The 425th anniversary of the world renowned Lipica stud farm was marked with a lavish ceremony, celebrating the Lipizzaner horse as an symbol and integral part of the Slovenian national identity.
Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti, the keynote speaker, recalled in his address the history of the Lipizzaner horses and highlighted two landmark events: the stud farm regulations issued by Emperor Leopold I in the 17th century and the Spanish riding school established by Charles VI in the second half of the 18th century.
He labelled both events as model examples indicating how the stud farm can be saved at the beginning of the new millennium, now that Slovenia is an independent country.
According to him, the state protected Lipica with the 1996 act and paved the way for the development of the stud farm. However, the development programme was belated and therefore affected the creative atmosphere at Lipica.
"We have now decided to do everything on the EU level to return the book of origin for the Lipizzaner horse. We will make a clear programme...and take the few crucial moves that it takes to return Lipica to its former sheen through the comprehensive and systematic refurbishment of the whole farm," Simoniti said.
The date of the stud farm's establishment is 19 May 1580, when Archduke Carl II, the ruler of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Istria and Trieste bought the property and a diocesan horse farm from Trieste Bishop Coreto.
Lipica went through good and bad times. In 1796, 1805 and 1809, when the farm was threatened by the Napoleon army, it was moved with all horses to Hungary.
During WWI, the Lipizzaners stayed in Laxenburg near Vienna and in the Czech Republic. After WWI, Lipica came under Italian rule, however, the studs were state-owned by both Italy and Austria.
Lipica was renovated by the Italians, while the Austrians moved their herd to Piber near Graz, where they established their own stud farm.
In September 1943, Lipiza was taken over by the Germans, who took the horses to Germany, from where some of the studs were also taken to the US.
After WWII, Yugoslavia demanded the return of all horses, however, after lengthy negotiations, the allies returned only 11 Lipizzaners, while the rest were turned over to Italy and the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
The renovation of the farm began with only a few horses. In 1953, a riding and training school was established, and in 1960, the legendary breeding place of Lipizzaners was opened to tourists.
The farm, extending over 311 hectares in the Kras countryside, was proclaimed a place of special cultural heritage in 1996, and has since then been state-owned and managed by the Republic of Slovenia. At the moment, the farm is home to around 350 white horses.
Lipica, marketed as a jewel of the Kras region, is a major tourist attraction. Various events at the stud farm and, in recent years, the casino and the golf court attract 110,000 visitors every year, most of them foreign.
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