Pure race espagnole
By the 16th century, when the Habsburgs ruled both Spain and Austria, a powerful but agile horse was desired both for military uses and for use in the fashionable and rapidly growing riding schools for the nobility of central Europe. Therefore, in 1562, the Habsburg Emperor Maximillian II brought the Spanish Andalusian horse to Austria and founded the court stud at Kladrub. In 1580, his brother, Archduke Charles II, ruler of Inner Austria, established a similar stud at Lipizza (now Lipica), located in modern-day Slovenia, from which the breed obtained its name. When the stud farm was established, Lipizza was located within the municipal limits of Trieste, an autonomous city under Habsburg sovereignty. The name of the village itself derives from the Slovene word "lipa", meaning "linden tree."