017. In addition to Žatec, the Krušná hora Mining Region has also been applying for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List since the beginning of this year. In the second half of the year, they also plan to submit nomination documentation for the Famous Spas of Europe, which include, among others, Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně, and Mariánské Lázně.

The Czech Republic currently has 12 entries on the UNESCO list of immovable monuments. In addition to the historic centers of Prague, Telč, and Český Krumlov, these include the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, the castle in Litomyšl, and the functionalist villa Tugendhat in Brno.