India has won the top UNESCO prize ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015 for the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala, the UN body announced.

Major Highlights

• The Award of Excellence for the conservation of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur, won this year’s top prize in the Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
• The award recognises the remarkable conservation effort undertaken at the sacred site which employed age-old rituals and conservation techniques drawn from vastu shastrafocusing on architecture and construction, UNESCO said.
• Sdaring Xieng Thong Temple in Luang Prabang won the Award of Merit and became the first project in Lao People’s Democratic Republic to receive the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award.
• Baan Luang Rajamaitri in Chanthaburi province was among 12 winning projects from five countries.

Vadakkunnathan Temple

• Vadakkunnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India.
• This temple is a classic example of the architectural style ofKerala and has monumental towers on all four sides and also a kuttambalam.
• The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act.
• In the year 2012 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has recommended 14 sites, including Vadakkumnathan Temple and palaces, from Kerala to include in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Expected Questions

1.Who became the first project in Lao People’s Democratic Republic to receive the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award?

-Sdaring Xieng Thong Temple in Luang Prabang

2.The Vadakkumnathan temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under which act?

-AMASR Act

3.In which year  Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has recommended 14 sites, including Vadakkumnathan Temple and palaces, from Kerala to include in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

-2012