Bath has been awarded its second UNESCO World Heritage status.
The city received the much-coveted accolade along with 10 other historic towns in Europe. Bath is the only one on the list to already have World Heritage Status.
A UNESCO committee, currently being held in China, has inscribed the ‘Great Spas of Europe’ on to the World Heritage list. It means Bath will have a second inscription, overlaying the first.
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The Great Spa Towns of Europe project focuses on historic spa towns, based around mineral springs, which formed fashionable resorts of health, leisure and recreational ‘diversions’, such as gambling and dancing, from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
The towns were the pioneers of modern tourism and, although often small in size, attracted guests who might otherwise have visited larger cities. A few spa towns rose to great prominence, but of those only a few remain in a good state of conservation.
Heritage minister Caroline Dinenage said: “This listing is testament to the role Bath has played in our history. For thousands of years people have flocked to the city to experience its healing waters and I'm delighted that this inscription will protect this historic location for future generations."
The spas included in the inscription are:
- Bath (England)
- Baden bei Wien (Austria)
- Spa (Belgium)
- Vichy (France)
- Baden-Baden (Germany)
- Bad Ems (Germany)
- Bad Kissingen (Germany)
- Montecatini Terme (Italy)
- Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic)
- Mariánské Lázně (Czech Republic)
- Františkovy Lázně (Czech Republic).
It is transnational nomination, meaning the 11 towns are seen as a single World Heritage Site.
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Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for children and young people, communities and culture, said: "This inscription is a confirmation of the exceptional historic value of Bath.
"Our architectural and archaeological quality is already recognised, but this new accolade underlines the influence that the hot springs have had on the city.
"This is not just about history, as moving forward Bath will continue to successfully blend our outstanding heritage and wellbeing offer with our vibrant modern city.”
Councillor Ruth Malloy, the lead councillor for the project, said Bath was included in the "elite group through merit".
She added: "You cannot fully tell the story of European spa culture without it. Realising the opportunity of a very rare second inscription has involved many years of hard work but it now offers us benefits of enhanced cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation, health tourism and visitor marketing."
The news comes as Liverpool is stripped of UNESCO World Heritage status.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee members staged held a secret ballot and voted in favour of passing a draft recommendation that will see the city deleted from the World Heritage list after 17 years.
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