Komárno Fortress seeks UNESCO List
The Komárno Fortress wants a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
photo: SITA
REPRESENTATIVES from Hungary and Slovakia signed a joint proposal on January 15 to put the Komárno Fortress that lies on the confluence of the Danube and Váh rivers on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The joint effort will help preserve this unique piece of cultural heritage and, at the same time, raise its profile around the world.
Hungary, acting on behalf of both states, will submit the joint nomination to a UNESCO commission of experts in hopes of having it discussed by the end of January.
"We expect the commission to make a decision by this year, but it won't be published until 2008," Komárno Mayor Tibor Bastrnák told the TASR news wire.
The Komárno Fortress spreads across Slovak and Hungarian territory and is one of the largest fortification systems of its kind worldwide. It was the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy's strongest fortification and a refuge for the emperor. It was able to house as many as 200,000 soldiers and is unique from the architectonic point of view.
by Jana Liptáková
