Status: 09.03.2022 20:03
Five more traditions are included in the German cultural heritage list. The cider culture, the Trakehner breeding, the paver trade and the Willibaldsritt. The carrier pigeon system made it onto the list at the second attempt.
The artisanal apple wine culture, the Trakehner breed, the Willibaldsritt in Jesenwang and the carrier pigeon system are now part of the intangible cultural heritage in Germany. This was decided by the Conference of Ministers of Culture and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. In addition, the paver and stone setter craft was recognized as a model program for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
“Skills for the management of meadow orchards”
According to UNESCO, cider culture combines skills related to the management of meadow orchards with knowledge and skills of cider production and the associated customs. When breeding the Trakehner type of riding horse, the experts emphasized the specific knowledge and ability of Trakehner horses.
According to the UNESCO Commission, during the annual Willibaldsritt in Jesenwang, Upper Bavaria, hundreds of people ride their horses in a solemn procession through a church.
In the case of the carrier pigeons, UNESCO praised the fact that the Association of German carrier pigeon breeders had opened up a dialogue with animal protection organizations “in order to do more justice to controversial points of the practice”. The carrier pigeon system only managed to get the recording on the second attempt. The first application was rejected in 2018 by the Conference of Ministers of Education. At that time, the selection committee had criticized, among other things, a lack of discussion of social controversies about animal husbandry and use.
Cemetery culture is already one of them
A total of 131 entries in the nationwide directory testified to the diversity of cultural life in Germany. The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage includes living traditions from the fields of dance, theatre, music, oral tradition, natural knowledge and handicraft techniques. In Germany, these include the theater and orchestra landscape, the Oberammergau Passion Play, the cemetery culture or the rifle system.