Nod from UNESCO

On December 8, the Institute for Urban History in Frankfurt/Main was presented the letter of appointment declaring the "Golden Bull" UNESCO World Heritage status. There are a total of seven versions of the medieval legal text. Five of them are kept in Germany, and two in Austria. Each version of the decree has been honored with its own ceremony. The celebrations for the two Austrian documents were held in June, and those of the Munich and Nuremberg versions in July. Now finally, the Frankfurt document has been honored in the same way.

The most significant constitutional document

UNESCO had decided to include the "Golden Bull" in its "Memory of the World Register" in June 2013, stating that the legal text of 1356 was the most important constitutional document of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The decree, originally issued by Emperor Charles IV, remained in force until the decline of the empire in 1806. Amongst other functions, the Golden Bull regulated the procedures for election and coronation of the Holy Roman kings. It is named after its seal made of gold sheet.

Saving documents from oblivion

The World Documentary Heritage Program of UNESCO has existed since 1992. Its objective is to digitalize historically important documents, thereby preserving them for future generations. In addition to books and manuscripts, also video and audio files can be added to the list. So far, it includes 300 documents from all over the world. Germany is represented in the catalogue with 17 entries, including the Gutenberg Bible, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the "Nibelungenlied," or The Song of the Nibelungs.