The World Heritage Council of UNESCO on the 30.11.2000 during its meeting in Cairns (Australia) declared the former Monastery Island of Reichenau to be a World Heritage Site. One can describe the island as a special testament to a cultural tradition. The three famous churches, the monastery building, the administrative buildings of the Island and the agricultural buildings which were used to supply the monasteries with food, all testify to the ancient monasterial tradition. The Island also still has numerous important religious festivals and processions. The well preserved churches of the island offer excellent examples of monasterial architecture from the 9th to 12th centuries. The carefully restored frescoes in St. Georg made  Reichenau an artistic centre of great importance for European art history of the 10th and 11th centuries. During the Carolingian period, Reichenau played a very important role in politics and culture. Reichenau monks were councillors and officials to the emperor, helped raise princes and diplomats. The first European horticultural centre ("Hortulus") was created on Reichenau, and in 830 a master-plan for a Benedictine monastery, the so-called "Galler Klosterplan". The Reichenau school of manuscript illumination in the 11th century produced many excellent manuscripts decorated with pictures, of which, despite losses throughout the ages, 40 of the famous Reichenau Codes are carefully preserved in libraries throughout the world. The name Reichenau has become famous all over the world.