In the UNESCO World Heritage movement, Poland stands out for its activity in organising new international serial nominations, that is, nominations consisting of several assets from different countries representing the same typological group of monuments.

EXPERIENCE

Poland has many years of experience in the preparation of nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage List. “The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” was adopted in 1972 in Paris at the General Conference of UNESCO. In 1976, Poland was one of the first countries to ratify the document, and by 1978, it held two of the UNESCO list’s first twelve entries, including the first technological monument on the list (Wieliczka Salt Mine).

Poland remains one of the most active signatories of the Convention. From the outset, Poland actively contributed to the preparation of serial property nominations, including the Churches of Peace in Jawor & Świdnica (2001), Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska (2003) and Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines (2013), as well as international nominations: the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine (Poland and Ukraine, 2013) and transborder nominations: Park Mużakowski/Muskauer Park (Poland and Germany, 2004).

In both international entries, almost from the beginning, international conservation boards were appointed to ensure the continuous monitoring of the condition of the shared assets, with the National Institute of Heritage (Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa) acting as the coordinator for the Polish side.

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

The current UNESCO policy on the creation and promotion of universal values (OUV) focuses on filling representation gaps. It is worth noting that, in comparison with other continents, Europe is full of assets that are monuments in the classical sense. That is why it is necessary to look for original concepts still unrecognised by the UNESCO system of identification of cultural, natural, or mixed assets.

In recent years, Poland has started intensive work to prepare several international serial nominations to fill the gaps found in analytical studies by ICOMOS-POLAND in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland. In Poland, the still open information list has allowed us to verify potential candidates according to the new WHC guidelines, the policy of promoting new categories of material heritage, and the latest models of the UNESCO international management system. On that basis, we proposed more than a dozen candidates worth promoting, out of which, thanks to the active approach of Polish managers, it was possible to select a group of leading candidates, including the Museum of Papermaking in Duszniki-Zdrój, the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Museum of Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka, and Museum of the Srebrna Góra Stronghold.

Thanks to the determination and activity of numerous actors on the local, national and international level, several international management cooperation consortiums have been established, initiating new projects to prepare serial property entries for the UNESCO World Heritage List:

• Paper Mills from the Pre-Industrial Era (Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy),
• Beginnings of Petroleum Extraction (Poland, Germany, Canada),
• Mountain Fortresses (Poland, Italy, Germany).

Poland is the initiator and leader in all the aforementioned consortiums.

SERIAL ENTRIES CURRENTLY BEING PREPARED

PAPER MILLS FROM THE PRE-INDUSTRIAL ERA
Six partners from Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, and Italy

The proposed international serial property nomination includes a group of six paper mills located in five countries: the Paper Mill in Duszniki-Zdrój (Poland), the Paper Mill at Velké Losiny (Czech Republic), the Homburg Paper Mill (Germany), the Niederzwönitz Paper Mill in (Germany), the Le Carte Paper Mill in Pescia (Italy), and the Capellades Paper Mill (Spain), which are evidence of Europe’s leading role in the paper industry beginning in the 16th century.

The selected paper mills are unique examples of facilities which, starting in the 16th century, served the pre-industrial European paper industry using textile fibres. Led by Gutenberg’s invention of movable types for relief printing but also by the Renaissance, reformation and the French Revolution, the gradual mechanisation of paper production in Europe after the second half of the 15th century allowed for the faster production of higher-quality paper and the spread of the mechanised paper production process across Europe. As a group, the paper mills represent a common model of a pre-industrial production site, which was widespread in Europe between the 18th and the 20th century, as well as the related cultural traditions of manual paper production in Europe and the continuation of these traditional methods of papermaking.

BEGINNINGS OF PETROLEUM EXTRACTION
Three partners from Poland, Germany and Canada

The proposed international serial property nomination includes three museums/oil mines: the Oil Mine in Bóbrka (Poland), the Oil Mine in Wietze (Germany), and the Oil Mine in Oil Springs, Ontario (Canada). These are evidence of petroleum’s leading role and the development of mining extraction of that raw material as the driving force of another industrial revolution in humankind’s history.

The consequences of that discovery for civilisation and the environment are still relevant today and are currently weighing on the fate of modern civilisation. From the global perspective, it is a testimony to technical progress, a civilisational breakthrough and the belief in the role of industry in the positive development of humanity. The nomination also illustrates the development of a new branch of industry and a new discipline of science and technology: the petroleum extraction industry and the “art” of engineering, which had an enormous impact on the development of global civilisation. So far, the beginnings of the petroleum extraction industry have not been represented on the World Heritage List, and it features no mines of this kind. This is a significant gap in the presentation of the achievements of humanity in the context of both the development of the extraction industry and the factors of civilisation development in general. The nomination is a testament to history – a pioneering, in situ preserved petroleum extraction site, its buildings, equipment and traditions.

MOUNTAIN FORTRESSES
Five partners from Poland, Italy and Germany

The proposed international serial property nomination includes a group of five mountain strongholds located in three countries: Srebrna Góra Stronghold (Poland), the Königstein Fortress (Germany) and the Fenestrelle, Rocca d’Anfo and Fort Bard Fortresses (Italy), which are evidence of the European phenomenon of the development of modern mountain fortifications, the transformation of mountain ranges in a purely military nature, and pioneering adaptations in extremely harsh local environmental conditions and the need of broad landscape exposure.

The development of European societies in the 17th and 18th centuries, related to the emergence of absolutist states, led to the establishment of mass, permanent armed forces and the construction of numerous bastion strongholds, mainly in the lowlands. However, in a few cases, a decision was made to erect modern fortresses in the mountains, usually due to the need to control transportation routes and less often because of a ruler’s ambition. The most well-known fortresses were built in France by de Vauban as regular civil and military structures, now represented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Quite different were the strongholds constructed in the mountains by engineers from the Duchy of Savoy, Fenestrelle, Fort Bard and Rocca d’Anfo Fortresses. Those strongholds transformed the mountain on which they were erected and housed only military infrastructure. In the second half of the 18th century, the Königstein Fortress and the Srebrna Góra Stronghold were constructed in the mountains of Northern and Eastern Europe. This point in time was the culmination of the development of mountain fortresses. The extensive mountain strongholds, forming independent, strictly military structures, are a phenomenon in the history of fortification development.

FUTURE COOPERATION PLATFORM

Poland’s activity in initiating and preparing international serial nominations is based on its broad experience in asset protection and management in accordance with the highest standards of the World Heritage system. That experience has allowed the country to form international teams of experts from ICOMOS, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the National Institute of Heritage. Permanent participants in the active cooperation model are also the managers and owners of monuments, representatives of regional, but mainly local, governments, and representatives of similar structures in the partner countries. This applies to all stages of the development of a protection and integrated management system based on experience sharing and mutual support. Elements of the protection system include, among others, documentation and inventory, evaluation of the value and preservation parameters (authenticity and integrity), a management system, risk analysis, monitoring and the availability of a joint tourism and promotion offer.

Presently, Poland is actively preparing for the execution of the next international serial nominations, including Works by Erich Mendelsohn (Poland, Germany, Israel, U.S.A); Graduation Towers (Ciechocinek), 19th-century factory towns (Żyrardów, Łódź), Water transportation canals (Augustów), and hard coal heritage (Zabrze).

We therefore encourage international cooperation between countries, institutions, and site managers interested in a shared heritage conservation policy and promoting good practices based on the UNESCO World Heritage Standards.