Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape

• Lack of legal power, human and financial resources (issue resolved)
• Quarrying application (issue resolved)
• Possible development of straw-burning power plant (issue resolved)
• Need to delineate a precise buffer zone
• Bypass road and bridge project to replace the high traffic road crossing the property

On 16 November 2023, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report at the request of the World Heritage Centre, following the construction of the Grand Hotel Tokaj in the Csurgó Valley within the property without prior notification in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines. An executive summary of the report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1063/documents/ and presents information on new issues identified as follows:

• In 2016, a Government Decree was issued establishing the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone, defining the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and endorsing the Management Plan for the property. The implementation of the Management Plan is ensured by the Tokaj Wine Region Development Nonprofit Ltd in close cooperation with the Ministry of Construction and Transport;
• The construction of a 100-room, four-storey Minaro Hotel Tokaj (formerly Grand Hotel Tokaj) on an abandoned mine site in the Csurgó Valley was considered by the regional authorities to have no negative impact on the OUV of the property and was supervised by the highest national authorities, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Construction and Transport. A visual impact assessment (VIA) was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in April 2023. An archaeological assessment was also undertaken. In relation to the rehabilitation of the post-mining landscape, the State Party proposes a supporting memorandum detailing the economic issues involved in the rehabilitation of mining landscapes, the concept of the hotel project, the justification of the project in relation to the 2021-2027 Regional Development Concept of the Tokaj Wine Region and the 2016 Management Plan, which provides for the landscape rehabilitation and integration of landscape wounds and abandoned mines;
• A closed-cabin cable car lift project is proposed on the Tokaj Hill within the property. In accordance with national legislation, an impact assessment was prepared and submitted to the World Heritage Centre in July 2023 for review by ICOMOS.

Two of the three annexes submitted by the State Party on the hotel complex project are in Hungarian (the County Planning Council Resolution and the 2019 Environmental Plan).

The Government Decree 485/2016 on The World Heritage Management Plan for the Historic Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region sets out the boundaries of the property and its buffer zone and defines the content of the Management Plan for the property. The Decree sets out a list of attributes that support the OUV of the property, but these differ from those included in the Retrospective Statement of OUV (RSOUV) adopted by the World Heritage Committee in 2013 (Decision 37 COM 8E). Although the two sets of attributes are essentially similar, the differences may lead to varying interpretations and may cause problems. It is recommended that the Decree be amended to achieve full alignment with the attributes as listed in the RSOUV. It is also recommended that the Management Plan be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

The Minaro Hotel Tokaj, within the property, was constructed without notification to the World Heritage Centre in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines. A VIA dated April 2022 was submitted to the World Heritage Centre on 1 June 2023, following completion of the construction, and was subject to an ICOMOS Technical Review, which concludes that although there is virtually no visual link between the hotel and the surrounding landscape or distant viewpoints, the scale and architectural design of the new building is alien to the character of the property. Furthermore, the new hotel has the potential to increase traffic in the heart of a sensitive rural landscape and may have other indirect impacts that have not been assessed. There should be no future expansion of this facility and the creation or widening of roads on the property should be avoided.

For the Tokaj Kopasz Hill Cable Car project, an ICOMOS Technical Review of the documentation submitted was transmitted to the State Party on 17 January 2024. The Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) shared by the State Party presents several routes between the town of Tokaj and the top of the Kopasz Hill. The Technical Review concludes that these routes would all have a negative impact on the OUV of the property and that a cable car project could only be acceptable if substantial changes were made, including the location, architectural and landscaping quality of the associated infrastructure and the reduction of traffic on the road leading to the top of the hill. It would also be necessary to study alternative routes and where relevant to justify why they are not feasible. The indirect impacts of the project, such as significantly increased visitation or the potential increase in traffic, should also be assessed through a new HIA. The cable car project should not proceed as currently proposed and the project should be reconsidered having regard to the findings of the ICOMOS Technical Review.

It would be appropriate for the Committee to remind the State Party that, in accordance with paragraphs 172 and 118bis of the Operational Guidelines, documentation of projects that may affect the OUV of the property should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, as early as possible and before any decisions are taken that would be difficult to reverse. Such documentation should include an HIA, prepared in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context.

The State Party has yet to report on proposals for new or improved roads, including a bypass to replace the high traffic road crossing the property, as requested in Decision 35 COM 7B.94.