Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape
Mongolia signed the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO in February of 1992 and until recently only had one site inscribed on the World Heritage List. One of the most important suggestions for the list was the 'Cultural Landscape of the Orkhon Valley'. With the support of the World Heritage Centre this region was covered in a World Heritage application, however no management was created.
Archaeological
finds document continued occupation of the Orkhon Valley during the
last 100,000 years. It is considered the cradle of central Asian
nomadic civilizations. Different ancient people, like the Huns and the
Uighur, settled here commencing in the 3rd century B.C.
The Orkhon Valley is home to many archaeological, historical
and cultural sites that document the origin and development of central
Asian and specifically Mongolian city building. Extensive urban centers
were developed that served as military, commercial and administrative
corner stones of each empire. The most important of these was
Karakorum, the capital of the Mongolian Empire in the 13th and 14th
century, erected by Dschingis Khan in 1220. From Karakorum the entire
empire was ruled and the Silk Road trade was controlled.
Karakorum
was, however, not the first urban center in the Orkhon Valley. As early
as the 9th century the fortified city of Khar Balgas, capital of the
Uighur empire, played a major role. Today its exceptionally
well-preserved ruins show the great achievements of Pre-Mongolian
Central Asian city builders.
Additional
to the ruins of Khar Balgas and Karakorum and the memorials of
prominent Turkish, Uighurish and Mongolian rulers, the Orkhon Valley
hosts the Erdene Zuu cloister and the attached hermitage of Tuvkhun. It
was the first Buddhist cloister in Mongolia, founded in 1586 on the
ruins of Karakorum. Erdene Zuu shows all characteristics of public
buildings of the Mongolian era, which in turn has influenced the
religious architecture from the Danube to the Yellow River.
The
protection and preservation of the cultural and natural treasures
of the Orkhon Valley, as in most cultural landscapes, faces problems. A
necessary prerequisite for handling problems like weather damage,
dilapidation, vandalism, pot hunting and increasing tourism is the
development of a management plan that involves all interested parties,
including the local population. This protection and development plan
has a scope of about 10 years, and is binding for the relevant
authorities. It considers the actual and potential dangers for the
sites as well as strategies and measures for handling these dangers.
The
German World Heritage Foundation supported Mongolia in the creation of
the management plan financially as well as by networking with
experts.The management plan has been finished and in July 2004 the
World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe Orkhon Valley Cultural
Landscape in the UNESCO World Heritage List.