Displaying items by tag: monuments

The earthquake that struck the Kathmandu Valley on Saturday, April 25, which the Nepalese government estimates has killed more than 3,000 people and left twice that number injured, has severely damaged monuments, temples and historic squares in the capital, Kathmandu, and the cities of Patan (or Lalitpur) and Bhaktapur.

Unesco’s representative in Nepal, Christian Manhart, told AFP, that Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, part of a complex of historic buildings and palaces built between the 12th and 19th centuries, was among the worst affected sites.

German cultural commissioner Monika Grütters announced on Friday that the country would increase its cultural funding by €90 million for a total €1.3 billion ($1.76 billion) in allocated funds for 2014. The additional funding marks a seven percent increase over 2013.

Grütters said that the budgetary approval by the Bundestag secured, “a solid foundation for the development and creation of successful cultural-political [initiatives].” Among her major achievements since taking over the post from predecessor Bernd Neumann was the doubling of funds allocated to provenance research. The move followed the Gurlitt saga, which initiated a wealth of renewed public support for restitution efforts. Four million euros are now available annually to assist in such research.