Tradition of raising Lipizzaner horses in Romania was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022
The breeding traditions of Lipizzaner horses can be found in 7 countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary), where this heritage is kept active and uninterrupted.
The Lipizzaner breed, in its modern version, was created in 1580, in the town of Lipizza in the south of the Habsburg Empire (today, Lipica in Slovenia). On the territory of Romania, this breed has its beginnings since the 18th century, with the expansion of this breed through the system of stud farms and military stallion depots of the Habsburg Empire. The Romanian tradition of breeding these horses appeared in 1874, due to the move of the imperial stud farm from Mezőhegyes (today on the territory of Hungary) to a state domain of the empire located at Sâmbăta de Jos, in the Olt valley. On October 8th 1920, the Romanian State established the Sâmbăta de Jos State Stud, using for this purpose mainly horses from breeders in the villages of Făgăraş Country, located in the vicinity of the stud. Today, at Sâmbăta de Jos Stud, 7 of the 8 lines of the breed are bred, which makes it one of the most important Lipizzaner horse studs in the world. Over time, the popularity of horses of this breed has been maintained by their elegant and imposing dress, resistance to effort, intelligence and devotion shown in the relationship with man.
This element of the national intangible cultural heritage is represented by a set of knowledge, practices and skills related to the breeding, care and training of the Romanian Lipizzaner horses, transmitted mainly orally and from generation to generation, through direct experience. Added to these are a series of cultural and social practices developed by breeding communities as part of rituals, events, equestrian competitions (endurance, traction, dressage) and specific traditional crafts (farrier, saddler, stud) that include the presentation and promotion of this horse breed.
The important and meritorious presence of Romania in this file, at the invitation of experts from partner countries, confirmed the relevance of this tradition on the territory of our country and the efforts of the state institutions that supported the core of the tradition of breeding Lipizzaner horses for more than a century.
The steps for the introduction of this practice into the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity were carried out by Ioana Baskerville within the National Commission for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which benefited from the constant support and expertise of the specialists from the National Directorate of Forests,, Romsilva” – Horse Breeding RA State Enterprise, Exploitation and Improvement Directorate, an institution subordinate to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests. This institution is responsible for the administration of the two important studs with Lipizzaner horses in Romania: Sâmbăta de Jos Stud, located in the village of Sâmbăta de Jos, Voila commune (Brașov county), and Beclean Stud, from Beclean (Bistrița Năsăud county).
VIEW on UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity