Die Anerkennung des Mittelrheintals zum Welterbe
Auf der 26. Sitzung des Welterbekomitees in Budapest, am 27. Juni 2002, gab es Entscheidungen über die Aufnahme neuer Stätten in die Liste des Welterbes. Darunter auch die nachfolgende Entscheidung zum Mittelrheintal (in englisch):
Entscheidung 26 COM 23.9
The World Heritage Committee inscribes the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Germany on the basis of cultural criteria (ii), (iv) and (v):
Criterion (ii): As one of the most important transport routes in Europe, the Middle Rhine Valley has for two millennia facilitated the exchange of culture between the Mediterranean region and the north.
Criterion (iv): The Middle Rhine Valley is an outstanding organic cultural landscape, the present-day character of which is determined both by its geomorphological and geological setting and by the human interventions, such as settlements, transport infrastructure, and land-use, that it has undergone over two thousand years.
Criterion (v): The Middle Rhine Valley is an outstanding example of an evolving traditional way of life and means of communication in a narrow river valley. The terracing of its steep slopes in particular has shaped the landscape in many ways for more than two millennia. However, this form of land-use is under threat from the socio-economic pressures of the present day.