Lipizzaner Horse Breeding Tradition has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The decision to register the Lipizzaner Horse Breeding Tradition on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was made at the 17th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Minister Ankica Gudeljević actively supported the nomination in the previous period. Minister Gudeljević participated in the session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Rabat, and one of the topics of conversation with UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay was the protection of goods from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The announcement states that Minister Gudeljević pointed out that this is the fifth element from BiH on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and the first one that was made as a serial nomination.
The initiative to register the Lipizzaner Horse Breeding Tradition was launched in Slovenia, and Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina joined. The registration of this element on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is the result of joint work, and the Intergovernmental Committee in its explanation praised the countries for the exemplary nomination file that shows close cooperation and mutual respect.
The members of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage decided to include the Lipizzaner Horse Breeding Tradition on the list of intangible heritage, which already includes around 600 traditional crafts and other skills from 130 countries, which will have a positive effect on the development of the breeding of Lipizzaners in the region, as well as on the development of tourism.
Lipizzan horse breeding traditions were initially used to breed horses for the Habsburg imperial court in Vienna, but today the Lipizzan horse plays a special role in the everyday cultural and social life of communities in rural areas. They are included in events, celebrations and festivities such as horse blessings, carnival processions and parades, it is said in the announcement.