A few pictures featuring the objects in my last Silent Sunday being put to good use… I took them on a quick trip across the border to Austria at the weekend whilst witnessing a Viehscheid – a festival that takes place at this time of year, both here and in parts of Germany and Switzerland too. Traditionally held to celebrate the cows coming back down to lower ground after spending the summer months high in alpine pastures, and before winter sets in. It’s yet another excuse to dig out your Sunday Best (alpine style obviously), drink plenty of beer, and generally make merry by the looks of things…
Touchingly, towns and villages will not hold a Viehscheid if something untoward happens to one of the cows out at pasture, but if they are all safe and well at the end of the season, then it’s full steam ahead!
The cows are bedecked for their special day in beautiful floral decorations and huge ornamental bells, and are led down from the hills and through the streets by herders. The best cow, the Kranzkuh sports a special headdress, complete with what looked like a bike mirror to deflect evil spirits. Once the main procession has happened, they are then taken to an area where they are separated and handed back to their owners (viehschied literally means separating the cows)…
And these things can be quite noisy affairs – those bells don’t half make a racket on even just a few cows, and some of the bigger festivals feature hundreds. This one was a small and sweet affair with around 50 animals, but it was still a sight to behold. It felt like a privilege to watch, especially as there weren’t many tourists at this particular celebration. Some villages have taken to keeping their Veihscheids a secret to keep the crowds at bay, and I can’t say I blame them… But if you do see one advertised for all and sundry to enjoy, make sure you go – it’s something you won’t forget in a hurry I promise!…
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
We have lots of cow bells round here too but no lederhosen (?sp). I do love to see these quirky local traditions being upheld.
Thanks Mary, it’s probably far too hot where you are for leather trousers! :D
A great description of a traditional event that as you say was a priviledge to witness and stunning photographs to illustrate it. x
Thanks Mum, it was definitely different! :) x
Third picture down – that is one mighty cow-bell. Is it very heavy do you think?
Well, apparently they are made out of hammered sheet metal nowadays so they aren’t as heavy as they look, which I am sure the cows are much happier about! :)
Oh, so neat! I’ve never seen a Viehscheid in person, but have seen lots of photo and video – so jealous! Racking my brains now to remember one I heard about – maybe in der Schweiz, Genfer See, not sure – where the cows are brought down the mountain and across the lake on boats and rafts – that’s another one I’d love to see!
Wow, that sounds pretty incredible! You wait until you see my next post… I think you might laugh at the picture! :D
i just love the culture and the event looks marvelous how lucky to see something to extra ordinary, plus that stunning countryside just makes me want to break out and sing “The Hills are alive with the sound of cow bells”
Thanks Helen! We were staying in the area and the apartment owner mentioned to us that this was taking place and we should take a look… It was nice to see something so unique! :)
These Europeans are craaaaaaaazy (again!) , I would love to see it though.
Of course, aren’t we all :D I think the one with hundreds of cows must be really amazing, but I expect a lot more tourists would be at that one!
Fabulous photo and another event steeped in culture. Magical. Love the flowers on that cow’s head!
xx Jazzy
Thank you Jazzy… A lot of hard work had gone into their headdresses :) xx
When I was little we used to have some cow bells hanging up in the hall. I had forgotten all about them until I read this post. I used to love to walk past and set them clanging: they were a set of bells, going from largest to smallest, top to bottom. I must ask Mum where they are now and where on earth she got them from in the first place!
How funny! Do ask her, it would be interesting to hear where they came from! My Grandparents have a giant one that I think came from Switzerland many moons ago :)
I nearly thought it was German…but as soon as you said Alps.. Why are the bells so big and heavy on some cows?
Aha, but we have Bavarian Alps too :) The bells are huge aren’t they? I don’t think they are as heavy as they look though, they are made from very thin sheet metal which apparently means that they don’t sound as nice as they used to when they were probably much heavier years ago, but I don’t think anyone minds that! :)
Having grown up on a dairy farm I really love this celebration! I wish we still had the farm so we could have one ourselves! x
That would have been nice! Thanks Emma :)
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