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Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

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France
Date of Inscription: 2007
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Core zone: 1731 ha
Buffer zone: 11974 ha
Department of Gironde, Region of Aquitaine
N44 50 20 E0 34 20
Ref: 1256

Brief Description

The Port of the Moon, port city of Bordeaux in south-west France, is inscribed as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris. It is also recognized for its historic role as a place of exchange of cultural values over more than 2,000 years, particularly since the 12th century due to commercial links with Britain and the Low Lands. Urban plans and architectural ensembles of the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture.

Outstanding Universal Value

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, is an outstanding example of the exchange of human values over more than two thousand years, due to its role as capital city of a world-famous wine production region and the importance of its port in commerce at regional and international levels. The urban form and architecture of the city are the result of continuous extensions and renovations since Roman times up to the 20th century. Urban plans and architectural ensembles stemming from the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of classical and neo-classical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence.

Criterion (ii): Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, constitutes an exceptional testimony to the exchange of human values over more than two thousand years. These exchanges have provided this cosmopolitan town, in the age of Enlightenment, an unparalleled prosperity that provided for an exceptional urban and architectural transformation that continued through 19th century up to present time. The different stages of construction and development of the harbour town are legible in its urban plan, especially the big transformations carried out from the early 18th century onwards.

Criterion (iv): Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, represents an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the Age of Enlightenment, whose values have continued up to the first half of the 20th century. Bordeaux is exceptional in the unity of its urban and architectural classical and neo-classical expression, which has not undergone any stylistic rupture over more than two centuries. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture.

Due to its port, the city of Bordeaux has retained its original functions since its creation, as a city of exchange and commerce. Its history is easily legible in its urban plans from the Roman castrum to the 20th century. The city has retained its authenticity in the historic buildings and spaces created in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The City of Bordeaux has 347 listed buildings, referred to the law of 31 December 1913. The historic town is protected by the “Plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur” (PSMV), approved in 1988 and revised in 1998 and 2002. A buffer zone has been established. Management structures for the protection and conservation of the nominated property include the shared responsibilities of national, regional and local governments. Interventions on buildings declared Monuments historiques (classés) must have the support of the Ministry for Culture. Several plans ensure the management and conservation of the property and take into account the following aspects: preserving the historic and heritage character, allowing the controlled evolution of the historic centre, unifying the various planning rules and contributing to the international significance of metropolitan Bordeaux.

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