Austria - Greece - Italy - Transhumance, the seasonal droving of livestock along migratory routes in the Mediterranean and in the Alps

"Transhumance, the seasonal driving of livestock along migratory routes in the Mediterranean and the Alps, is a form of pastoralism. Every year in spring and autumn, thousands of animals are driven by groups of herders together with their dogs and horses along steady routes between two geographical and climatic regions, from dawn to dusk. In many cases, the herders’ families also travel with the livestock. Two broad types of transhumance can be distinguished: horizontal transhumance, in plain or plateau regions; and vertical transhumance, typically in mountain regions. Transhumance shapes relations among people, animals and ecosystems. It involves shared rituals and social practices, caring for and breeding animals, managing land, forests and water resources, and dealing with natural hazards. Transhumant herders have in-depth knowledge of the environment, ecological balance and climate change, as this is one of the most sustainable, efficient livestock farming methods. They also possess special skills related to all kinds of handicraft and food production involved. Festivities during springtime and autumn mark the beginning and end of transhumance, when bearers share food, rituals and stories and introduce younger generations to the practice. Chief herders pass on their specific know-how to the younger generations through daily activities, ensuring the continued viability of the practice."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Transhumance - the seasonal cattle drive in Tirol, Austria is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Thanks to Uli of Austria. Received in July 15, 2022.

Missing - Croatia - Cyprus - France - Greece - Italy - Slovenia - Spain - Switzerland - Art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques

The art of dry stone walling concerns the knowhow related to making stone constructions by stacking stones upon each other, without using any other materials except sometimes dry soil. Dry stone structures are spread across most rural areas – mainly in steep terrains – both inside and outside inhabited spaces, though they are not unknown in urban areas. The stability of the structures is ensured through the careful selection and placement of the stones, and dry-stone structures have shaped numerous, diverse landscapes, forming various modes of dwelling, farming and husbandry. Such structures testify to the methods and practices used by people from prehistory to today to organize their living and working space by optimizing local natural and human resources. They play a vital role in preventing landslides, floods and avalanches, and in combating erosion and desertification of the land, enhancing biodiversity and creating adequate microclimatic conditions for agriculture. The bearers and practitioners include the rural communities where the element is deeply rooted, as well as professionals in the construction business. Dry stone structures are always made in perfect harmony with the environment and the technique exemplifies a harmonious relationship between human beings and nature. The practice is passed down primarily through practical application adapted to the particular conditions of each place.

Missing - France - Italy - Switzerland - Alpinism

"Alpinism is the art of climbing up summits and walls in high mountains, in all seasons, in rocky or icy terrain. It involves physical, technical and intellectual abilities, using appropriate techniques, equipment and highly specific tools such as axes and crampons. Alpinism is a traditional, physical practice characterized by a shared culture made up of knowledge of the high-mountain environment, the history of the practice and associated values, and specific skills. Knowledge about the natural environment, changing weather conditions, and natural hazards is also essential. Alpinism is also based on aesthetic aspects: alpinists strive for elegant climbing motions, contemplation of the landscape, and harmony with the natural environment. The practice mobilizes ethical principles based on each individual’s commitment, such as leaving no lasting traces behind, and assuming the duty to provide assistance among practitioners. Another essential part of the alpinist mindset is the sense of team spirit, as represented by the rope connecting the alpinists. Most community members belong to alpine clubs, which spread alpine practices worldwide. The clubs organize group outings, disseminate practical information and contribute to various publications, acting as a driving force for alpinist culture. Since the 20th century, alpine clubs in all three countries have cultivated relationships through frequent bilateral or trilateral meetings at various levels."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Bulgaria - Nestinarstvo, messages from the past: the Panagyr of Saints Constantine and Helena in the village of Bulgari

The Nestinarstvo fire-dancing rite is the climax of the annual Panagyr ritual on the feast days of Saints Constantine and Helena (3 and 4 June) in the village of Bulgari, in the Mount Strandzha region of south-east Bulgaria. The ritual is held to ensure the well-being and fertility of the village. In the morning, consecrated and ceremonial rituals are solemnized and a procession with the sacred icons representing the two Saints travels outside the village to a spring with holy water, accompanied by drum and bagpipes. At the spring, holy water and candles are handed out to everyone present for good health. The festival culminates in a fire-dance in the evening as the highest form of veneration of the Saints. People silently form a circle around the burning embers led by the sacred drum, and the Nestinari, who are spiritual and physical leaders through whom the saints express their will, begin entering the circle and treading the embers. Formerly celebrated in some thirty nearby Bulgarian and Greek villages, Nestinarstvo remains today in Bulgari, a village of only a hundred persons. During the Panagyr, however, thousands crowd the village, including in recent years many Greeks who join the ritual.

Bulgaria - The tradition of carpet-making in Chiprovtsi

Kilimi are hand-woven carpets made by the women of Chiprovtsi in north-eastern Bulgaria. Almost every household in the town contains a vertical handloom, which the women use to make two-sided tapestries traditionally utilized as floor coverings. The weaver takes several threads of the warp with her left hand, interlaces the weft yarn into the warp and uses a small beater to tighten the weave. The men of the town typically engage in wool production, processing and dyeing. Naturally dyed yarn gives soft pastel carpet hues, while chemical dyes produce brighter shades. The finished carpets are renowned for their composition, ornamental motifs and colour. Carpet weaving goes hand in hand with beliefs, verbal formulae and ritual practices. The weavers say prayers and make wishes for success before starting a new carpet, and sing and tell stories while working at the loom. The process of transmission occurs informally from mothers and grandmothers to daughters, often while working together on large carpets. Carpet weaving is deeply integrated into the social and cultural life of the population. The best-known forms of ornamentation are reproduced throughout the community and even constitute the coat of arms of the town.

Bulgaria - Surova folk feast in Pernik region

The Surova folk feast in Pernik region takes place each year on 13 and 14 January to celebrate the New Year according to the old calendar. The core of the celebration is a popular masquerade ritual performed in villages throughout the region. On the first night, Survakari masquerade groups, consisting of men, women and children, don specially prepared masks and costumes and head towards the village centre where they light fires, and tease and play with the watching audience. Some participants adopt special roles, such as the leader, the newly-weds, the priest and the bear. Early the next morning, they gather and walk throughout the village visiting houses, where they ritually marry young couples while the bear ‘mauls’ people for good health. Hosts await their arrival with a ritual meal and gifts. After the folk feast, the Survakari distribute the gifts, often donating collected funds to orphans and poor people. The masquerade experience appeals to young people and raises their self-esteem as continuers of the tradition. Whole families engage in collecting materials for the masks and the other attributes during that entire year, with adults teaching young people and children how to make the distinctive masks and costumes.

Bulgaria - Festival of folklore in Koprivshtitsa: a system of practices for heritage presentation and transmission

The concept for the Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa, where thousands of Bulgarians of all ages and the diaspora meet in August to present and share their intangible cultural heritage practices ranging from dance and storytelling, to games and craftsmanship, originated when local musicians saw a need to protect traditions endangered by factors such as urbanization and commodification. Hosted by the Koprivshtitsa municipality with assistance from the Ministry of Culture, Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum, the Institute for Art Studies and community centres, the festival raises awareness about the importance of safeguarding living heritage and promotes its presence in people’s lives, documents it for future continuity and stimulates transmission. Performers are nominated through selection procedures organized by Bulgaria’s administrative districts where new traditions are also identified, then performances broadcasted and documented by scholars for archival records such as those at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum. Since the first festival in 1965, nine editions have taken place with 18,000 performers participating in 2010, attracting visitors from throughout the country and abroad. Many festival performers go on to become known internationally.

Bulgaria - Bulgarian Chitalishte (Community Cultural Centre): practical experience in safeguarding the vitality of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Bulgarian chitalishta (cultural community centres) are uniformly distributed across the whole territory of Bulgaria. They are established by communities themselves and are open to everyone irrespective of age, gender, political and religious views. The first chitalishta were established in 1856, and they have been recognized as a key organizational unit of Bulgarian society ever since. In accordance with the Chitalishta Act of 1996, chitalishta are non-governmental self-regulatory organizations. By law, they perform cultural and educational activities aimed at safeguarding the customs and traditions of Bulgarian people, ensuring access to information, distributing knowledge and familiarizing citizens with the values and achievements of science, arts and culture. Chitalishta are central to the process of transmitting intangible cultural heritage in the country, with elderly members playing a key role in encouraging young people to get involved. The efficiency of chitalishte is demonstrated by their increasing numbers over the years and the growing numbers of participants in their activities, representing all ages and population groups. With a view to popularizing and presenting intangible cultural heritage, chitalishta organize festivals, celebrations, gatherings, exhibitions and so on, and one innovative approach for developing chitalishta is the establishment of local centres for documenting, archiving and handing over knowledge and skills.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Zmijanje embroidery

Zmijanje embroidery is a specific technique practised by the women of Zmijanje villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Traditionally, Zmijanje embroidery is used to decorate female costumes and household items, including wedding dresses, scarves, garments and bed linen. The main characteristic is the use of a deep blue thread, handmade with vegetable dyes, to embroider improvised geometrical shapes. The richness and variations of the embroidered designs determine the social status of the village women. Embroidery is usually performed among groups of women, who engage in needlework while singing and chatting. Each embroiderer adapts and reinvents the required knowledge and skills, as part of the process of transmission. The knowledge is conveyed orally and through practical work, mostly in formal educational environments. Students learn by watching experienced embroiderers combine pre-determined elements into numerous variations, and through regular and continuous practice. Zmijanje embroidery incorporates respect for diversity, creativity and non-verbal communication. It also has a sentimental and emotional value particularly for displaced populations, who use embroidered garments as an expression of national and local identity and pride. Embroidery ties together many elements of cultural heritage, such as music, rituals, oral traditions, handicrafts and symbolic expressions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Picking of iva grass on Ozren mountain

On 11 September each year, the day of the beheading of St. John the Baptist, inhabitants of the villages around Ozren mountain go to Gostilij to pick iva grass. After hiking up the hills, villagers of all social, gender and age groups pick iva grass, both individually and in groups. Iva must be picked carefully and pickers need to find it among the higher grass; the process therefore usually takes a few hours. When the picking is done, they climb up Gostilij and assemble into smaller groups, many wearing Ozren folk costumes, to play, dance and sing traditional music. In the afternoon, Orthodox priests climb up to the peak of Gostilij where they consecrate the iva. Iva is consumed in different ways (as a tea, soaked in brandy, mixed with honey) both for its curative effect and preventively. While in the past the practice was exclusively related to folk medicine, nowadays its primary functions include hospitality and social integration, as well as helping to safeguard Ozren costumes, songs and dances that have been gradually disappearing. The practice is transmitted spontaneously within the family, as well as in primary schools. Several local associations also invite similar organizations from different regions to take part in the practice, leading to the inclusion of many practitioners from outside of Ozren.

Belgium - Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges

Each spring, 30,000 to 45,000 spectators gather in the heart of the Belgian city of Bruges to watch the Procession of the Holy Blood on Ascension Day, forty days after Easter. The colourful pageant dates back to the thirteenth century, when a citizen of Bruges is said to have brought the Relic of the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ back from the Second Crusade. Led by the thirty city notables of the Brotherhood of the Holy Blood and accompanied by brass bands, more than 1,700 citizens on foot, in carts or on horseback perform stories from the Old Testament, the life of Jesus and the history of Bruges. Then, various civic groups venerate the relic and the procession concludes with a prayer ceremony, performed in several languages to accommodate the international audience. For centuries, the ceremony has played an important role in expressing the identity of Bruges’s inhabitants and in facilitating encounters with people from outside the city. Participants are a representative cross-section of ages, families and communities. Some inhabitants have participated for forty or fifty years, and émigrés often return for ‘Bruges’s Finest Day’. The Procession is a vibrant example of how a collective ceremony can unite a city through ritual enactment of its history and beliefs.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Krakelingen and Tonnekensbrand, end-of-winter bread and fire feast at Geraardsbergen

The city of Geraardsbergen holds its annual market on the first Monday in March and celebrates the end of winter on Sunday eight days earlier, with the festival of Krakelingen and Tonnekensbrad. In the days before, shopkeepers decorate their windows, bakers bake special ring-shaped breads called krakelingen, and schoolteachers recount a tale explaining the origins of the ritual. On the day of the feast, a thousand-strong parade leaves the church of Hunnegem, led by the church dean and city councillors in historical costume. Carrying bread, wine, fish and fire, the participants make their way to Oudenberg Hill, climbing to the Holy Mary Chapel on the hilltop. Inside, the dean blesses the krakelingen and recites a prayer. The religious and secular authorities then drink wine from a sixteenth-century silver goblet containing tiny live fish, which has recently become a controversial custom. They then throw ten thousand krakelingen into the crowd, one containing a winning ticket. The prize is a golden jewel, especially created for the event. At night people gather again on the hill to light a wooden barrel, the Tonnekensbrand, to celebrate the arrival of spring. Spectators carry burning torches back down the hill to bring light to the city. The festive ritual yields a strong sense of continuity and historical awareness for its participants, evoking historical events and legends passed on from generation to generation.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Houtem Jaarmarkt, annual winter fair and livestock market at Sint-Lievens-Houtem

Houtem Jaarmarkt is an annual trading fair taking place in the village of Sint-Lievens-Houtem in the south-east of the Belgian province of East Flanders. Every year, on 11 and 12 November, the village becomes the site of the country’s last substantial open-air market for trading cattle and purebred horses. Hundreds of dealers proudly display their animals before judges, fellow traders, farmers and thousands of enthusiastic visitors. People travel from across the country to visit the five hundred stallholders and other traders: experiencing, seeing, touching and buying agricultural machinery or animals, and witnessing transactions that still retain old negotiating techniques such as handclapping. With more than six hundred horses and twice as many cows up for sale, the fair is a crucial date in the calendar and identity of professionals in the livestock trade. Each year a different foreign region is invited to present its attractions, regional products and craftsmanship at the fair, enabling the livestock breeders, farmers and artisans of different nations to meet and interact. The fair and market have a huge impact on the local community with private houses turned into public venues where one can enjoy music, drinks and food. For these two days the whole village is transformed into one open, welcoming space.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Programme of cultivating ludodiversity: safeguarding traditional games in Flanders

Ludodiversity refers to the wide diversity in games, sports, physical exercises, dances and acrobatics. The non-governmental organization Sportimonium, together with local communities and associations, has taken measures to safeguard the heritage of games and sports in Flanders, Belgium, including twenty-three types of traditional games, among them forms of shooting games, bowl games, throwing games and ball games. Safeguarding measures undertaken by Sportimonium include support to specialized and umbrella organizations, publications, festivals, demonstrations, exchanges of expertise, promotion activities, loan services providing people with traditional games equipment, and a Traditional Games Park. The basis for the programme is systematic documentation and research: information on traditional games and sports has been gathered worldwide and can be consulted in a documentation centre in the Sportimonium. Another key safeguarding strategy is promoting awareness among players about the cultural significance of their intangible cultural heritage. Special attention is devoted to attracting new members, especially young people and women. The model of Sportimonium can be applied elsewhere. One advantage of the programme is its modular design, divided into different phases that can be implemented according to local, regional, national and international contexts.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Leuven age set ritual repertoire

The Leuven age set ritual repertoire is a rite of passage in a man’s life centring on the ten years leading up to his fiftieth birthday. For men living in or around Leuven, Belgium, a journey of socio-cultural and philanthropic activities and ceremonies commences at the age of forty with the forming of an age set and culminates at the age of fifty on Abraham Day, with a celebration in the city’s central park around the statue of the prophet Abraham. Each age set chooses its own medal, flag and uniform, and is fostered by a ‘godfather’, who belongs to an age set formed ten years before. The members celebrate and embrace life throughout the decade and beyond. An age set only disappears when its last member passes away. The age sets are characterized by intergenerational values of openness, friendship, solidarity and commitment to their age set and to the city. Differences of descent, rank or social status are of no importance, neither are political, philosophical or religious convictions. The only conditions for participation are to be a man and to be born in the same year. Women however increasingly take part as godmothers and supporters. The ritual stimulates identity and a sense of continuity for both the city and the members, and has become a strong part of Leuven’s urban culture. Today, fifty-four age sets exist.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse

The Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse are a major component of the cultural identity of the eponymous region found between the rivers of Sambre and Meuse in Wallonia, Belgium. The marches commemorate the dedication of churches of many villages and small towns honouring the Saint to whom the religious buildings are dedicated. The whole villages and towns participate. The escorted processions consist of several companies, based on a military model, and each company group tens, even hundreds of marchers. The participants dress in military uniforms, forming one or more companies that escort the religious procession. A committee and/or a statutory body manage each company, organizing the course of the march and ensuring the correct formations. Young people march alongside their parents in the Young Guard or other companies. The transmission of traditions occurs orally, often within the family circle, but also during gatherings, meetings, banquets or balls necessary for the organization of the march. Dynasties of fifes and drums have been created that transmit their knowledge, songs and music to new musicians. Similarly, drum and fife manufacturers and dozens of artisan clothes designers pass on their craftsmanship in reconstituting and creating instruments, costumes, flags and accessories. The marches play a key role in enhancing integration, assembling men and women from different backgrounds and promoting social cohesion.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Safeguarding the carillon culture: preservation, transmission, exchange and awareness-raising

The art of making music with bells (carillon) is performed by carillonneurs, traditionally during market and festive days. The programme to safeguard carillon culture exists in seventy-six cities and villages of Belgium and in thirty countries worldwide. The primary objectives are to preserve the components of historic carillon culture (practices, repertoire, instruments, music, oral and written history), and to ensure the continuity and sustainable development of carillon music as a living heritage that fosters cultural identity and social cohesion. Safeguarding efforts have also focused on preserving and restoring historic carillons with many formerly silent carillons now once more active. Transmission is secured by a number of educational initiatives, of which the Mechelen carillon school is the most important. Efforts have also been undertaken to revitalize the carillon, including promotion of new arrangements, compositions and genres of music. The programme combines respect for tradition with a willingness to innovate, constantly seeking new ways to safeguard carillon culture in contemporary society. It also promotes proven best practices, as well as a deep respect for local players in the field, building on cooperation among actors.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belgium - Ommegang of Brussels, an annual historical procession and popular festival

Ommegang of Brussels, an annual historical procession and popular festival takes place annually over two evenings in July in the historic centre of Brussels. The celebration begins with a crossbow competition and a ceremony in Sablon Church. In the surrounding streets, various groups form a large procession. The procession follows a 1.5 km route through the city to the Grand-Place, where the groups join the Magistrate of Brussels and bearers of various forms of living heritage. Together, they march around and some groups partake in an organic performance that has evolved since 1930. Having originated as a religious event in 1348, the tradition declined in the 18th century and the modern Ommegang was then recreated in 1928-1930 based on descriptions of the procession Charles V attended in 1549. Nowadays, the tradition has evolved into a festive, local heritage event. Among the participants are various groups of volunteers who meet and prepare their roles together, encouraging younger members to get involved. These groups have become club associations which, during the Ommegang in early July, meet and socialize with other groups. Children attend with their parents, and many people have been involved for forty or fifty years. The viability of the practice is constantly monitored, and the association overseeing the Ommegang is continuously engaged in preparing and promoting the next event.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Belarus - Celebration in honor of the Budslaŭ icon of Our Lady (Budslaŭ fest)

The Budslaŭ Fest takes place in Budslaŭ village, in the Minsk region. Since the seventeenth century, every year on the first weekend of July tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over Belarus and other countries have come to Budslaŭ to participate in the celebrations in honor of the Budslaŭ icon of Our Lady, with some making the pilgrimage on foot. The Icon, the patroness of Belarusian people, is known for many miracles and Budslaŭ is recognized as the place where, according to legend, Our Lady appeared to believers in July 1588. Elements of the celebration include priests welcoming the pilgrims, masses, a night procession with the Icon and candles, a youth prayer vigil, and hours of prayer to the Mother of God. The tradition is an integral part of the history and culture of the local community of Budslaŭ, with bearers including people of all ages and social statuses. It attracts entire families and believers of all ages, which helps strengthen intergenerational ties. Related knowledge is preserved and transmitted by local inhabitants, who are very proud of the relic; they show pilgrims a warm welcome, inviting them to local homes to share meals with them. Pilgrims visiting Budslaŭ learn all about the local traditional culture, including the ceremony and local traditions such as crafts, customs and cuisine.


Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Missing - Italy - Traditional violin craftsmanship in Cremona

Cremonese violin craftsmanship is highly renowned for its traditional process of fashioning and restoring violins, violas, cellos and contrabasses. Violin-makers attend a specialized school, based on a close teacher-pupil relationship, before being apprenticed in a local workshop, where they continue to master and perfect their techniques – a never-ending process. Each violin-maker constructs from three to six instruments per year, shaping and assembling more than 70 pieces of wood around an inner mould by hand, according to the different acoustic response of each piece. No two violins are alike. Every part of the instrument is made with a specific wood, carefully selected and naturally well seasoned. No semi-industrial or industrial materials are used. Craftsmanship requires a high level of creativity: the craftsperson has to adapt general rules and personal knowledge to every instrument. Cremonese violin-makers are deeply convinced that sharing their knowledge is fundamental to the growth of their craftsmanship, and dialogue with musicians is deemed essential so as to understand their needs. Traditional violin-making is promoted by two violin-makers’ associations, ‘Consorzio Liutai Antonio Stradivari’ and ‘Associazione Liutaria Italiana’, and is considered fundamental to the identity of Cremona, its citizens, and plays a fundamental role in its social and cultural practices, rituals and events.