450 years - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2015 - 80 Euro Cent

Without doubt, 2015 is a very special year for the Spanish Riding School. The world-famous institution is celebrating its 450th birthday this year. In September 1565 a document was issued in which "for the erection of Thumblplatzes in the garden at the Purgkh alhie '" an amount of one hundred guilders is called. This open riding and tournament track in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna Hofburg was the precursor of the Spanish Riding School. The latter is today the only institution in the world, where the classical horsemanship in the Renaissance tradition of the "High School" lives for 450 years and is maintained unchanged. The tradition of training and equitation is based on the teachings of the Greek general Xenophon around 400 BC , Back. Even today, through oral tradition, this knowledge is passed on from the experienced supervisor to the younger generation. A good rider is one who can train horses and as a teacher can also convey his knowledge. Thus, the quality is maintained and preserves the Riding School as a unique cultural heritage with a living tradition, for which this institution enjoys world renown. The Lipizzans themselves are of course one of the world's most important cultural "goods", because this oldest cultural horse breed in Europe can over 400 years of breeding history look back. Archduke Karl II founded the Hofgestüt am Karst in 1580 near the village of Lipica in present-day Slovenia; In the following centuries, the other Habsburg rulers of Spanish-born horses then bred a breed that perfectly corresponded to the ideal of the Baroque court. On the occasion of the jubilee year, numerous glittering festivals will take place in 2015. The absolute highlight is an elegant riding demonstration at the end of June at the Heldenplatz square in the center of Vienna in front of the well-known presidential chancellery.