Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre on floods affecting Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski (Germany/Poland)

For the second time during 2010, news of massive floods across Central Europe is causing great concern to the World Heritage community, for their impacts on the border region between the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.

In particular, the flooding has affected the castles and gardens of the transboundary World Heritage site of the Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski (Germany/Poland), a landscaped park of 559.9 ha astride the Neisse River created by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau from 1815 to 1844.

I would like to convey our solidarity to National Authorities, to the site managers and to the people struggling to safeguard their heritage. UNESCO is ready to provide technical and expert advice, wherever needed, together with its Advisory Bodies ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM, to safeguard the precious heritage of future generations.