Zatec has been seeking to be added to the list since 2007. Photo: The Temple of Hops and Beer, Zatec. Credit: mesto-zatec.cz.
Riyadh/Prague, Sept 18 (CTK) – At its 45th session in Riyadh, the World Heritage Committee today designated the Czech town of Zatec and its hops landscape as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Czech Culture Minister has told CTK.
This is the Czech Republic’s 17th site to be added to the World Heritage List. It is also the first hop-growing landscape in the world to be awarded this status.
The nomination followed the original nomination, called “Zatec – the town of hops”, which the World Heritage Committee recommended in 2018 to be revised to include a currently producing landscape.
“I am extremely pleased that this nomination has been inscribed on the World Heritage List, as the cultivation of hops, our green gold, is intrinsically linked to Czech culture,” said Culture Minister Martin Baxa (ODS). “I believe that the new World Heritage Site will not only confirm its exceptional value, but also bring an impetus for further development, better protection and strengthening of cooperation in the field of conservation, tourism and promotion.”
The UNESCO status will bring new opportunities for development and promotion to the town, which has been seeking to be added to the list since 2007. “This is the 17th entry of the Czech Republic on this prestigious list, but it is also the first time that a hop-growing area has been included. This also testifies to its uniqueness, of which we can be justly proud,” said the Mayor of Zatec, Radim Laibl (ANO).
Zatec and its hops landscape represent a centuries-old tradition of hop growing. The registered site consists of two parts.
The first consists of the landscape with hop farms and the villages of Trnovany and Steteknik, including a local castle. The second part is the historic centre of Zatec with its 19th century industrial quarter, home to the highest concentration of buildings connected with hop processing and trade. Both parts are connected by the Ohre River.
The site and its hop-growing building heritage represent a tradition of over 700 years, which continues to this day despite major demographic changes at various times in history. The landscape contains a number of features ranging from traditional hop houses to buildings used for drying, packing, certifying and storing hops to parts of the historic transport network of roads, railways, the River Ohre and other watercourses.
buj/dr/kva
