The inscription of Žatec on the UNESCO list will benefit the entire Ústí nad Labem Region, believes the governor

Ústí nad Labem - The inscription of Žatec and the landscape of the Žatec hop fields on the UNESCO World Heritage List will have a positive impact on the entire Ústí Region, believes its governor Jan Schiller (ANO). According to him, this will help ensure that the region is no longer perceived as dirty and ugly. He stated this today to ČTK in response to information that the hop-growing landscape has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The decision by the World Heritage Committee was also welcomed by the mayor of Žatec, Radim Laibl (ANO), and representatives of hop growers.

The registered monument consists of two parts. The first part is the landscape with hop fields and the villages of Trnovany and Stekník, including the castle of the same name. The second part represents the historic center of Žatec with its industrial quarter from the 19th century, which has the highest concentration of buildings associated with hop processing and trading. Both parts are connected by the Ohře River. This is the 17th entry on the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage List for the Czech Republic and it is also the first hop-growing landscape in the world to receive this status.

"This is a great prestige for us. It will definitely have a positive impact on the entire region. UNESCO will help us to no longer be perceived as a dirty and ugly region; we are trying to transform the area," Schiller told ČTK and thanked everyone who has worked on the inscription for many years. He also considers the UNESCO listing a significant commitment. "Žatec must draw on the experiences of cities that have been on the UNESCO list longer. If needed, we are ready to help," the governor added.

According to the mayor of Žatec, the UNESCO listing signifies for Žatec and Zálužice, where the hop-growing landscape is located, not only a prestigious brand but also the potential for further development and a strong tourist position in the Ústí Region and the Czech Republic. "Thanks to the nomination, Žatec has already been successful in obtaining grants for the restoration of monuments in the city from European programs; examples include the town hall and the ongoing restoration of the monastery. In the coming years, we want to focus primarily on tourism infrastructure and solving parking issues in both components," Laibl stated in a press release.

The chairman of the Czech Hop Growers Association, Luboš Hejda, stated that the World Heritage Committee, by its decision to register Žatec and the hop-growing landscape, "appreciated the preserved monuments associated with the cultivation and processing of the Žatec semi-early red hop, the highest quality fine aromatic variety of hops grown in the Czech Republic." Most of the hops in the Czech Republic are grown in the Žatec area, on 3,744 hectares, which is 77 percent of the total area.

Žatec has been striving for registration on the prestigious list since 2007, when it was included on the indicative list, which contains potential candidates for the World Heritage List. The first version of the nomination titled Žatec – the City of Hops focused only on the urban and technical heritage in Žatec. The World Heritage Committee described the project as interesting in 2018 and called on the Czech Republic to revise and expand it to include the story of hop cultivation in the surrounding landscape. In collaboration with the city, representatives of hop growers, and with the professional assistance of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) and Czech and foreign experts, the landscape of hop fields in the Stekník area along with the local state castle was selected.

"We are pleased that it was possible to involve the State Castle Stekník in the project, which the National Heritage Institute has recently focused on restoring," stated the NPÚ director Naďa Goryczková, who believes that the World Heritage status will help increase interest in the castle. Its new exhibition will also showcase "the uniqueness of the hop field landscape connected with villages featuring agricultural homesteads and places for processing, storage, and subsequent trade in hops."