German Elbe Valley Retains World Historic Status

United Nations (AHN) - The United Nations on Friday reaffirmed Germany's Elbe Valley as a world heritage site even as the agency condemned the construction of a four-lane bridge in the area.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said the bridge could lead to damage of the site, and called for building a tunnel instead.

The 11-mile-long Dresden Elbe Valley has been cited by UNESCO for its cultural landscape that "brings together a combination of baroque and other historic buildings and landscape features in and around the city of Dresden into a parkland setting along the river," according to a U.N. statement.

The Dresden city council approved the bridge in 2005, but decided a year later to stop accepting construction bids.