Alpejskie pastwiska są zlokalizowane ponad linią drzew i wykorzystywane tylko latem. Bez wykorzystywania gór byłoby prawie niemożliwe utrzymać doliny i zgromadzić zapasy na zimę. Obecnie ok. 1/3 obszaru Szwajcarii podporządkowana rolnictwu to tereny alpejskie. Ok. 500 000 szt. bydła, włączając cielaki - 1/3 stad kraju - spędza ok. 100 dni w górach. Zajmuje się nimi ok 17 000 alpejskich pasterzy i pasterek.
Alpine herding and farming
The herdsmen and women on the Alps in the summer are mainly responsible for looking after the cattle belonging to the
farmers. Their job is to drive the cattle to pasture, milk them twice a day and make cheese. At the end of September, the cows and cowherds return back to the valley. If the whole valley farm moves up into the Alps in summer, then it is referred to as an
Alpine farm. Typical of this economic system are the
Alpine villages, which make social life possible. Life on an Alp is marked by hard work and little comfort – as well as by memorable experiences and exposure to spectacular natural beauty.
Alpine ascent and descent of the cattle
Even before the start of the summer, the herdsmen and women dressed in traditional costumes move the elaborately decorated animals up from the valley farms while being admired by many
onlookers and
folklore fans. The cattle are driven back down into the valleys in the autumn. Once again, the festive procession of costumed herdspeople and decorated animals attracts thousands of spectators and culminates in various
festivities.
Call to prayer and Alpine blessing
In many parts of the Catholic Alpine regions, especially in German-speaking Switzerland, the old herdsmen’s prayer, the "Bättruf" (call to prayer) or "Alpsäge" (Alpine blessing) is offered up in the evening after work. It is a unanimous, unaccompanied
chant in a High German coloured by the use of a local dialect. The hands are held over the mouth like a funnel or a wooden milk funnel is used. In this manner, a call is made to all four directions of the compass to Mary and the
patron saints and protection requested for all living beings and all possessions on the Alp. As a supposedly pagan blessing of the cattle, the Betruf was officially banned by the Lucerne government in 1609. Only later, a Jesuit priest, Johann Baptist Dillier (1668-1745), reinterpreted this ancient cattle-related invocation into a Christian one by, among other things, converting the form of the call from "Loba" (for calling on the cows) into "God be praised" and creating from the "cattle blessing" a Christian context.
Alpine carnival
The completion of the Alpine summer is widely celebrated with a carnival (Älplerchilbi) - a centuries-old tradition that brings together the farmers after a rich Alpine summer to
give thanks to God for the gifts received and then to
enjoy a time of eating, music and dance. The form varies depending on the size of the locality and on the local traditions. Especially in the area around the Rigi (Central Switzerland) the 20th century saw the introduction of variations to these festivals with a focus on
street parades, and thus on the (re)presentation of Alpine life and traditions in general. Here they are called "
Sennenchilbi" (herdsmen’s festivals) and each time attract a nationwide audience of up to thirty thousand visitors.
Staying on an Alp
City-dwellers often come and stay in the mountains, and the dream of fresh air, unspoilt mountain scenery, and distance from everyday urban stresses attracts people such as lawyers, teachers, doctors and artists to come and watch over the cattle in summer. There are other ways to get to experience the Alpine lifestyle too: Some Alpine farms offer
guided tours for tourists including visits to
show dairies and other guests may help with the milking, mucking out or fence repairing. Some mountain huts can be rented for
holidays.
