The new additions further enrich the existing diversity of lived traditions in Austria, according to a statement from the Austrian UNESCO Commission, which currently maintains the directory, which currently contains 168 elements.
Tarock-Königrufen is a card game, connected to European and Austrian history, from the Tarock family. It has been played nationwide for more than two centuries and remains widespread today. It impresses with its playful and linguistic variety, strategy and memory training. The inclusion in the directory is “an award for everyone who is committed to tarot playing and the preservation of tarot culture through active playing, organizing tournaments or by passing on their knowledge to those interested,” responded Gerhard Mayr, co-founder of the Linz Tarock Association. Academy pleased.
Every year in Wolkersdorf (Lower Austria) the large tusk flag is carried during the Corpus Christi procession (Executing the tusk flag). Eight people from the Wolkersdorf winegrowers carry the flag, which is seen as the most difficult but most honorable task. The same “tusker boys” and “tusker girls” are entrusted with setting up and pruning the guardian tree. Both practices reflect the town’s close ties to winegrowing, according to UNESCO.
Picture gallery: Glöckler, ceramics, Taschenfeiteln: This is our cultural heritage
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The Pestkerzenumzug in St. Benedikten (Styria) takes place as part of a Corpus Christi service and is held as a field mass. The plague candle is decorated, set up and carried in a procession from one high field altar to the other. This tradition stems from a promise to donate an oversized candle as a thank you for surviving the plague and to take part in a procession once a year.
Ancient craft techniques
Siniweln is the knowledge of round timber block construction with countersunk models (Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg). In addition to various forms of stone masonry, wall constructions in the Alpine region include block constructions made of softwood. This craft technique has been passed down for many generations.
And last but not least, there is now also “Knowledge and practices of farriers” (Austria-wide) on the list. Originally, the art of horse shoeing served people to survive through the use of horses. Nowadays the focus is primarily on the use of horses in sports, culture and leisure activities as well as in animal-assisted therapy.
