Lipica (; ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Municipality of Sežana A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, close to the border with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Lipica is one of the main tourist centers of Slovenia's

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

region and it is known for the Lipica Stud Farm, the origin of the

Lipizzan The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner (, , , , , , ) is a European horse breed, breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque horse, Baroque type, and is powerful, slow to mature and long-lived; the coa ...

horse.

Name

The name of the settlement is derived from the Slovene word ''lipa'' (< Slavic *''li̋pa'' '

linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

'). The species is common in the area and is a national symbol of Slovenia. The staff at the Lipica Stud Farm plant a new linden tree for every foal born.

History

From the 14th century until 1947, Lipica was part of the municipality of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1968. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 319–320. When Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria (son of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

) decided to establish a new

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

in the 16th century, the Spanish horse was considered the ideal horse breed. Because the soil and climate in the Karst region is similar to that of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Lipica was chosen as the perfect spot for the new farm. The Lipica stud farm was established in 1580 and the first horses were bought from Spain in 1581 (24 broodmares and six stallions). The farmers living in the area at the time were evicted and resettled in Laže. A coal mine operated east of the settlement from 1778 to 1817. Coal mining was attempted at the site again in 1857 and at sporadic later dates, but was deemed uneconomical because it is deposited only in

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

. Coal from the mine was once used at the sugar refinery in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. In 1947, Lipica was annexed to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and incorporated into

, one of the country's constituent republics, which became independent in 1991.

Mass grave

Lipica is the site of a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

associated with the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Lipica Shaft Mass Grave () is located about southwest of the tree-lined boulevard by the stud farm. It contains an undetermined number of human remains.Ferenc, Mitja, & Ksenija Kovačec-Naglič. 2005. ''Prikrito in očem zakrito: prikrita grobišča 60 let po koncu druge svetovne vojne''. Celje: Muzej novejše zgodovine Celje, p. 123.

Lipica Stud Farm

Lipica is the origin of the

horse. The Lipizzan breed as known today was fully developed in the time of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

, whose husband was greatly interested in horse-breeding. During the Napoleonic wars, the stud farm was relocated to

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

. In 1802, an earthquake struck Lipica, killing large numbers of horses. The stud farm was relocated to

Đakovo Đakovo (; , , sr-Cyrl, Ђаково) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the (diákos) in Slavic form đak (pupil). The Hungar ...

in 1805, to Pecica (near Mezőhegyes) in 1809, to

Laxenburg __NOTOC__ Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: ''Laxnbuag'') is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, be ...

during the First World War, and then to Kladruby nad Labem. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when Lipica was awarded to Italy, most of the horses were returned to Lipica. On 16 October 1943, the stud farm and 178 horses were relocated to Hostouň. After the Second World War, the farm had only 11 horses; all of the others had been confiscated by the Germans during the war. In the 1960s, Lipica was opened to tourists and new development began. In 1996, Lipica became a public institution that is owned by the Republic of

and has made significant progress since then.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited Lipica and its stud farm on 22 October 2008 and was presented with a Lipizzan horse as a gift from the Slovenian people. The queen's horse remains at the Lipica Stud Farm because it was requested that the farm care for it on her behalf. Today the Lipica Stud Farm is fully functional and breeds the finest horses for haute-école riding. The stud farm now also includes a hotel and leisure complex with a golf course, as well as the Lipikum Museum dedicated to various aspects of the stud and the Lipizzan breed, including guided tours of the stud farm.

The Lipica Open

The Lipica Open is an international

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

competition that is held every year on the second weekend of March. It is the biggest orienteering competition in Slovenia and was held for the first time in 1992.

Other places of interest

Other places of interest in and near Lipica include: * The Avgust Černigoj gallery * The

Škocjan Caves Škocjan Caves (; , ) is a cave system located in Slovenia. Škocjan Caves was included on UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural World Heritage Sites in 1986. Škocjan Caves is a significant underground phenomenon on the Karst Plateau and in ...

system, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. *

Vilenica Cave Vilenica Cave or Vilenica Cave at Lokev () is the oldest show cave in Europe. The first tourists to the cave were recorded in 1633. It is located next to the village of Lokev in the municipality of Sežana on the Karst Plateau in southwestern ...

, the oldest show cave in Europe (with guided tours since 1633) * The Valley of Our Lady of

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

(): an outdoor church and a local

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

destination

Grand Casino Lipica

Grand Casino Lipica is located in Lipica. It is owned and operated by Casino Portorož d.d. The casino opened in 1989 and was completely renovated in 2023.Il Grand Casinò Lipica si rifà il look
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Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Lipica include: *Ivan Slavec (1859–1940), co-founder of the newspaper ''Primorski list'' and the last Slovene-speaking priest at the

cathedral

References

External links

*
Lipica on GeopediaLipica Open CompetitionLipica Website

Lipica Stud Farm website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipica, Sezana Populated places in the Municipality of Sežana