Dresden City Council Votes Against Bridge Construction at World Heritage Site

The World Heritage Committee at its 30^th session in Vilnius decided to place the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley on the List of World Heritage in Danger following plans by the municipality of Dresden to build a bridge over the Elbe River in the core zone of the property. The Committee determined that plans to build a bridge across the Elbe would have such a serious impact on the integrity of this cultural landscape and its outstanding universal value, that it therefore decided to inscribe Dresden Elbe Valley on the List of World Heritage in Danger with a view to also consider delisting the site from the World Heritage List in 2007 if the plans are carried through.

The 18-km long property is an outstanding cultural landscape that integrates the celebrated baroque setting and suburban garden city into an artistic whole within the river valley. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004.

According to reports from the meeting of the city council on 20 July 2006, plans to build the bridge are now being reviewed. The city council decided with 39 votes (29 votes against) for the proposal which requests the acting Mayor to halt the construction project. There was also a vote against the request to immediately begin construction.