Timber rafting has been added to the UNESCO list
Timber rafting inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage
12 March 2023Timber rafting has been added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is an ancient tradition associated with the building of rafts and floating them down rivers. Timber rafting was among the respected and esteemed — but also dangerous — professions. Even though raft-borne navigation as commercial transport died out with the construction of dams, the traditions associated with it are still alive and are passed on to younger generations. The Vltavan Association, which carries on the rafters' traditions, plays a part in this. In addition to the Czech Republic, six other European countries sought the inscription of the timber rafting tradition. The nomination was approved by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its 17th session in Morocco.
On Friday 10 March 2023, Minister of Culture Martin Baxa handed over the official certificate confirming the inscription of TIMBER RAFTING on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the President of the Vltavan Čechy association, Ing. Jaroslav Camplík.
