The UNESCO information list is a kind of waiting room, which precedes the entry of a given place or object on the actual list. Currently, there are five such places in Poland that have a chance to gain this prestigious status.
The UNESCO World Heritage List is a collection of places around the world that have been recognised as being of outstanding historical, cultural, scientific or natural significance. Such sites are protected and promoted as the heritage of all mankind. The list is maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
Entry on the UNESCO list is a great honour. There are currently sixteen such sites in Poland. Among them are the Old Town of Kraków, the salt mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia, the Teutonic Castle in Malbork, the wooden churches in Malopolska, Muskauer Park, the Old Town in Zamość, Białowieża Forest or the Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica.
There is a chance that the number of distinguished places in Poland will be greater. Five places in Poland are included on the UNESCO Tentative List. It is made up of sites proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List by a specific country within ten years from the date of application. They are:
Pieniny Valley of the Dunajec River
This is a picturesque section of the Dunajec River valley that flows through the Pieniny Mountains, a mountain range in southern Poland. This place is particularly famous for its unique landscape formed by steep limestone rocks, lush vegetation and the meandering river. The most famous part of the valley is the Dunajec Gorge, where the river flows through a gorge surrounded by high rocks.
Augustów Canal
The Augustow Canal is a unique monument of hydraulic engineering. The canal is located in north-eastern Poland and partly in Belarus. It was built in the 19th century to connect the rivers Biebrza and Niemno, which was supposed to enable the transport of goods to the Baltic Sea bypassing the Prussian-controlled areas. The canal was designed by engineer Ignacy Pradzynski. Today, the canal is valued for historical and natural reasons.
Gdańsk – city of freedom and remembrance
The city is a historical and symbolic place. The history of Danzig in the context of the fight for freedom is why the city has been included on the information list. Gdańsk played a key role in various historical periods, from the outbreak of World War II to the struggle for rights and democracy in the 1980s. The listing is also indicative of the city’s architecture.
The Modernistic Centre of Gdynia
Gdynia’s modernist architecture is a valuable example of cultural and social values. The buildings represent Polish architectural and urban planning thought in the interwar period. Modernism in the Gdynia edition is different from the world’s modernist realisations created before and after the Second World War. A distinctive feature of Gdynia’s modernism is also the local context – the architecture refers to the port, landscape and accentuates maritime symbolism. We wrote more about modernist buildings in Gdynia HERE.
Paper mill in Duszniki-Zdrój
The paper mill in Duszniki-Zdrój was first mentioned in 1562. Historically, the building served a dual function – both as a paper mill and as the residence of the owners, who bore noble titles. It was thanks to this unique combination of industrial character with the charms of manorial architecture that the building earned the nickname “nobleman’s manor”. After the Second World War, a set of polychrome paintings on wood dating from the 17th and 18th centuries was discovered in its interiors – one of the paintings depicts a biblical scene showing the temptation of Joseph by Putyfar’s wife. The original mill also includes a wooden drying room, built around 1749, and a representative entrance pavilion dating from the 17th century. The listing on the Information List was made as part of a whole group of buildings. The European Paper Mills are a testament to the continent’s heritage and a reminder of the continent’s primacy in the handmade paper industry since the 16th century. They include the mills in Duszniki-Zdrój (Poland), Velké Losiny (Czech Republic), Capellades (Spain), Homburg (Germany), Niederzwönitz (Germany) and Pescia (Italy).
What’s next? Once inscribed on the UNESCO Information List, the next step is to prepare an application for a preliminary assessment. In the case of the Paper Mills, Poland, as the project leader, under the guidance of Professor Bogusław Szmygin and Dr. Maciej Szymczyk, developed a preliminary comparative analysis of the submitted mills. A specially prepared form, containing all the elements of a future nomination, will be sent to the World Heritage Centre by 15 September 2025. UNESCO’s advisory bodies will have one year to review the dossier, after which they will forward their assessment to the UNESCO Secretariat and all parties involved in the project. With a positive assessment, the parties will proceed to develop a full application, which will go to the World Heritage Committee for evaluation. Other Polish applicants will have to follow a similar path.
source: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage(www.gov.pl/web/kultura)
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