The building of the Waldschlösschen Bridge meant that the property “failed to keep its 'outstanding universal value as inscribed,'†the World Heritage Committee of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a news release.
It added that Germany could present a new nomination in the future relating to Dresden, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, but was then put on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2006 because of the planned bridge.
The only other time the Committee has ever removed a property from the World Heritage List was in 2007 when it delisted the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman for what it deemed as the country's failure to fulfil its conservation obligations with regard to the site.
The 21-member Committee, meeting in the Spanish city of Seville until 30 June, is reviewing the state of conservation of properties inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, as well as nominations for new additions of cultural and natural sites.
Also today, the Committee removed the Walled City of Baku from its List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing the efforts of Azerbaijan in improving the preservation of the ancient site.
The site, which sustained damage during a November 2000 earthquake, was inscribed on the List in 2003. “The site was then also noted to be negatively affected by the pressure of urban development, the absence of conservation policies and by dubious restoration efforts,†said the Committee.
“Improvements in its management have since allowed for the site to secure the outstanding universal value for which it was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2000,†it added.
The Walled City of Baku is built on a site inhabited since the Paleolithic period, and reveals evidence of Zoroastrian, Sasanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman, and Russian presence.
It encompasses the Inner City (Icheri Sheher), the 12th century Maiden Tower (Giz Galasy), and the 15th century Shirvanshahs' Palace, which is one of the “pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture,†according to UNESCO.#
Construction amounted to destruction of Site
Dresden dropped from World Heritage list
This is the second time that a site has ever been delisted
Special correspondent - 26-06-2009 13:16 GMT-0000
New York:The United Nations cultural agency today removed Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley from its World Heritage List due to the building of a four-lane bridge in the heart of the cultural landscape, marking only the second time that it has ever delisted a site.