Steering Committee – a Pilot Project as a Role Model
The ensemble “Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof” was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites during the 30th meeting of UNESCO in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2006. At that time, in Vilnius, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) announced the formation of a steering committee in Regensburg, as an innovative interface between UNESCO and the World Heritage Site. The establishment of this committee was expressly welcomed by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris and approved for a test period of two years to serve as a pilot project and role model for the other World Heritage Sites.
So far, communication between German World Heritage Sites and UNESCO has had to go through long and relatively complicated administrative channels. The reason for this is the decentralized structure of the Federal Republic, with jurisdiction over cultural matters lying with the individual states. The World Heritage Steering Committee, instituted for the first time in Regensburg, is meant to streamline channels of communication and, at the same time, insure a high level of protection for the World Heritage Site.
Participants have been chosen with an eye toward integration: Twice a year, representatives of all relevant levels of administration sit down together to recognize any conflicts between the city’s urban development planning and World Heritage concerns at an early stage.
Initial Meeting of the World Heritage Steering Committee
The following representatives of the various institutions have graciously agreed to serve on the World Heritage Steering Committee: Dr. Josef Stulc (Chairman of the ICOMOS National Committee of the Czech Republic), Dr. Andreas Baur (Bavarian State Ministry of Sciences, Research and the Arts), Dr. Egon Johannes Greipl (Bavarian State Conservation Office), Dr. Birgitta Ringbeck (Delegate of the Conference of German Ministers of Culture to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee) as well as Privy Councillor Univ. Prof. Dr. Wilfried Lipp (President of the ICOMOS National Committee of Austria).
Mayor Hans Schaidinger and Christine Schimpfermann, Head of the Office of Planning and Building, welcomed the participants to a walk around the city in the morning, allowing them to see the individual sites of planned urban development that the committee would be assessing, with respect to their compatibility with World Heritage status, during the subsequent meeting.
The committee elected Privy Councillor Univ. Prof. Dr. Lipp chairman and designated Dr. Ringbeck his deputy.
Assessment of Current Building and Development Planning
The World Heritage Steering Committee was informed about projects in progress and made valuable suggestions for continuing planning. In addition to planned construction at the Donaumarkt and on Arnulfsplatz, assessment of the site of the Regensburg Culture and Convention Centre on Ernst-Reuter-Platz was also on the agenda of the Steering Committee. Other plans discussed were the remodelling of the Karmeliten Hotel and the renovation of the parking garage on Dachauplatz.
More information about Regensburg:
