The World Monuments Fund prepared the new list of sites facing destruction. The 2010 list includes 93 cultural and tourist facilities in 47 countries. 15 of them were created only in the XX century, managed to get international recognition and are already on the brink of extinction.
Among the most significant architectural monuments, which are threatened with destruction, appear to be famous Cathedral in Barcelona Sagrada Familia of an architect Antonio Gaudi, the abandoned Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru and the fortress of Khorezm in Uzbekistan. In addition, the unique wooden town buildings of XVII-XIX centuries in the Japanese city of Kyoto are at risk.
Ironically, the main threats to Machu Picchu prove to be the tourists themselves. Rather, ill-considered actions of the administration of the museum complex, which for the convenience of servicing large numbers of travelers have created an extensive infrastructure that is slowly but surely destroying the ancient city.
Sagrada Familia in Barcelona may be destroyed due to the construction of the tunnel for high-speed trains, which, according to project plan must pass only a few meters away from the foundation of the cathedral. The vibrations caused by trains, can destroy a wonderful architectural structure of Gaudi.
World Monuments Fund makes the lists of sites in danger, every two years. And so in the lists of 2010 Russia is presented with just one monument – the Church of the Sign of the image of the Blessed Virgin under Podolsk. The church was built in 1704; it was not repaired more than 80 years and is in urgent need of restoration.
However, while preparing the lists of WWF, it was decided in St. Petersburg to increase the height of the dominant social and business center “Ohta” “up to 403 meters. Governor Valentina Matvienko signed an order granting exceed the allowable height, tempered by standards for this area of the North capital. As a result, tall building will be constructed opposite the Smolny Cathedral, which irreversibly will change for the worse the unique historic image of St. Petersburg. Most likely, the city will be removed from the list of UNESCO World Heritage.
The historic skyline of St. Petersburg is already included by the World Monuments Fund’s list of 100 World Heritage sites, which are at special risk.
