Darmstadt can now advertise with a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The UN organization for education, science, culture and communication (Unesco) put the Mathildenhöhe artists' colony on the coveted list on Saturday.

The responsible Unesco committee made the decisions on Saturday at its 44th meeting in the Chinese city of Fuzhou.

Only cultural and natural sites of outstanding universal value are designated as world heritage.

Previously, Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen had been awarded among the “Great Baths of Europe”.

Daniel Meuren

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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"This is a great day for Darmstadt," said Mayor Jochen Partsch (The Greens). “Over the decades, this place has been a place where many Darmstadters have come together and exchanged ideas. And the Mathildenhöhe is just a beautiful place. There are thousands of people who enjoy the beauty and fascination of this place. ”He also quoted Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, the initiator of Mathildenhöhe:“ I am in awe of the old and have the courage to dare to try something new. ”Partsch described the award as a“ mission and commitment to the future ”. "We can be proud in all humility."

The Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt from the turn of the 20th century consists of the wedding tower, a Russian chapel, buildings, park and sculptures. The artist colony is considered the intersection of modern architecture - not just an Art Nouveau ensemble, but a step towards the Bauhaus. Peter Behrens was one of the first artists to later teach the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. The intention to build the colony at the end of the 19th century was by no means just of a cultural, but of tangible economic nature.

Due to a lack of natural resources, the Hessian Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig saw an economic upswing only guaranteed by more quality in the factories and brought artists of all stripes to Darmstadt.

The World Heritage Committee will meet online and on site until July 31st.

It is made up of 21 elected signatory states to the World Heritage Convention.

As a rule, it decides annually on the registration of new cultural and natural sites in the World Heritage List and deals with the condition of the registered sites.

Because of the pandemic, the conference was postponed last year.

Seventh World Heritage in Hesse

Mayor Partsch also emphasized the importance for the present.

The Mathildenhöhe is a meeting place and, in addition to the Mathildenhöhe Institute, houses four other important cultural institutions.

“It is a place that is our mission and obligation.

The Mathildenhöhe is not a museum place, it is a place of modernity and new beginnings and the conviction of many people that they can continue to develop something beautiful and good and worth preserving.

Hessen now has a total of seven World Heritage Sites: Near Darmstadt, the Lorsch Abbey and the Messel Pit have already been selected, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe and the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park as well as the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, of which Hesse is a small part of the border , complete the list.

There are more than 1,100 cultural and natural sites in 167 countries on the World Heritage List. 51 of them are considered threatened. Germany now has 48 world heritage sites. On the agenda are a total of five applications with German participation: including the Danube Limes on Sunday as part of the Roman border. On Tuesday it will also be about the Jewish cultural heritage in Mainz, Speyer and Worms and the Lower Germanic Limes.