Odesa National Library is included in the UNESCO list

The Odesa National Scientific Library has been officially inscribed on the UNESCO International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection. This is the highest level of protection granted to objects of exceptional importance to humanity, which are under national protection and are not used for military purposes.

This was reported by Iryna Biriukova, Director General of the Odesa National Scientific Library.

The Odesa National Scientific Library is one of the oldest and most valuable book collections in the country, founded in the nineteenth century, and became the 46th Ukrainian facility to receive this status. The library has survived numerous historical epochs, witnessed cultural, scientific, and social changes, and now remains an important part of the architectural and intellectual heritage of Odesa and Ukraine as a whole.

According to the library's director, the UNESCO decision was made possible thanks to the joint work of Ukrainian diplomatic and cultural institutions. The inclusion of the library in the list of enhanced protection means that in case of threat, it will enjoy special international legal guarantees provided by the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954.

As Iryna Biriukova emphasized, Ukraine remains one of the countries with the largest number of cultural heritage sites that enjoy the highest level of international protection.

In October, the Government approved a draft law on the ratification of a grant agreement with Italy for the restoration of Odesa' s cultural heritage. The program provides for the restoration of museums, the Philharmonic, and other historical sites in the city center.

Last year, the Odesa Literary Museum was also included in the UNESCO International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection. Prior to that, 25 Ukrainian cultural heritage sites were added to the list, mostly monuments that are already on the World Heritage List. The exception is the sites on the temporarily occupied territories.

Анна Бальчінос