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Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH) Nomination statement
5. Protection and Management of the Property
5.a Ownership/stakeholders
The 121 individual sites show a mixed distribution in terms of ownership, and within this every site is
comprised of several lots.
The 121 nominated individual sites contain a total of 162 archaeological sites.
Total number of lots nominated: 4645
Number of lots in the nominated property: 2773
Number of lots in the buffer zone: 1871
Ownership distribution:
State ownership: 5.7% 265 lots
Local government ownership: 20.0% 929 lots
Private ownership
(individual and joint –
total of 2147 owners): 74.3% 3451 lots
100% 4645 lots
In Hungary there are essentially two types of ownership: public ownership and private ownership. The
two main types of public ownership are recognized, state ownership and local government ownership. In
both cases the rights of the abstract community (the state or the local government) are held by a lots
manager, which can be a legal entity or even a private individual designated by the organ of state or
local government with jurisdiction over this. There can also be two kinds of private ownership, joint
or individual ownership. Joint owners can be any kind of economic company, association, corporation
with legal status, registered church, civic organization, foundation or co-operative, etc. The experience in
Hungary following the change – in 1990 – of the “socialist” state system that restricted private ownership
is that the state’s share of the national wealth, which was then ca. 90%, has dropped significantly in favor
of local government and private ownership. Even today this process cannot be considered to have been
concluded. There are legal opportunities for the privatization of state and local government lots. In many
cases a single lot may have several forms of ownership mixed together, and the ownership structure is
constantly liable to change.
In Hungary the owners of lots must be entered in the land registry records, and changes are continuously
recorded. In addition to this, the deed of ownership records the size of the lot and its character – i.e.
an agricultural area or one that is excluded from cultivation. It is also obligatory to indicate the type of
agricultural land use, and any change to this is only possible on the basis of an official permit. The proposed
World Heritage site encompasses several thousand lots. To provide a comprehensive and illustrative picture
of their ownership status is impossible. The diverse mosaic of ownership conditions is however regulated
by the Law LXIV of 2001 on cultural heritage, which stipulates the obligation to maintain the character
of cultural heritage, and that this maintenance is required to be performed by the existing owner.
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