The Influences and Importance of the UNESCO World Heritage List: The Case of Plaošnik, Ohrid

Abstract

The World Heritage List was created as a result of the need to protect and conserve cultural and natural heritage. The Ohrid region is one of only 28 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List that are both cultural and natural sites. Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe, boasting exquisite medieval religious architecture, as well as urban architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries. The site of Plaošnik is a large archaeological and historic location in Ohrid’s old town that witnessed all cultural eras from prehistory to Ottoman, but most importantly it was the location of the oldest Slavic monastery and the first Slavic University in the Balkans. In 2007, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia prepared a controversial plan of activities for the instauration of St. Clement’s University at Plaošnik. The main interest of this study is the position of cultural heritage in the evolution of a town, and the treatment of heritage in this process, shown through the case of Plaošnik; it focuses on the influence of pressure for (re)development projects on the key elements of an area recognized by the World Heritage List, as well as the influence of the World Heritage List, as an international legal instrument, on the preservation of these features.