Historical Monuments of Mtskheta
Factors affecting the property in 2001*
- Housing
- Management activities
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
- Critical conditions of particularly two archaeological sites (issue resolved)
- Buildings constructed on the Samtavros Veli site
- Degradation and construction projects at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2001
Total amount approved : 70,500 USD
| 1999 |
Study and Development of the Mtskheta Heritage and ...
(Approved)
Reapproval: 05 Feb, 2001 (n°1374 - 35,000 USD)
|
35,000 USD |
| 1999 | Implementation of the Masterplan for Mtskheta, Georgia (Approved) | 19,000 USD |
| 1997 | Launching of a rehabilitation programme for Mtskheta (Approved) | 16,500 USD |
Missions to the property until 2001**
2001: UNESCO/ICOMOS mission for the UNDP-SPPD project
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2001
A UNESCO-ICOMOS mission, for the UNDP-SPPD project for the Study and Development of a Heritage and Tourism Master Plan for Mtskheta, Georgia, discovered serious problems at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. In the grounds of the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the most significant of the City of Mtskheta's monuments, the mission members identified the following issues:
1) the local church authorities have constructed two large underground storage areas, irreversible and disproportionate to the monument;
2) a new bell tower is being built right over the original gate of the wall enclosing the cathedral grounds;
3) the behaviour of the Cathedral in future earthquakes will be difficult to calculate, due to the large deposits of earth sloping down from the external walls to the monument removed in 1978, together with the fact that the underground basements are now open a short distance from the foundations of the Cathedral;
4) the local church authorities have built, at a short distance from the Cathedral, additional constructions in concrete and aluminium, entirely changing the external appearance of the walls of the courtyard.
Summary of the interventions
Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2001
The Bureau may wish to adopt the following decision:
“In view of the on-going constructions and degradations at the site, the Bureau requests the Government authorities to ensure that all these works are halted and that no further restoration works or constructions in close proximity to the Cathedral be continued. It further requests the Georgian Government authorities to invite an UNESCO-ICOMOS evaluation mission to the site to ascertain the state of conservation and to jointly identify corrective measures and solutions in order to establish appropriate protection and management mechanisms for the Cathedral. The Bureau requests the State Party of Georgia to prepare a report on the state of conservation of the site as well as updated information on all the restoration and construction projects at the site, before the 1 February 2002, for examination by the twenty-sixth session of the Bureau.”
Georgia
Exports
* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).
** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.
