List of destroyed heritage

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One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001

This is a list of cultural heritage sites which were damaged or destroyed throughout the course of history, sorted by country. The destruction may be accidental, deliberate or due to natural disasters.

Cultural heritage can be subdivided into two types – tangible and intangible heritage. The former includes built heritage such as religious buildings, museums, monuments and archaeological sites, as well as movable heritage such as works of art and manuscripts. Intangible cultural heritage includes customs, music, fashion and other traditions within a particular culture.[1][2] This article mainly deals with the destruction of built heritage; the destruction of movable heritage is dealt with in Art destruction.

Deliberate and systematic destruction of cultural heritage, such as that carried out by ISIL, is regarded as a form of cultural genocide.[3][4]

Afghanistan

Argentina

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Belgium

Belize

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stari Most was destroyed by Croat forces in 1993 but was later rebuilt

China

Croatia

World War II

Several Serbian Orthodox monasteries were destroyed during the World War II by the Ustaše and by Croatian forces during the Yugoslav Wars.[12]

Croatian War

War damage of the Croatian War (1991–95) has been assessed on 2271 protected cultural monuments, with the damage cost being estimated at 407 million DM.[13] The largest numbers – 683 damaged cultural monuments – are located in the area of Dubrovnik and Neretva County. Most are situated in Dubrovnik itself.[14] The entire buildings and possessions of 481 Roman Catholic churches, several synagogues and several Serbian Orthodox churches were badly damaged or completely destroyed. Valuable inventories were looted from over 100 churches. The most drastic example of destruction of cultural monuments, art objects and artefacts took place in Vukovar. After the occupation of the devastated city by the Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary forces, portable cultural property were removed from their shelters and museums in Vukovar to the museums and archives in Serbia.[13]

Denmark

Egypt

Damage to the Pyramid of Menkaure

France

Greece

Guatemala

Haiti

India

Iraq

Israel

Italy

Kosovo

Libya

Mali

Malta

Large neoclassical opera house
Ruins of a neoclassical opera house
The Royal Opera House in Valletta in 1896, and its ruins in 2016. The building was destroyed by aerial bombardment in 1942.

Nepal

The 7.8 Richter scale earthquake in 2015 demolished the heritage Dharahara situated at Kathmandu which was a main tourist attraction in Nepal. It also destroyed centuries old temples in the Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan Durbar Squares .[41][42]

Norway

Pakistan

Swat Valley in Pakistan has many Buddhist carvings, stupas and Jehanabad contains a Seated Buddha status.[43] Kushan era Buddhist stupas and status in Swat valley were demolished by the Taliban and after two attempts by the Taliban, the Jehanabad Buddha's face was dynamited.[44][45][46] Only the Bamiyan Buddhas were larger than the carved giant Buddha status in Swat near Mangalore which the Taliban attacked.[47] The government did nothing to safeguard the statue after the initial attempt at destroying the Buddha, which did not cause permanent harm, and when the second attack took place on the statue the feet, shoulders, and face were demolished.[48] Islamists, such as the Taliban and looters, destroyed much of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts left over from the Buddhist Gandhara civilization especially in Swat Valley.[49] The Taliban deliberately targeted Gandhara Buddhist relics for destruction.[50] The Christian Archbishop of Lahore Lawrence John Saldanha wrote a letter to Pakistan's government denouncing the Taliban activities in Swat Valley including their destruction of Buddha statues and their attacks on Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus.[51] Gandhara Buddhist artifacts were illegally looted by smugglers.[52]

Palestine

Philippines

The Loon Church before and after the 2013 Bohol earthquake

World War II

The resulting carnage and the aftermath of the Battle of Manila (followed by the Manila massacre) is responsible for the near total obliteration and evisceration of irreplaceable cultural, and historical heritage & treasures of the "Pearl of the Orient" (an international melting pot and a living monument of the meeting and confluence of Spanish, American and Asian cultures). Countless government buildings, universities and colleges, convents, monasteries and churches, and their accompanying treasures, all dating back to the 16th century and in a variety of style, were wiped out and ruined by both Japanese and inadvertently the American forces battling for the control of the city.

The most devastating damage happened at the ancient walled city of Intramuros, as a result of the assault from 23–26 February, until its total liberation on 4 March, Intramuros was a shell of its former glory (except the church of San Agustin, the sole survivor of the carnage). Outside the walls, large areas of the city had been levelled; Warsaw was also a heavily damaged victim of the second World War, but unlike its European counterpart, Manila never recovered its former pre-War glory.

After the Liberation, as part of rebuilding Manila, most of the buildings damaged during the war were either demolished in the name of "Progress", or rebuilt in a manner that bears no resemblance to the original; replacing European architectural styles during the Spanish and early American era with modern American- and imitation-style architecture. Only a few surviving old buildings remain intact, though even those that remain are continuously endangered to deterioration & neglect, political mismanagement brought on by graft and corruption, rapid urbanization & economic redevelopment, low public awareness & ignorance.

2013 Bohol earthquake

Several historic buildings were damaged or destroyed during the 2013 Bohol earthquake, including the Loboc Church, the Loon Church, the Maribojoc Church and the Baclayon Church.

Poland

Romania

Russia

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour being demolished in 1931

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Slovenia

Spain

Royal Alcázar of Madrid, a sample of hundred destroyed landmarks that were all over Spain, although still standing much wonders, many of these monuments could well be world heritage sites or be a proofs of the history of its cities in today.
Main pages: Category:Destroyed landmarks in Spain and List of missing monuments in Spain

Sri Lanka

Syria

Minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo, destroyed in fighting in 2013.

Turkey

Ukraine

Over a hundred Lenin statues and Soviet icons across Ukraine were destroyed from December 2013 to February 2014.[66]

On 15 May 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law that started a six months period for the removal of communist monuments (excluding World War II monuments) and the mandatory renaming of settlements with a name related to Communism.[67]

United Kingdom

United States

See also

Notes

  1. "What is meant by "cultural heritage"?". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
  2. Stenning, Stephen (21 August 2015). "Destroying cultural heritage: more than just material damage". British Council. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  3. Porter, Lizzie (23 July 2015). "Destruction of Middle East's heritage is 'cultural genocide'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. Sehmer, Alexander (5 October 2015). "Isis guilty of 'cultural cleansing' across Syria and Iraq, Unesco chief Irina Bokova says". The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. Piotto, Alba (27 June 1997). "Derriban un puente histórico al construir una autopista". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 November 2011.
  6. "High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and the Destruction of Cultural Artifacts in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan." AAAS. December 8, 2010.
  7. Jones, Patrick E.; Mark Stevenson (13 May 2013). "Mayan Nohmul Pyramid In Belize Destroyed By Bulldozer". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. 杨秀清 Xiuqing Yang (2006). 风雨敦煌话沧桑: 历经劫难的莫高窟 Feng yu Dunhuang hua cang sang: li jing jie nan de Mogao ku. 五洲传播出版社. pp. 158–. ISBN 978-7-5085-0916-7.
  9. Whitfield, Susan (2010). "A place of safekeeping? The vicissitudes of the Bezeklik murals". In Agnew, Neville. Conservation of ancient sites on the Silk Road: proceedings of the second International Conference on the Conservation of Grotto Sites, Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, People's Republic of China (PDF). Getty Publications. pp. 95–106. ISBN 978-1-60606-013-1.
  10. Anna Akasoy; Charles S. F. Burnett; Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (2011). Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 295–. ISBN 978-0-7546-6956-2.
  11. "OLD STERILE DEATH LEAVES ITS MARK OVER SINKIANG". LIFE (Time Inc) 15 (24): 99. Dec 13, 1943. ISSN 0024-3019.
  12. Spiritual genocide, published by the Serb Orthodox Church
  13. 1 2 Destruction and Conservation of Cultural Property, ed. Robert Layton, Peter G. Stone & Julian Thomas, One World Archeology, Routledge 2001, London, pg. 162. ISBN 0-203-16509-8
  14. The destruction by war of the cultural heritage in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina presented by the Committee on Culture and Education, Fact-finding mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rapporteur: Mr Jacques Baumel, France, RPR, 2 February 1993
  15. "La petite histoire d’une grande bibliothèque". mediatheques.strasbourg.eu. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  16. "BNU Strasbourg - Histoire". bnu.fr. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  17. Haiti Cultural Recovery Project (Archive copy at the Wayback Machine)
  18. Yagnik & Sheth 2005, pp. 39-40.
  19. Thapar 2004, pp. 36-37.
  20. Meenakshi Jain (21 March 2004). "Review of Romila Thapar's "Somanatha, The Many Voices of a History"". The Pioneer. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
  21. Yagnik & Sheth 2005, p. 47.
  22. Satish Chandra, Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals, (Har-Anand, 2009), 278.
  23. Yagnik & Sheth 2005, p. 55.
  24. Cynthia Talbot. Inscribing the Other,Inscribing the Self:Hindu-Muslim Identities in Pre-Colonial India. Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.37, No.4 (Oct. 1995).
  25. S.R. Goel, Hindu Temples what happened to them. Voice of India, 1991. ISBN 81-85990-49-2
  26. Vidhi Doshi (2016-04-26). "Fire guts Delhi's natural history museum". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  27. al-Taie, Khalid (13 February 2015). "Iraq churches, mosques under ISIL attack". Mawtani.com. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  28. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/destoc.html
  29. Kingsley, Patrick (7 March 2015). "Isis vandalism has Libya fearing for its cultural treasures". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  30. Thornhill, Ted (10 March 2015). "ISIS continues its desecration of the Middle East: Islamic State reduces Sufi shrines in Libya to rubble in latest act of mindless destruction". Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  31. "Protection of Antiquities Regulations 21st November, 1932 Government Notice 402 of 1932, as Amended by Government Notices 127 of 1935 and 338 of 1939.". Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
  32. Luke, Harry (1960). Malta: An Account and an Apreciation. Harrap. p. 60.
  33. Gauci, Gregory. "The Clock Tower". Birgu Local Council. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014.
  34. "Auberge d'Allemagne". Times of Malta. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  35. "Birgu's Auberge d'Italie". Times of Malta. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  36. Cilia, Daniel. "Destroyed Megalithic Sites – Kordin I". The Megalithic Temples of Malta. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
  37. Cilia, Daniel. "Destroyed Megalithic Sites – Kordin II". The Megalithic Temples of Malta. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
  38. "Fort Manoel restoration works impress". Times of Malta. 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  39. "Malta's Cultural Heritage". Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  40. Azzopardi, Joe (May 2014). "The Gourgion Tower – Gone but not Forgotten (Part 2)" (PDF). Vigilo (Din l-Art Ħelwa) (45): 44–47. ISSN 1026-132X. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2015.
  41. Deepak Nagpal (25 April 2015). "LIVE: Two major quakes rattle Nepal; historic Dharahara Tower collapses, deaths reported in India". Zee News. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  42. "Historic Dharahara tower collapses in Kathmandu after earthquake". DNA India. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  43. Jeffrey Hays. "EARLY HISTORY OF BUDDHISM".
  44. Malala Yousafzai (8 October 2013). I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Little, Brown. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-316-32241-6.
  45. Wijewardena, W.A. (17 February 2014). "‘I am Malala’: But then, we all are Malalas, aren’t we?". Daily FT.
  46. Wijewardena, W.A (February 17, 2014). "‘I am Malala’: But Then, We All Are Malalas, Aren’t We?". Colombo Telegraph.
  47. "Attack on giant Pakistan Buddha". BBC NEWS. 12 September 2007.
  48. "Another attack on the giant Buddha of Swat". AsiaNews.it. 11/10/2007. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. "Taliban and traffickers destroying Pakistan's Buddhist heritage". AsiaNews.it. 2012-10-22.
  50. "Taliban trying to destroy Buddhist art from the Gandhara period". AsiaNews.it. 2009-11-27.
  51. Felix, Qaiser (2009-04-21). "Archbishop of Lahore: Sharia in the Swat Valley is contrary to Pakistan's founding principles". AsiaNews.it.
  52. Rizvi, Jaffer (6 July 2012). "Pakistan police foil huge artefact smuggling attempt". BBC News.
  53. "19 precious monuments destroyed by war". CNN. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  54. "Turnul unei biserici vechi de 700 de ani s-a prăbuşit pentru că nu a fost reabilitată". Digi24. 20 February 2016.
  55. Andreea Tobias, Mihaela Grădinaru (20 February 2016). "Braşov: Turnul bisericii evanghelice din Rotbav s-a prăbuşit. Nu sunt victime". Mediafax.
  56. "Protesters angry over destruction of ‘Mephistopheles’ in St Petersburg". euronews.
  57. "Uproar in St. Petersburg after demon statue destroyed". DW.COM.
  58. "Hundreds protest smashing of 'Mephistopheles' in St Petersburg".
  59. Movrin, David. 2013. Yugoslavia in 1949 and its gratiae plenum: Greek, Latin, and the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (Cominform). In György Karsai et al. (eds.), Classics and Communism: Greek and Latin behind the Iron Curtain, pp. 291–329. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, p. 319.
  60. Reindl, Donald F. 2002. Slovenia's Vanishing Castles. RFE/RL Balkan Report (June 28).
  61. 1 2 "Monumentos desaparecidos". Archived from the original on 17 November 2011.
  62. (Spanish) El martirio de los libros: una aproximación a la destrucción bibliográfica durante la Guerra Civil (Archived at WebCite)
  63. "Un rayo destruye un emblemático santuario en Muxía". El Mundo. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013.
  64. "Palace of King Parakramabahu the Great - AmazingLanka.com". AmazingLanka.com.
  65. Fisk, Robert (5 August 2012). "Syria's ancient treasures pulverised". The Independent. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  66. "First the president, now Lenin: Stunning map reveals 100 statues of Soviet leader have been toppled in Ukraine". Daily Mail/Mail Online. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  67. Poroshenko signed the laws about decomunization. Ukrayinska Pravda. 15 May 2015
    Poroshenko signs laws on denouncing Communist, Nazi regimes, Interfax-Ukraine. 15 May 20
    Poroshenko: Time for Ukraine to resolutely get rid of Communist symbols, UNIAN. 17 May 2015
    Goodbye, Lenin: Ukraine moves to ban communist symbols, BBC News (14 April 2015)
  68. Historic England. "Ruined Cathedral Church of St Michael, Coventry (1076651)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  69. Stanglin, Doug (April 24, 2014). "Site of rare Indian artifacts paved over in California". USA Today. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  70. "CREATED THE "EIGHTH WONDER"". Legacy Washington. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

References

External links

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