UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which met in Rabat, Morocco, from 28 November to 3 December 2022, inscribed the multinational nomination Lipizzan Horse Breeding Traditions on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Slovenia submitted the nomination file to UNESCO headquarters in March 2020 on behalf of the eight participating countries. The nomination was highlighted by UNESCO’s Evaluation Body as an example of good practice in its preparation.

On 1 December 2022, the Intergovernmental Committee inscribed the multinational nomination Lipizzan Horse Breeding Traditions on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Eight countries participated in preparing the multinational nomination, which was coordinated by the Republic of Slovenia: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The nomination was prepared between 2018 and 2020, during which working meetings were held in the participating countries, bringing together bearers of the element of intangible cultural heritage, experts, and representatives of state institutions responsible for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The project was led by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, represented by Špela Spanžel. Representing Slovenia in the international working group—composed of representatives of all participating countries—were also a representative of the Lipica Stud Farm and representatives of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum / Coordinator for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Together with the Ministry of Culture and the bearers, they ensured that the element Traditional Breeding and Rearing of Lipizzan Horses was inscribed into the national Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016, which is a prerequisite for submitting a UNESCO nomination. The professional content of the multinational nomination was prepared with the participation of M.A. Anja Jerin, curator for intangible cultural heritage, and Dr Nena Židov, curator for social culture. The preparation of the nomination film was coordinated by Nadja Valentinčič Furlan, curator for ethnographic film.

The multinational nomination presents the richness of the tradition of Lipizzan horse breeding in state stud farms and among private breeders in all participating countries. It encompasses several domains of intangible cultural heritage as defined by UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. At the heart of the nomination Lipizzan Horse Breeding Traditions are cultural and social practices, knowledge and skills, as well as oral traditions related to the breeding of Lipizzan horses. Their symbolic significance within individual communities and their integration into local environments are based on the reciprocal relationship between the bearers of this intangible cultural heritage and the Lipizzan horses.

Traditional breeding and rearing of Lipizzan horses includes the breeding of the Lipizzan horse for classical dressage riding and carriage driving. In Slovenia, Lipizzan horses are bred and raised at the Lipica Stud Farm and by private breeders.