Across the world, UNESCO's Cultural Heritage list not only aims to protect monuments and buildings, but also customs and traditions. The latter end up on the so-called Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Image: Imago/United Archives
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5 German traditions now considered UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Across the world, UNESCO's Cultural Heritage list not only aims to protect monuments and buildings, but also customs and traditions. These are included on the so-called Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Image: Imago/United Archives
Telling fairy tales
They're known to adults and children alike: German fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, which were collected and written down in the 19th century by the Brothers Grimm. Before then, the tales were passed on orally. Telling fairy tales is still a tradition in Germany, and the practice was placed on the national list of Intangible Culture Heritage in 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Midwifery
One of the first depictions of midwifery was in ancient Egypt, in the form of a temple painting showing the birth of sun god Ra's triplets. Midwives have played a profound role in countries around the world. In Germany, their expertise is passed from generation to generation in schools. It's more than an occupation — it's a tradition to be safeguarded, according to the German UNESCO commission.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hiekel
Poetry slams
Nowhere in Europe have they seen such success as in Germany. These competitions take place in nearly every city, and even in rural areas. People perform and compete against each other with short texts or poems they have written themselves. But how to explain the popularity? Perhaps because competitions among poets is a tradition that stretches back centuries, as far back as the Middle Ages.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Anspach
East Frisian tea culture
This ritual in East Frisia — the northwest coastal area of Germany — is as unique as it is precise: Tea is boiled with loose tea leaves and then poured over a piece of candied sugar, known as "Kluntje." Cream is then poured in a skillful manner to create an artful cream cloud called a "Wulkje." This custom has also been on Germany's national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2017.
Image: Imago/Imagebroker
Playing skat
You need three players, 32 cards and a thick skin. After all, for many Germans, skat is quite a serious business. People have played the card game skat for more than 200 years in Germany. Its origins date back to between 1810 and 1820 in Altenburg, in the eastern German state of Thuringia. Since then, it's been a game staple in pubs across the country. An estimated 20 million people play today.
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UNESCO World Heritage site: That's what the world's most beautiful and impressive buildings are allowed to be called.Among them are the Tower of London and the Great Wall of China. And there are plenty of candidates vying for a spot on this coveted list.
From June 25 until July 4, the World Heritage Committee is meeting in Bahrain's capital, Manama, to discuss the next sites to be included on the prestigious list.
But this World Heritage list isn't just limited to buildings. Each year, the national UNESCO commissions also publish a list of Intangible Cultural Heritage customs and traditions.
The phrase might sound a bit awkward, but it's apt because it consists of everyday traditions from around the world that are non-material.
In Germany, they include forms of expression such as choral singing, handicrafts such the manufacture of North German thatched roofs and customs such as caroling or spoken stories such as Grimm's fairy tales.
Safeguarding traditions
Traditions are passed on from generation to generation, and give people the feeling of belonging to a community. This is what UNESCO aims to safeguard.
Since 2003, the organization has worked in some 170 countries around the world to protect intangible cultural heritage. Once a tradition makes it on to the national list, it can become a candidate for the international list.
In Germany, 34 traditions have landed on the nationwide inventory in 2017. We present five of them in our galley above.
For a look at some of the current UNESCO World Heritage contenders, check out the gallery below.
Monasteries and memorials: 10 UNESCO World Heritage contenders
In July, UNESCO will announce the newest entries on its prestigious World Heritage list. Almost 30 sites are in the running as cultural, natural or mixed properties. Here are 10 candidates from across the world.
Image: Jorge Mario Álvarez Arango
WWI memorials
Among the notable cultural properties that could become UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2018 are the First World War graveyards and memorials in Belgium and France. One of them is this cemetery in Thiepval, France, where the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme was commemorated in 2016. The title of World Heritage site is highly coveted because it attracts attention and boosts tourism.
Image: picture-alliance/PA Wire/G. Fuller
Naumburg Cathedral
This isn't the first go-around for the 13th-century cathedral in eastern Germany. It had been entered into the running to become cultural UNESCO World Heritage before, but was rejected. Back then, the application included the high medieval cultural landscape surrounding the landmark. This time around, the Naumburgers followed the UNESCO committee's recommendation and entered the cathedral only.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Grubitzsch
Viking wall
The second German entry includes the archaeological landscape of Hedeby, one of the most important trading centers in northern Europe from the 9th to the 11th century, and the Danevirke, an early medieval fortification wall. The Viking sites are located at the border between Germany and its northern neighbor Denmark.
Image: Archäologisches Landesamt Schleswig-Holstein
Buddhist mountain monasteries
The Sansa Buddhist Mountain Monasteries are South Korea's only contender in the 2018 round. The Beopjusa Temple, with the Hall of Eight Pictures seen above, is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It's one of seven monasteries in the ensemble up for World Heritage recognition.
Image: CIBM
Prosecco hills
One of Italy's entries in the cultural properties section of UNESCO's World Heritage are the lush hills surrounding the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene — home of the famously sparkly Prosecco. Pictured above is the San Martino mountain pass. Should this area make it on the list, you know what its residents will drink to celebrate. Cheers!
Image: Consorzio Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg
Ancient city of Qalhat
One of the older contenders for a World Heritage title in 2018 is Qalhat. The city in northeastern Oman was an important trade hub in the 14th and 15th century. The pictured mausoleum of Bibi Maryam is a reminder of ancient times. In 2010, modern Qalhat had roughly 1,100 inhabitants. Its port, located a little outside the city, is a transfer site for Oman's liquid gas.
Image: MHC
Rosia Montana
The Romanian community of Rosia Montana has always been famous for mining. The rich resources of the area have been exploited since Roman times. Experts say there are hundreds of tons of gold still to be dug up. In 2017, Romania even planned to ask UNESCO to revoke its World Heritage application — it was worried it would interfere with mining. But Rosia Montana remains a contender.
Image: Daniel Vrabioiu
Makhonjwa Mountains
South Africa's Makhonjwa Mountains are vying for a World Heritage title in the natural property category, as opposed to the previous cultural entries. The mountains fringe the town of Barberton at the border of Swaziland. Some of the oldest exposed rocks on Earth, estimated to be between 3.2 and 3.6 billion years old, can be found here.
Image: Tony Ferrar
Mount Fanjingshan
This dome-like mountain and its 567-square-kilometer (219-square-mile) nature reserve in south-central China are also among the candidates vying for a World Heritage title in the natural property category. The reserve is home to almost 800 different plant families and more than 800 animal species.
Image: Office of the Leading Group for World Heritage Application of Tongren City
Chiribiquete National Park
The national park in the Colombian Amazon is one of three sites competing for a mixed-property World Heritage title, with both cultural and natural factors playing a role. Chiribiquete is known by the natives as the "maloca," or ancestral long house, of the jaguar. It was nominated before, but rejected due to security concerns. Thanks to Colombia's current peace process, its chances have improved.