UNESCO assesses Prague's World Heritage status

A UNESCO delegation recently spent five days in Prague assessing the extent to which plans to build several skyscrapers could endanger the Czech capital's World Heritage status. The result is that UNESCO sees no immediate threat to Prague's status at present, but plans to keep a close eye on the project. David Jares comments: "It's sad that UNESCO even toyed with the idea of striking Prague from the list of World Heritage sites. But what's almost beyond comprehension is that the Conservative Party, which has ruled city hall for almost 20 years now, has allowed things to go this far. What could be more conservative than preserving the heritage of their ancestors ?" Nonetheless, Jareš finds UNESCO's criteria equally questionable: "It has prohibited the installation of plastic windows in a suburb while allowing roofs that will alter the character of the panorama forever in the valuable Kleinseite district."

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