World Heritage – Restauro 05/24

What do Bad Muskau, Bath, Brühl, Mombasa, Vichy and Vienna have in common? You will find UNESCO World Heritage Sites in all of them. In RESTAURO 05/24, we are devoting ourselves entirely to the topic of “World Heritage”. We asked various World Heritage sites what makes them special, as well as the challenges they face in operation and preservation. In addition, the German UNESCO Commission answered our questions and we also looked at the criticism that the organization sometimes receives. We also spoke to the Bavarian Palace Administration about its current UNESCO World Heritage application.

World heritage! This is the topic of this issue of Restauro. To be more precise, in this issue we take a stroll past numerous World Heritage sites in Europe and take a very close look behind the scenes at UNESCO. Right at the beginning of the issue, we discuss the tasks of the German Commission for UNESCO as an intermediary organization between UNESCO in Paris and the German Federal Government and, above all, why it is not involved in the World Heritage applications. To find out, we spoke to Carolin Kolhoff, Head of the World Heritage Information Office.

The following pages continue with the rejuvenation of an impressive world heritage site, before moving on to the current issues at Schönbrunn Palace. Here, year after year, a long history of exciting names meets millions of visitors and the associated challenges for the administration. Further on in the magazine, we follow in the footsteps of the Vikings and, because we love to think outside the box, we also venture across the Mediterranean to Africa. There we look in particular at UNESCO’s great efforts to promote African World Heritage applications.

In the end, one prevailing impression remains: World Heritage Sites are rightly known worldwide for their exceptional cultural and economic value. They tell the stories of past civilizations. They bear witness to architectural masterpieces. At the same time, World Heritage sites are also facing major new challenges today. Climate change, the associated environmental influences, but also increasing mass tourism, the associated waste problem, but also the increasing number of armed conflicts worldwide are endangering these unique places.

Both local and international World Heritage administrations are called upon to make adjustments to their organization and visitor management and to adapt to the changes – and also to come to terms with the idea of what irretrievable loss means. With this issue, we would like to take a realistic but positive look at the World Heritage and the places and themes associated with it. I hope that we have succeeded in doing so and look forward to your feedback on this summer issue of Restauro.

The magazine is available here in the store!

In our last issue, we looked at the latest trends in preventive conservation. Read more here.