Historic preservation (US), heritage preservation or heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavour that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries’ development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. This term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all legacies of past generations are "heritage", rather heritage is a product of selection by society.
Cultural property are physical items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society. They include such items as historic buildings, works of art, archaeological sites, libraries and museums.
Cultural heritage of Serbia represents the totality of national cultural heritage in Serbia as defined by Serbia's Law on Cultural Goods. Some of national heritage sites in Serbia are also World Heritage Sites.
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries.
Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection in the Republic of Serbia. Immovable Cultural Heritage is classified as being of Exceptional Importance upon decision by the National Assembly of Serbia. They are inscribed in the Central Register of Immovable cultural property maintained by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia. Objects of Immovable cultural heritage have to fulfill one or more of those criteria defined in the Law on Cultural Heritage of 1994 in order to be categorized as being "of exceptional importance":
- exceptional importance for social, historical or cultural development of the people, or for the development of its natural environment;
- evidence of important historic events or persons and their work;
- unique (rare) example of human creativity of the time or a unique example from the natural history;
- great influence on the development of society, culture, technology, or science;
- exceptional artistic or aesthetic value.
The Quebec Cultural Heritage Directory is an online cultural heritage knowledge dissemination tool for the province of Quebec. The directory is maintained by the province's Ministry of Culture and Communications.
The Natural and Cultural Heritage of Croatia comprises sites, monuments, goods and species of particular importance to the Republic of Croatia which are protected by national law. The Croatian constitution states that the protection of natural and cultural heritage, as well as their use needs to be regulated according to the constitution and laws of the Republic of Croatia.
The Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia has been established in 1999. The Croatian Ministry of Culture is responsible for the administration of this public register, which has been created according to the Act on the protection and preservation of cultural goods of 1999. The register is a comprehensive list of all cultural monuments under national protection.
Protected areas of Ukraine are special areas of Ukraine established with the goal of protecting the natural and cultural heritage of the country from excessive changes as a result of human activity. The protection of the areas is the responsibility of the government of Ukraine, specifically the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Objects of cultural heritage in Poland are tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.
Cultural properties of Indonesia are those items defined by Indonesian law as of "important value for history, science, and culture", and include both man-made artefacts and natural objects. The cultural properties number more than 8,000 and include ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples, mosques, historic colonial buildings, forts, art galleries, national parks and beaches. A number of the sites are World Heritage Sites.
The cultural heritage of Morocco is protected and promoted in accordance with Law 19-05 (2005) and Law 22-80 (1980), which relate to the nation's Historic Monuments, Sites (sites), inscriptions, and objects of art and antiquity. The national heritage register, Inventaire National du Patrimoine Culturel, is maintained by the Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP).
The cultural heritage of Belarus includes both material and immaterial assets (valuables), in accordance with the Law on Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Belarus (2006).
The National Monuments of Zimbabwe are protected and promoted in accordance with the National Museums and Monuments Act 1972. This law replaced the colonial-era Monuments and Relics Act 1936, which in turn replaced the 1902 Ancient Monuments Protection Ordinance and 1912 Bushmen Relics Ordinance. The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) is the body responsible for maintaining the Archaeological Survey, the national inventory of monuments and sites. In April 2000 there were approximately 14,000 entries on the Archaeological Survey, of which 118 were National Monuments. 79 National Monuments had been declared under the old system by 1954. By 1980, the register had grown to over 3,000 sites and 169 declared monuments.
The Cultural Properties of Mozambique are protected and promoted in accordance with Law 10/88 of 1988 concerning tangible and intangible properties relating to the cultural heritage of Mozambique. Article 3 defines eight classes of movable cultural properties and four classes of immovable cultural properties: monuments (monumentos), groups of buildings, sites, and natural elements ; those classed as património cultural are of exceptional significance and are afforded special state protection.
The National Cultural Heritage Act is a law, or Republic Act, of the Republic of the Philippines. It created the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property and took other steps to preserve historic buildings that are over 50 years old. It was signed into law on March 25, 2009.
The cultural monuments of the Czech Republic are protected properties designated by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. Cultural monuments that constitute the most important part of the Czech cultural heritage may be declared national cultural monuments by a regulation of the Government of the Czech Republic. Government may also proclaim a territory, whose character and environment is determined by a group of immovable cultural monuments or archaeological finds, as a whole, as a monument reservation. Ministry of Culture may proclaim a territory of a settlement with a smaller number of cultural monuments, historical environment or part of a landscape area that display significant cultural values as a monument zone.
Immovable Cultural Heritage of Great Importance are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the second-highest level of state protection in the Republic of Serbia, behind the Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance. Immovable Cultural Heritage is classified as being of Great Importance upon decision by the National Assembly of Serbia. They are inscribed in the Central Register of Immovable cultural property maintained by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia. Objects of Immovable cultural heritage have to fulfill one or more of those criteria defined in the Law on Cultural Heritage of 1994 in order to be categorized as being "of great importance":
- importance for a certain area or time-span;
- evidence of social or natural development, or the socio-economic and cultural-historic development conditions during a certain time-span;
- evidence about important historic events or persons from the national history.
