World Heritage Site status was awarded to the Roman Limes along the Rhine River and Germany's Jewish cultural heritage by UNESCO, the UN's cultural body said on Tuesday.
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The relevant committee took the decision at its meeting in the Chinese city of Fuzhou, awarding the coveted recognition to the German cities of Mainz, Worms and Speyer as one of the cradles of Jewish culture in Europe.
The cities Mainz, Worms and Speyer were centers of Jewish culture in the Middle Ages and are referred to as "Jerusalem on the Rhine." Among the Jewish centers preserved from the period are cemeteries, a synagogue and a ritual bathhouse.
Meanwhile, the term Limes refers to the border defense along the edge of the Roman Empire where it ran along the Rhine and the Danube rivers.
The committee postponed a discussion concerning the Danube Limes for procedural reasons, but the designation to the section along the Rhine was awarded without delay.
The application for the section along the Rhine was made by the Netherlands and the western German states of North Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. It runs from Rheinbrohl in Rhineland-Palatinate to the Dutch North Sea coast.
The award closes a gap. The Upper Germanic Rhaetian Limes and Hadrian's Wall in Britain already enjoy World Heritage status. A decision on the Danube Limes could be taken this week.
During the weekend, the committee awarded World Heritage status to 11 European spa towns in recognition of their key role in European society more than a hundred years ago.
Cited for the international significance they achieved as health resorts from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, the towns sharing the award include the German resorts of Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen; Carlsbad and Marienbad in the Czech Republic, Spa in Belgium, Vichy in France and Bath in Britain.
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