Sziget festival’s island in Budapest taken off World Heritage recommended list

Not long before the UNESCO voted about World Heritage, the government took Hajógyári Island off the list of recommended places to earn World Heritage status, revealed Magyar Közlöny on Friday.

The decree signed by Viktor Orbán does not account for why out of the borders of the Roman Empire’s — the part on the Danubian Limes in Hungary — sites recommended for UNESCO protection the onetime lower-Pannonia province’s centre’s — Aquincums’ — most important location, the Hajógyári Island (in Óbuda) is getting taken off the list, reports Népszava.

The 32 hectare island is under archaeological protection. The most valuable relic of the island is a still 1.5-2 meters deep in the ground; an enormous 8,000-10,000 square metres palace, which — according to some opinions — was built at the beginning of the 2nd century, at the time of Emperor Hadrianus’s reign.

In 2014 the government was for revealing the palace — which they had gotten back from Israeli investors wanting to build a casino there — and create a national park.

In 2016 the Orbán-government decided that the Island in Óbuda should also be a part of the World Heritage. In 2018 they applied accordingly. The case got a separate Ministerial Commissioner, Zsolt Visy.

The application submitted on January 31, includes 98 sites in 15 kilometres, 65 of which can be found in Hungary. UNESCO will decide about the joint application in June.

Magyar Nemzet has since reported that the island was taken off the list because getting the World Heritage status would make is impossible to reconstruct the relics of Hadrianus’s palace.

See Hungarian World Heritage sites HERE.

Featured image: https://www.facebook.com/SzigetFestival/

Source: https://nepszava.hu/