Protection of cultural property inventory with objects of regional importance

Cultural objects have always been regarded as witnesses to the history of a community and its culture. The protection of cultural property (PCP) has taken on the task of conserving objects that convey a sense of identity so they will be available to future generations.

The Hague Convention: protection in the event of armed conflict
The “Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict” (1954 Hague Convention) was adopted at the Hague (NL) on 14 May 1954 in the wake of the Second World War when numerous cultural items were damaged or destroyed. When Switzerland signed up to the 1954 Hague Convention in 1962, it agreed to establish safeguarding measures during peacetime, and to respect its own cultural property as well as the cultural heritage of others in the event of conflict.

Protection in the event of disasters and emergencies
Warring parties are not the only threat to cultural property; disasters and even every day events such as water ingress or vandalism also pose a risk. To address this threat, the Swiss "Federal Law on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Disaster, or Emergency Situations" (PCPA) took effect on 1 January 2015. The PCPA also incudes revisions such as the "Enhanced Protection" category and the option of setting up a shelter for cultural property that is at risk abroad.

Current PCP Inventory with category A and B objects
The concept of "cultural property" is defined in very general terms. It is therefore inevitable that the cantons and the Swiss Federal Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property apply a broad, discretionary framework when classifying property. The Committee has applied the following criteria when defining objects nominated by the cantons as cultural property of national importance (category A objects) and cultural property of regional importance (category B objects):

• Prehistoric and historic importance
• Aesthetic and artistic importance
• Importance within the context of typology, folklore or social and other scientific perspectives
• Rarity value

In addition to this, important libraries and archive collections that are owned by the church or the public sector and that have not been included in the Inventory are also of regional or even national importance.
The Department for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) published a third version of the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Importance (PCP Inventory) in November 2009 subsequent to the publications in 1987 and 1995.