EN 
DE 
The Glauberg should become a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
The early Celtic princely seats of Glauberg and Heuneburg are to become UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Hesse and Baden-Württemberg are jointly submitting sites to the national pre-selection process for the German nomination list.
The existing German tentative list for the UNESCO World Heritage List is to be updated at the beginning of 2024. The Hessian Ministry of Science and Art and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing are jointly proposing the early Celtic princely sites of Glauberg and Heuneburg for the national pre-selection process.
Most important monuments of Celtic history
"The Heuneburg and the Glauberg are part of an outstanding network of early Celtic princely seats and are among the most important monuments of Celtic history. As economic and cultural centres of their time, they continue to impress us today with their city-like structures, huge fortifications and large burial mounds with richly furnished ceremonial tombs," explain Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, and Hesse's Minister of Art and Culture, Angela Dorn.
"In order to emphasise the importance of the sites, we have decided to submit a nomination proposal together with Hesse. Together, we will develop a convincing concept for the upcoming national pre-selection process in order to make the project a joint success," Hoffmeister-Kraut announced. The Baden-Württemberg Minister had submitted the proposal for a joint nomination project to her Hessian colleague.
Focus on shared cultural heritage
"The archaeological site on the Glauberg demonstrates in a particularly outstanding way the close exchange between the early Celtic culture in Europe and with the Mediterranean cultures," explains Angela Dorn. "This is evidenced by a wealth of finds that are significant throughout Europe, in particular the unique sandstone statue of the so-called Celtic prince from one of the large burial mounds and the remains of at least three other broken statues. I am delighted that the nomination proposal gives us the opportunity to showcase the uniqueness of our shared cultural heritage." It is a great opportunity for both countries to participate in the national pre-selection process for the new German Tentative List with the Glauberg in close co-operation with the Heuneburg.
Hope lies on Mathildenhöhe
"Hesse's extraordinarily rich cultural and natural heritage, from the middle Eocene around 48 million years ago in the Messel Pit to the traces of the heyday of the Roman Empire at the Limes and European absolutism through to modern times, is reflected in our state's six World Heritage Sites," explains Minister Dorn. "With Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, a seventh World Heritage Site in Hesse will hopefully be added this year, which is part of the heritage of modernism. With the Celtic era, an exciting and central aspect of European history would be added."
How does the procedure work?
Application procedure for the UNESCO World Heritage List: The German Tentative List for the UNESCO World Heritage List is currently being updated. The Tentative List is a list of proposals for future nominations for inclusion in the World Heritage List. Two nominations per federal state can be submitted to the current selection process. Germany can nominate one site to UNESCO each year. The final applications for the World Heritage List are officially submitted by the Federal Republic of Germany to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris.
The World Heritage in Hesse
World Heritage in Hesse: The Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts coordinates the Hessian application process for the World Heritage List and is the point of contact for World Heritage sites in the state, vis-à-vis the federal government and international partners. Together with the Hessian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, whose President Dr Markus Harzenetter is the Hessian state government's World Heritage representative, it looks after the World Heritage sites in the state.
There are currently 46 World Heritage Sites on the UNESCO list in Germany, six of which are located in Hesse: Lorsch Abbey (1991), the Messel Pit as Germany's first World Heritage Site (1995), the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site (2002), the Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes (2005), the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe - Kellerwald-Edersee (2011) and Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (2013). The nomination process for Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt is also underway, and the World Heritage Committee is expected to make a decision on this in summer 2021.
The press release from Hesse’s Minister of Art and Culture Angela Dorn and Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut can be found here