EnglishThe World Heritage - a challenge for humanity
The campaign to save Abu-Simbel was the first step towards the Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. This international treaty is based on the revolutionary idea to entrust humanity with the protection and preservation of outstanding cultural achievements and unique natural phenomena that are of outstanding universal value. The World Heritage Convention is a unique success story.
The World Heritage List includes 890 sites, of which 689 are cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed. They are located in 148 countries.
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Pile Dwellings around the Alps
The "stilt houses" are remnants of pre-historic settlements in lakes and moors around the Alps. The candidacy consists of 156 of the roughly 1,000 known sites in six countries (Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria) and is thus a serial trans-boundary property proposal for the World Heritage List. The candidacy was presented under the aegis of Switzerland. 15 Swiss cantons are involved. The remnants of the pre-historic settlements provide a lively insight into the origin and development of early agricultural societies in the Alpine region. The candidacy will be considered in the summer of 2010 and a decision by UNESCO is expected in summer 2011.