The historical town of the Ústí Region is Žatec for the second time in a row

Žatec - The historic town of Ústecký kraj has been Žatec for the second consecutive time. It is advancing to the national final, the results of which will be announced in April. The town on the Ohře River is applying for listing on the UNESCO World Heritage list with its hop-growing facilities and has been awarded for its consistent care of monuments in the competition. Daniel Vágner from the Ústí branch of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) informed ČTK about the evaluation of the competition for 2017 today.

Kadaň came in second place in Ústecký kraj, Terezín is third, and Benešov nad Ploučnicí is fourth. "The commission highly valued the long-term and consistent care not only for the monument fund in the case of the winning town Žatec for the second consecutive time," Vágner stated.

Hop-growing buildings are preserved nowhere else in the world in such quantity and concentration as they are in Žatec. The commission appreciated that the town annually allocates considerable amounts for organizing cultural events related to the maintenance of cultural heritage and especially regional hop-growing traditions. "The extraordinary quality lies in the large number of typologically unique hop-growing buildings concentrated in a small area in the very historical core of the town, while maintaining the original medieval street structure," stated the National Heritage Institute.

ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, positively assessed Žatec's nomination for the UNESCO list in Paris. A definitive decision on whether the Northern Bohemian town will appear on the prestigious list will be made in the summer.

Žatec scored 270 points in the regional round of the competition, while Kadaň scored 265. The point difference between the first and second places and between the third and fourth places was minimal. According to the commissioners, this reflects the diligent care of the cities for their monument zones and reserves.

The winner of the regional round receives 100,000 crowns and will compete for the main prize, which is one million crowns. The awards are presented as part of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, which falls on April 18. The competition is organized by the Association of Historical Sites of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Regional Development.