Latest news with #WorldCulturalHeritage
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Germany issues invitation to culture and nature on World Heritage Day
The Wadden Sea, Cologne Cathedral and the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen have one thing in common: They have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, marking them as places of exceptional value to all of humanity. There are now 54 World Heritage Sites in Germany, and, for the 20th time, the German UNESCO Commission invited people to these protected sites with a variety of activities for World Heritage Day on Sunday. "The aim of the day of action is to make World Heritage accessible to everyone," German UNESCO Commission President Maria Böhmer said at a ceremony in St Michael's Church in the northern German city of Hildesheim. The World Heritage Day was opened there under the motto "Convey, Connect, Enthuse." It is a "very beautiful, colourful, lively festival," a spokesman said on Sunday afternoon. The Romanesque cathedral and St Michael's Church in the approximately 1,200-year-old city have been World Cultural Heritage sites since 1985. According to UNESCO, more than 350 events are on the programme across Germany. These range from a torchlight tour for children through the caves of the Swabian Jura to a mining adventure hike in the Ore Mountains and a rap tour through Hamburg's Speicherstadt. There are now more than 1,200 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 168 countries worldwide, and the list expands every year. Already nominated are Germany's castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee. The World Heritage Committee is expected to decide in July whether they will be added to the World Heritage list. In the meantime, some World Heritage Sites are transnational. Germany's Ancient Beech Forests were added to the list in 2011 as an extension of the Carpathian Beech Forests, which span 18 countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe. The Wadden Sea, on the edge of the North Sea, was included in 2009 and extended in 2014 to include the Danish Wadden Sea. In the German state of Lower Saxony, the Rammelsberg Mine, the old town of Goslar in the Harz, and the Upper Harz Water Management System can also boast the title. The Fagus Factory in Alfeld, Lower Saxony, designed in 1911 by architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, has been on the World Heritage list since 2011.
Vancouver Sun
28-04-2025
- Vancouver Sun
A man airlifted from Mount Fuji returns to the slope days later, is rescued again
Article content TOKYO (AP) — A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji last week returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said Monday. Article content Article content Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country's tallest peak during its off-season. Article content The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons also were damaged. Article content Article content On Saturday, he returned to the mountain's Fujinomiya trail about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level to look for his cell phone and other belongings left behind, Shizuoka prefectural police said. Another climber found him there unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time, police said. Article content Article content The mountain's hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is no penalty for hiking off-season. There also is no charge or penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student's case prompted an uproar on social media and generated calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue. Article content The Shizuoka police urged all climbers to use caution, noting that the mountain has low temperatures and is covered in snow even in spring. Article content The 3,776-meter-high (12,388-foot-high ) mountain was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2013. A symbol of Japan, the mountain called 'Fujisan' used to be a place of pilgrimage and is increasingly popular among hikers today. Article content
28-04-2025
Man airlifted from Japan's Mount Fuji returns to slope days later and rescued again
TOKYO -- A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji last week returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said Monday. Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country's tallest peak during its off-season. The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons also were damaged. On Saturday, he returned to the mountain's Fujinomiya trail about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level to look for his cell phone and other belongings left behind, Shizuoka prefectural police said. Another climber found him there unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time, police said. The mountain's hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is no penalty for hiking off-season. There also is no charge or penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student's case prompted an uproar on social media and generated calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue. The Shizuoka police urged all climbers to use caution, noting that the mountain has low temperatures and is covered in snow even in spring. The 3,776-meter-high (12,388-foot-high ) mountain was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2013. A symbol of Japan, the mountain called 'Fujisan' used to be a place of pilgrimage and is increasingly popular among hikers today. To control overcrowding and risks from rushed overnight climbing through rocky slopes to see the sunrise, local authorities last year introduced an entry fee and cap on the number of entrants on the most popular trail and will introduce similar rules on other main trails this year.
Toronto Star
28-04-2025
- Toronto Star
A man airlifted from Japan's Mount Fuji returns to the slope days later and is rescued again
TOKYO (AP) — A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji last week returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said Monday. Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country's tallest peak during its off-season. The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons also were damaged. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW On Saturday, he returned to the mountain's Fujinomiya trail about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level to look for his cell phone and other belongings left behind, Shizuoka prefectural police said. Another climber found him there unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time, police said. The mountain's hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is no penalty for hiking off-season. There also is no charge or penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student's case prompted an uproar on social media and generated calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue. The Shizuoka police urged all climbers to use caution, noting that the mountain has low temperatures and is covered in snow even in spring. The 3,776-meter-high (12,388-foot-high ) mountain was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2013. A symbol of Japan, the mountain called 'Fujisan' used to be a place of pilgrimage and is increasingly popular among hikers today. To control overcrowding and risks from rushed overnight climbing through rocky slopes to see the sunrise, local authorities last year introduced an entry fee and cap on the number of entrants on the most popular trail and will introduce similar rules on other main trails this year.
Gulf Today
19-04-2025
- Gulf Today
Venice expands day-tripper tax in bid to combat overtourism
Venice is charging day-trippers to the famed canal city an arrivals tax for the second year starting Friday, a measure aimed at combating the kind of overtourism that put the city's UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status at risk. A UNESCO body decided against putting Venice on its list of cultural heritage sites deemed in danger after the tax was announced. But opponents of the day-tripper fee say it has done nothing to discourage tourists from visiting Venice even on high-traffic days. Here's a look at Venice's battle with overtourism by the numbers: The fee charged to visitors who are not overnighting in Venice to enter its historic centre during the second year of the day-tripper tax. A tourist jumps in San Marco square in Venice. Associated Press Visitors who download a QR code at least three days in advance will pay 5 euros ($5.69), the same amount charged last year throughout the pilot programme. But those who make last-minute plans pay double. The QR code is required from 8:30 am until 4 pm and is checked at entry points to the city, including the Santa Lucia train station, the Piazzale Roma bus depot and the Tronchetto parking garage. The number of days this year that day visitors to Venice will be charged a fee to enter the historic centre. They include mostly weekends and holidays from April 18 to July 27. That is up from 29 last year. The new calendar covers entire weeks over key holidays and extends the weekend period to include Fridays. The city's top budget official, Michele Zuin, said last year the running costs for the new system ran to 2.7 million euros, overshooting the total fees collected. This year, Zuin projects a surplus of about 1 million euros to 1.5 million euros, which will be used to offset the cost of trash collection and other services for residents. Over 12,000 day-trippers pay tax The number of day-trippers who paid the tax in 2024. Officials said that 12,744 day-trippers paid to enter the city on Friday – 7,173 at the higher 10-euro rate. They were among the 77,000 who have registered so far to enter the city this year. Another 117,000 have registered for exemptions, which apply to anyone born in Venice, those paying property taxes in the city, studying or working in the historic centre, or living in the wider Veneto region, among others. A steward's gilet states an arrival tax fee for tourists visiting Venice. Associated Press The average number of daily visitors on the first 11 days of 2024 that Venice charged day-trippers. That's about 10,000 people more than the number of tourists recorded on each of the three important holidays during the previous year. City council member Giovanni Andrea Martini, an opponent of the measure, said the figures show the project has not deterred visitors. The number of official residents in Venice's historic centre composed of over 100 islands connected by footbridges and traversed by its famed canals. The number of beds for tourists in Venice's historic centre, including 12,627 in the less regulated short-term rental market, according to April data from the Ocio housing activist group. The number of tourist beds surpassed the number of permanent residents in 2023, according to Ocio's monitor. Anyone staying in a hotel within the city limits, including on the mainland districts of Mestre and Marghera, pays a lodging tax and is therefore exempt from the day-tripper tax. The number of annual arrivals of both day-trippers and overnight guests roughly confirmed by cellphone data tracked from a Smart Control Room since 2020, according to city officials. Associated Press
