Franconian Beer Message Board

UNESCO - Interesting fact
Posted by Nick Cowley on 2017-07-21 04:25:02
Unfortunately, Jason's friend's version takes a small note in UNESCO's citation and inflates it into the whole story. According to UNESCO, "To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria." Bamberg meets selection criterion (ii) - "to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design" - because "the layout and architecture of medieval and baroque Bamberg exerted a strong influence on urban form and evolution in the lands of central Europe from the 11th century onwards." It meets selection criterion (iv) - "to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history" - because "Bamberg is an outstanding and representative example of an early medieval town in central Europe, both in its plan and its surviving ecclesiastical and secular buildings." The citation does note that "Of particular interest is the way in which the present town illustrates the link between agriculture (market gardens and vineyards) and the urban distribution centre", but that is not at the heart of the reasons for including it on the World Heritage List.