Founded in 1191, recognized as world heritage site in 1983. Photo by Michael Schneeberger, © 2009 Bear Park Bern
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland was easily elected to the committee that designates world heritage sites for Unesco 26 October in Paris. There are 890 world heritage sites globally and 10 of them are in Switzerland.
Switzerland promises to use its expertise and experience to promote a global strategy for a World Heritage List that is “balanced, representative and credible”, the Federal Office of Cultural Affairs says. Switzerland contributes to the maintenance of world heritage sites as part of its development cooperation policy, for instance in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, in Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and in Bulgaria’s Pirin National Park.
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchatel (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss watchmaking centres of La Chaux-de-Fonds/Le Locle was the scene of a celebrations in the street Saturday night after the news was announced that theit is one of 11 new Unesco World Heritage cultural sites. Italy’s Dolomites in the north of the country, near Switzerland, were named one of two new natural sites, and, for only the second time, a site was remove from the list. Germany’s Dresden Elbe Valley has lost its title because of a four-lane highway being built through the centre of the site.
The description of La Chaux-de-Fonds, from the Unesco list:
