Next year, a building and a tradition from the Czech Republic could be added to the UNESCO list

photo: Karel Vavra

Prague - The number of entries that the Czech Republic has on the UNESCO lists could likely expand next year. A year ago, Czech puppetry was added, but no new entries from the Czech Republic in the area of immovable monuments have been added for 14 years. Although the list of buildings inscribed in UNESCO is the most popular and the registered monuments are connected to tourism, experts value more the inscriptions of best practices that help preserve traditional crafts and skills.

The city of Žatec, known for its hops, is closest to being inscribed among immovable monuments, and its nomination should be discussed next year. This year, the Czech Republic has submitted two nominations in the area of intangible heritage. "At this moment, they are undergoing the evaluation process and will be presented to the committee at its meeting at the end of 2018," said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Simona Cigánková, to ČTK. The ministry states that from its perspective, the most important inscriptions are those on the List of Best Practices in the field of intangible cultural heritage. "They share mechanisms and practices that support the maintenance of expressions of intangible cultural heritage."

The World Heritage Committee meets at the turn of June and July to inscribe sites onto the World Heritage List. The Committee for the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage meets at the turn of November and December to inscribe elements onto one of the intangible cultural heritage lists. The next meeting will take place from December 4 to 9 in South Korea.

The Czech Republic submitted its last two nominations for the intangible cultural heritage list in the spring of this year. These include the transnational nomination of indigo printing and the national nomination of handmade decorations made from blown glass beads for Christmas trees.

The Ministry of Culture, which administers the list of monuments and traditions that the state would like to nominate to UNESCO, states that no type of intangible heritage is prioritized over others. It cannot be said which traditions or best practices in craft production have a greater chance. "Folk dances are not prioritized over rituals, for example. The aim is to inscribe such phenomena that different communities and societies identify as expressions of their own tradition, which are important to them and that they want to pass on to future generations," the spokesperson stated.

Among the Czech entries of intangible heritage, there are several transnational ones - last year inscribed puppetry and falconry. In recent years, it has been noted that transnational nominations have a better chance. It depends on the nature of the nominated phenomenon. Some traditions exist in a region regardless of state borders, and thus a common transnational nomination is offered. However, it is not possible to say that transnational nominations always take precedence over national ones, or that they are prioritized as in the case of entries on the World Heritage List, the ministry stated.

Today, in addition to the mentioned items on the intangible heritage list, the Czech Republic has inscribed the Slovácký verbuňk, Masopust parades and masks from Hlinecko, and Ride of the Kings in the southeast of the Czech Republic. In the future, the Czech Republic would like to nominate, for example, the Wallachian odzemek, traditional therapeutic procedures and the legacy of Vincenze Priessnitze, or the Bethlehem route in Třešť.