Historic Center of St. Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments, Protection and Management
Preservation of the historic cities is one of the most difficult missions, which demands to find balance between the conservation and development. Heritage sites are facing the same threats of an increasing development pressure, which has a negative impact on the visual integrity of the cities. In this context we would like to present the world heritage site “The historic centre of St.Petersburg and the related groups of monuments”, its history and experience in preservation.
Today St.-Petersburg has successfully implemented a complex of measures on preservation of objects of cultural heritage and historic environment, which together form the basis for protection of the world heritage site. Since 1988, the city government is developing the protection of the city context, it was in St. Petersburg to form a system of zones of protection of objects of cultural heritage in Russia. Still it is constantly under work and improving. By 2009, in St. Petersburg, was finally formed a comprehensive system of protection zones that took into account the boundaries of the world heritage site. It was adopted a law enshrining the requirement of preserving not only individual monuments, but also historical environments.
Those measures are enriched by integration of intangible aspect of heritage in the recreation activities of the inhabitants and tourists. The term “cultural heritage” is understood with a range of new categories like cultural landscapes or cultural routes, which cover the idea of social functions of a heritage site. Heritage is considered as cultural asset for improving quality of life and for sustainable development.