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Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg

Austria
Factors affecting the property in 2019*
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Housing
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Water infrastructure
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Water infrastructure (hydroelectric power station Salzburg-Lehen) (issue resolved)
  • Ground transport infrastructure (train station project outside the buffer zone) (issue resolved)
  • Housing (urban development pressure, high-rise projects)
  • Management systems/ management plan (integrated approach towards management; apparent lack of legislative and planning mechanisms)
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2019
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2019**

January 2009: joint World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission; April 2013: ICOMOS Advisory mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2019

On 30 November 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/784/documents/ and addresses the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee as follows:

  • Residential Area Dr. Franz-Rehrl Platz (Residential Buildings City Life Rehrplatz): a summary, which includes all actions/steps regarding this project, states that all recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee and ICOMOS International were implemented. Due to an appeal against the project by the neighbours to the area, the Federal Court of Administration is currently reviewing the permission;
  • Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project: taking into account the recommendations of the 2013 ICOMOS Advisory mission, the building permission for the project now foresees an eaves-height of 52.90 meters instead of 58 meters;
  • New Paracelsus indoor swimming pool project: the glass-façade in the south of the new construction will not be implemented; in place of the glass-façade, a homogenously shaped pottery façade shall be implemented;
  • New housing development Priesterhausgarten project: a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) will be carried out;
  • Legislative and planning mechanism: besides the incorporation of World Heritage in the City Constitution, a second regional legal provision was enacted with the aim of enhancing the implementation of the World Heritage Convention; ICOMOS Austria is involved in the safeguarding of the property; the City of Salzburg in 2017 launched a new process with the aim of fostering the involvement of the local communities in the safeguarding of the historic quarters;
  • Revision of the Management Plan: the authorities of the City of Salzburg amended the Management Plan dated 2008 to meet the recommendations of the Committee, the reissuing of the Management Plan is under preparation;
  • There is no information provided by the State Party in its 2018 state of conservation report regarding the development project at Schwarzstrasse 45 / Ernest-Thun-Strasse, or the development of a Land Use Plan with provisions for protection mechanisms and regulatory measures to ensure the adequate protection and control of the property and its landscape setting;
  • The Committee was already informed by the State Party in its 2016 state of conservation report that the project Schwarzstrasse 45 / Ernest-Thun-Strasse had already been built.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2019

Concerning the Residential Area Dr. Franz-Rehrl Platz (Residential Buildings City Life Rehrplatz), the Committee, in its Decision 41 COM 7B.41, requested the State Party to revise the plans before approval of the project since the recommendations of the 2013 ICOMOS Advisory mission remain unfulfilled. Since the State Party expresses that all recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee and ICOMOS International have been implemented, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to provide the latest revisions of the project, including the visualization according the last Committee decision.

The State Party reports that the designs for the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project and the new Paracelsus indoor swimming pool project have been revised according to the Committee Decision 41 COM 7B.41. According to the report, the recommendations of the 2013 mission have been adopted by limiting the eaves height of the former project to 52.9 metres at eaves height. The mission recommendation was, however, to substantially reduce the height in relation to the existing buildings. The eaves height limitation does not exclude a high roof volume. The Committee is advised to request the State Party to submit further details of the proposed project, especially the total building height of the proposed building and those of all high-rise buildings in the vicinity, as well as further details of the Paracelsus indoor swimming pool project, with urgency and before final construction approvals are granted.

In its 2016 state of conservation report, the State Party informed the Committee that following concerns expressed in the 2013 ICOMOS Advisory mission report, the Residential Building Priesterhausgarten has been halted. In the state of conservation report submitted by the State Party in December 2018, it is stated that for the new housing development Priesterhausgarten project, a HIA will be carried out, but no timeframe was provided. It is therefore recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the details of the project and the results of the HIA, including a section on the potential impacts of the project on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as soon as they are available, and before any irrevocable decisions are taken concerning this project.

In the knowledge that the project has already been built, there is no information in the report concerning the development project at Schwarzstrasse 45 / Ernest-Thun-Strasse. It is recommended that the Committee also request the State Party to submit the information of the final construction, concerning its visualization.

The reported progress in achieving legislative and planning mechanisms, the constructive dialogue with the local communities and heritage experts as well as the commitment of the State Party to revise the Management Plan are welcomed. However, the Committee’s request that a comprehensive Land Use Plan be developed has not yet been addressed and the lengthy delay in revising the Management Plan is unfortunate. The earliest possible revision of the Management Plan should be encouraged.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2019
43 COM 7B.80
Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (Austria) (C 784)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.41, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Notes the State Party’s efforts to implement the ICOMOS Advisory mission recommendations and the World Heritage Committee decisions concerning the development at Residential Area Dr. Franz-Rehrl Platz (Residential Buildings City Life Rehrlplatz, and requests the State Party to submit the latest version of the project, which takes into account Decision 41 COM 7B.41, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  4. Welcomes the State Party’s statement that the design for the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project and the design for the new Paracelsus indoor swimming pool project have been revised according to the previous Committee Decision, and also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, with urgency and by 1 December 2019, and before final construction approvals are granted, the following items for review by the Advisory Bodies:
    1. Visuals of the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project, including its total projected building height,
    2. Total heights of all the high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project,
    3. Further details of the Paracelsus indoor swimming pool, including visual documentation, with regard to the revision of the projects;
  5. Also notes the State Party’s commitment that a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) will be carried out concerning the new Priesterhausgarten housing project, and reminds the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the details of the project and the results of the HIA, including a section on the potential impacts of the project on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as soon as they are available, and before any irrevocable decisions are taken concerning this project;
  6. Reiterates its regret that the development project at Schwarzstrasse 45 / Ernest-Thun- Strasse has already been built, and further requests the State Party to submit the information of the final construction concerning its visualization by 1 December 2019;
  7. Also welcomes the progress in legislative and planning mechanisms, the constructive dialogue with the local communities and heritage experts as well as the commitment to revise the Management Plan, however strongly encourages the State Party to complete the revision of the Management Plan, including provisions to ensure adequate protection and conservation of all attributes, which convey the OUV of the property, and its setting and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  8. Requests furthermore that the State Party develop a comprehensive urban Land Use Plan, which suitably responds to the property’s status and includes provisions for protection mechanisms and regulatory measures, to ensure the adequate protection and control of the property and its landscape setting, as previously requested;
  9. Requests moreover the State Party to carry out HIAs, including visual impact assessments, for projects, which may threaten the OUV of the property, in conformity with the 2011 ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage properties, before any irrevocable decisions are taken concerning the projects;
  10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020.
Draft Decision: 43 COM 7B.80

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.41, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
  3. Notes the State Party’s efforts to implement the ICOMOS Advisory mission recommendations and the World Heritage Committee decisions concerning the development at Residential Area Dr. Franz-Rehrl Platz (Residential Buildings City Life Rehrlplatz, and requests the State Party to submit the latest version of the project, which takes into account Decision 41 COM 7B.41, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  4. Welcomes the State Party’s statement that the design for the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project and the design for the new Paracelsus indoor swimming pool project have been revised according to the previous Committee Decision, and also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, with urgency and by 1 December 2019, and before final construction approvals are granted, the following items for review by the Advisory Bodies:
    1. Visuals of the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project, including its total projected building height,
    2. Total heights of all the high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the Nelböck Viaduct Rainerstrasse / Bahnhofsvorplatz project,
    3. Further details of the Paracelsus indoor swimming pool, including visual documentation, with regard to the revision of the projects;
  5. Also notes the State Party’s commitment that a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) will be carried out concerning the new Priesterhausgarten housing project, and reminds the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the details of the project and the results of the HIA, including a section on the potential impacts of the project on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, as soon as they are available, and before any irrevocable decisions are taken concerning this project;
  6. Reiterates its regret that the development project at Schwarzstrasse 45 / Ernest-Thun- Strasse has already been built, and further requests the State Party to submit the information of the final construction concerning its visualization by 1 December 2019;
  7. Also welcomes the progress in legislative and planning mechanisms, the constructive dialogue with the local communities and heritage experts as well as the commitment to revise the Management Plan, however strongly encourages the State Party to complete the revision of the Management Plan, including provisions to ensure adequate protection and conservation of all attributes, which convey the OUV of the property, and its setting and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
  8. Requests furthermore that the State Party develop a comprehensive urban Land Use Plan, which suitably responds to the property’s status and includes provisions for protection mechanisms and regulatory measures, to ensure the adequate protection and control of the property and its landscape setting, as previously requested;
  9. Requests moreover the State Party to carry out HIAs, including visual impact assessments, for projects, which may threaten the OUV of the property, in conformity with the 2011 ICOMOS Guidance on HIAs for Cultural World Heritage properties, before any irrevocable decisions are taken concerning the projects;
  10. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020.
Report year: 2019
Austria
Date of Inscription: 1996
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(iv)(vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2018) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 43COM (2019)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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