The Roșia Montană mining landscape in Romania, which was one of the very first 7 Most Endangered sites, has been put on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the 44th extended session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in China from 16 to 31 July 2021.
“This is a true milestone in the wide mobilization of heritage stakeholders to ensure a sustainable future for this exceptional cultural landscape”, said Sneska Quadvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, the leading Heritage NGO and partner of the EIB Institute in the 7 Most Endangered Programme launched by both organizations in 2013. “We can only applaud the Romanian authorities for their determination to stand by their cultural and natural heritage, to stand by the local community of Roșia Montană, and to stand by the engaging and convincing voices of civil society that have not spared their efforts to campaign to save Roșia Montană”, she added.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also welcomed the inclusion of the mining landscape in these important lists.
The landscape of Roşia Montană has been masterfully transformed by mining activities for more than three millennia. The subterranean heritage consists of a vast gallery network (some 150 km, of which 7 km date from Dacian and Roman times) and in situ equipment and artefacts. The remnants of surface habitation (Roman funerary sites, edifices and roads, as well as medieval and modern areas) demonstrate an intense interaction between man and the environment throughout the centuries.
For over a decade, Europa Nostra and its member organisations in Romania led by Pro Patrimonio and ARA (Architecture, Restoration, Archaeology) have called for a culturally sensitive and environmentally friendly alternative to a large-scale open-cast gold mining project promoted by a Canadian-based company.
In 2013, the site was put on the first list of the 7 Most endangered, a new programme created by Europa Nostra and the EIB Institute to safeguard endangered European cultural heritage sites, and on 30 December 2015, Romania’s Ministry of Culture declared the village of Rosia Montana and its surroundings within a two-kilometre perimeter a historic site of national interest, granting it protection from industrial mining activity.
