The Lipizzans

World famous white horses

If you look into the beautiful inner courtyard of the Stallburg with its Renaissance arcades, you will probably see a Lipizzan stallion from the Spanish Riding School in his box.

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the oldest riding school in existence. In 2015 it celebrates its 450 year anniversary. It is called “Spanish” because of the breed of horse common to the Iberian Peninsula favoured in the 16th century for classical riding and brought to Vienna for this purpose.

The term “Lipizzan” on the other hand dates back to Archduke Charles II from Inner Austria (1540-1590) who founds the imperial stud farm at Lipica in modern-day Slovenia and imports horses from Spain. The white horses become known simply as ‘Lipizzaner’ and become famous the world over. Since 1920, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Lipizzans have been bred in the stud farm at Piber in Styria.

But the Spanish Riding School has only existed in its modern form since the 19th century; originally it is not a public institution and only provides equestrian training for the Imperial Family.

There are currently 72 Lipizzan stallions housed in the Baroque stables on the ground floor of the Stallburg, which perform in the famous riding demonstrations of the Spanish Riding School.