Intangible heritage

UNESCO defines the intangible culture as practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills that communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

In Slovenia it is usually divided in the following areas:

oral traditions and folk literature (e.g. storytelling)
performances and presentations (theatre e.g. Škofja Loka Passion Play, singing, instrumental music)
customs and habits (seasonal customs e.g. Kurentovanje or Mardi Gras at Cerknica)
knowledge and practices concerning the environment
traditional craftsmanship (e.g. lacemaking from Idrija)
cultural environment

Its safeguarding is based on the UNESCO Convention (2003) and the state law on natural and cultural heritage (2008). It has been coordinated by Institute of Slovene Ethnology and will be eventually enlisted in the national register. This list, however, provides you with some of the ongoing intangible cultural events as well as with the main institutional contacts for your convenience.

Kurentovanje

Kurent or Korant, the most known and popular traditional carnival character in Slovenia, Kurentovanje, Ptuj 2023. Author: Stanko Vozel

The masked rite of spring known as Kurentovanje has been held since 1960, every February for 10 days leading up to Shrove Tuesday. It is the most popular Mardi Gras celebration in Slovenia, with most of the festivities centered in and Ptuj, Slovenia's oldest town, which has hosted Kurentovanje for around six decades. The Carnival was admitted into the European Federation of Carnival Cities in 1991. In 2017, the Door-to-door rounds of the Kurent were inscribed on the UNESCO representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Groups from Germany, Austria, Croatia, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, and Bulgaria usually participate in the event, assisting local people in building up the Land of the Kurent. The rite itself is accompanied by a full agenda of concerts, activities, and other attractions, ensuring that the event is attended by more than 100,000 visitors every year.

Faries at the opening procession, Ptuj 2023. Author: Stanko Vozel

Carnival events for children, Kurentovanje in Ptuj, 2023. Author: Stanko Vozel

Meet traditional carnival characters: the Devil with Kurents, Ptuj 2023. Author: Stanko Vozel

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Upcoming events abroad

28 May 2024

Austria Vienna Institut für Osteuropäische Geschichte Universitätscampus Wien

programme

info

A projection of "Snatched from the Source - Zajeti v izviru: Slovenski otroci Lebensborna", a documentary film about last living Slovenian victims of the Nazi racial experiment: Ingrid von Oelhafen, Hay Henry Hayder, Franc Zagožen, and Ivan Acman. After the projection, there will be a talk with the director Maja Weiss, the writer Nataša Konc Lorenzutti and professor Marija Wakounig from the University of Vienna. In collaboration with Institut für Osteuropäische Geschichte der Universität Wien and Bela Film.