The United Nations cultural organisation on Monday added the Czech town of Zatec, which is renowned for a local hops used in beer production worldwide, to its World Heritage List.
“Just inscribed… Zatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia. Bravo!” the cultural organisation said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Czech culture ministry tweeted that it was “the world’s first hop-growing region to receive this prestigious status”.
The decision to register the north-western town of some 19,000 people was made in Riyadh during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee.
“This cultural landscape has been shaped for centuries by the living tradition of cultivating and trading the world’s most renowned hop variety, used in beer production around the globe,” UNESCO said in a statement.
The designation covers hops fields, as well as places used for processing the plants and Zatec’s medieval centre.
“Together, these illustrate the evolution of the agro-industrial processes and socio-economic system of growing, drying, certifying and trading hops from the Late Middle Ages to the present,” UNESCO said.
Saaz Hops, whose name comes from the German form of Zatec, is a variety known for its aroma and sold as far away as Japan.
The Czech Republic now has 17 inscriptions on the heritage list. (AFP)
