Independence Avenue (Prospect Nezavisimosti)
MINSK, 16 September (BelTA) – Independence Avenue (Prospect Nezavisimosti) in Minsk has a chance to be nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage Site status, Professor Michael Schmidt, Head of the Department of Environmental Planning at the Brandenburg University of Technology, representative of the Institute for Heritage Management (Germany), told BelTA.
The expert noted that Independence Avenue is the main street of the Belarusian capital from the point of view of the 20th-century socialist architecture. It is still up for discussion whether to draft a separate nomination file for this architectural landmark or include it in an international serial nomination. It was initially decided that the serial nomination would include Karl Marx Allee in Berlin as the main socialist street in Eastern Berlin, Independence Avenue in Minsk, Khreshchatyk in Kiev, Moscow Avenue in Kharkov, and Marszalkowska Street in Warsaw.
Experts from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czechia, and Germany have gathered in Minsk to take part in a seminar to discuss the concept of the nomination file with a tentative title “Socialist Postwar Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe” on 16 and 17 September. They will identify the criteria for the preparation of the nomination and draft a joint action plan. In November, the Belarusian capital will host the second meeting of experts. The meeting will discuss the final concept and approve the corresponding plan of action.
Alla Stashkevich, the head of the department of methodological assistance in the protection of the historical and cultural heritage at the Institute of Culture of Belarus, said that some time ago Independence Avenue was featured on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, but it was excluded due to the presence of commercial buildings. In 2015 experts from the German Institute for Heritage Management conducted an analysis of the preliminary list of nominations that Belarus intended to present for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The German experts pointed to the drawbacks of the nominations, outlined the prospects for their development and made proposals to develop new nominations. Recommendations were also made to draft a transnational serial nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List of the socialist postwar civil architecture in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Alla Stashkevich noted that the experts believe that the nomination has good prospects, as the architecture of the 20th century is underrepresented in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The seminar has been organized by the Belarusian Culture Ministry, the Institute of Culture of Belarus and the foundation Cultural Heritage and Modern World, in cooperation with the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and the Institute for Heritage Management and with the financial support from the Federal International Department.
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