For the very first time in its history, Slovakia has joined several other countries, i.e. the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and Austria, for a common nomination of the so-called blueprint to the list of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The proposal was submitted by Austria. The Slovak part of the nomination was secured by the Traditional folk culture centre.
"The blueprint is a fabric dyed in blue by indigo and decorated by printing patterns thanks to a so called "reserve" which is a mix preventing colouring the fabric in the place of the décor," explained the Slovak Culture Ministry. In Slovak tradition, the blueprint was significantly used in decorating fabrics. It was brought to this territory from the Netherlands and Germany in the 18th century and became popular with town-dwellers. In the 19th century, it got to folk costumes and textiles.
The blueprint was enlisted into the Representative list of intangible cultural heritage of Slovakia back in 2015. The international nomination will be decided upon by the evaluating body which will present the report on accepting or not accepting this item to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The vote on this proposal will be held at the end of the year 2018.
