Europa Nostra: Visoki Desani Monastery still in danger

Some of the localities that had been included in the Europa Nostra list in recent years - "7 most endangered cultural monuments" were still in danger and required many years of effort in order to find a solution for their preservation, and such was the case with the Visoki Decani Monastery, it turned out from the answer that Kosovo Online received from the office of the International Secretariat of Europa Nostra.

The monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church Visoki Decani, let's remind you, the organization Evropa Nostra included in its list of seven most endangered cultural monuments for the year 2021.

Yesterday, Europa Nostra published a list of the seven most endangered cultural and heritage monuments in Europe for the year 2023, and some Albanian media interpreted that since the Visoki Decani monastery was not on that list, it had been "removed" from the Europa Nostra list.

However, as it was said for Kosovo Online by the office of the International Secretariat of Europa Nostra in Brussels, as part of their "7 most endangered cultural monuments" program, from the first list that had been published in 2013 to the latest one for 2023, no site had been included in the list twice.

"Europa Nostra, in cooperation with the Institute of the European Investment Bank, publishes every year a list containing the "7 most endangered cultural monuments". The executive council of Europa Nostra makes the final selection based on a wider list prepared by the Advisory Council of that program. From 2013 until today, when we published the List for 2023, no locality has been included in the list twice. Therefore, every year there are new localities on the list chosen based on the nominations that arrive at the address of Europe Nostra in accordance with the procedure that is clearly explained on the website of Europe Nostra," the answer for Kosovo Online from the office of the International Secretariat of this organization says, to our question about the procedure applied to the "7 most endangered cultural monuments" program.

As further emphasized, Europa Nostra and the Institute of the European Investment Bank, in cooperation with the European Union, were engaged in the protection of all localities that had been included in their list in recent years.

"Some of the sites are now out of danger thanks to the engagement of various actors at the local, national, and European levels. Some other sites are still in danger and require many years of effort to find a solution to preserve them for current and future generations. Such is the case, for example, with the buffer zone in the historical core of Nicosia in Cyprus, with the Belgrade Fortress as well as with the Visoki Decani Monastery," the answer we received from the office of the International Secretariat of Europa Nostra states.

Last summer, let's recall, the delegation of Europe Nostra visited Kosovo and after that visit concluded that the main reasons for placing the Visoki Decani Monastery on the List of 7 most endangered in 2021 remained in force.

"The final solution has not been agreed upon yet by all parties regarding the consequences caused by plans to increase traffic in and around the Special Protection Zone of the Decani Monastery, as well as regarding other announced interventions, such as the project on the river bank, which could have a negative impact to the natural environment of the monastery, which is considered an integral part of its exceptional heritage value. Second, the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo from 2016 confirming ownership of 24 hectares of land to the Decani Monastery has not been implemented yet through the registration of the monastery land, which violates the rule of law and the legal security of this living monastery with the surrounding land. Third, due to the complex security challenges, the monastery should still be guarded by KFOR soldiers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which was confirmed by the commander of KFOR," Europa Nostra said at the time.

They also pointed out that the monastery occasionally faced unfounded attempts to revise the cultural and historical identity of this religious heritage, a tendency which, as they stated, was not in accordance with European and international principles of accurate historical and artistic interpretation of historical monuments and heritage sites.

On the Europa Nostra list, the seven most endangered cultural monuments for the year 2023 are the cultural space of St. Stephen in Montenegro, the Bistrica Waterworks in Serbia, the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Mostar, the Kortrijk Railway Station in Belgium, the Chakvinji Fortress in Georgia, the Sisterhood Gathering House, the former Moravian Habitat in Kleinwelka, Germany and Memento Park in Budapest.

Europa Nostra was founded in 1963 in Paris, deals with the protection of cultural heritage and the promotion of best practices in the field of heritage throughout Europe, and maintains close relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and other international bodies.