Prague, Dec 30 (CTK) – Only two of four spa towns that Prague proposed for the UNESCO world heritage status have been shortlisted by UNESCO experts, a decision the Czechs refuse to accept as they want the whole “West Bohemian spa triangle” to gain the prestigious status at least, daily Pravo wrote Wednesday.
Of the originally nominated 16 European spa towns, the UNESCO working group of experts has shortlisted seven, including Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne, two apexes of the renowned West Bohemian “spa triangle,” the paper writes.
The third apex, Frantiskovy Lazne, has been proposed for deletion from the list as has been the fourth Czech candidate, Luhacovice, south Moravia, and two Austrian and five German candidate towns.
A UNESCO January meeting in Prague is to definitively decide on whether to follow the experts´ proposal or to reject it and approve the advancement of all 16 candidates.
The ousted candidates, and also Austrian authorities, will probably protest against the proposal.
“I have initiated a meeting of six representatives of the Culture Ministry and West Bohemia who have the power to push through the whole West Bohemian spa triangle, including Frantiskovy Lazne, as part of the UNESCO list,” Jan Hornik, Czech senator for Karlovy Vary, is quoted as saying.
He said the plan to reduce the list of nominees was initiated by Baden-Baden, one of the shortlisted candidates.
In the four-member commission of experts, Baden-Baden´s proposal was supported by the representatives of Britain and France, and opposed only by the Czechs.
“Germany seeks mainly Baden-Baden´s UNESCO listing. Of course, it would boost the town´s reputation and business,” Hornik said.
In its efforts, Baden-Baden “is trying to oust Germany´s smaller spa towns, though they are more significant in terms of history and heritage preservation. In order to achieve the goal, they try to apply the same approach to the partners outside Germany,” Hornik said.
At the January meeting, each of the seven member countries will have one vote. The German representative is supposed to defend the interests of not only Baden-Baden but also all other German candidates.
The Austrian and Czech representatives are expected to wage a tough battle.
Apart from Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne, the other preliminarily shortlisted spa towns are Bath (Britain), Spa (Belgium), Vichy (France), Montecatini Terme (Italy).
Together with Frantiskovy Lazne and Luhacovice, the preliminarily ousted towns are Baden, Bad Ischl (Austria), Bad Ems, Wiesbaden, Bad Kissingen, Bad Pyrmont and Bad Homburg (all Germany), Pravo writes.
