AUSTRIA ~ Almabtrieb festival - Tyrol - UNESCO ~

... And as last Austrian holiday postcard😊 colorful decorated cattle🐄... the cattle procession "Almabtrieb" is an old tradition and is celebrated every year in the Alpine region of Austria... when it's summer, the Austrian mountain cows stay high up in the mountains... but when fall starts, the farmers bring them down to their homes in the valley where they'll spend winter... they each get a “Bischl” or head decoration as well as an Austrian cowbell... the headgear is made out of evergreen and flowers found in the Alpine meadows, combined with colourful ribbons, glitter, and mirrors...  the clanging of the cowbells are essential to keeping the bad demons away on their way down into the valley... they walk with them for several hours to reach their home, where they're welcomed by the entire village... Big Thanks once more Dustin for thinking of me while on holiday! (✿ ♥‿♥)

The cattle drives of the cows in Austria take place around the end of September but not all on the same date. It's the farmers who decide when they'll organize their cattle drive.

It takes months to prepare all the headpieces each year and sometimes new ones are made as well – all by hand. While the decorations are ready, they haven't been coupled with their carriers yet and it takes quite a while before the farmer and his helpers have decided which cow will wear which headpiece and which alpine cowbell.That decision is based on the weight of the decoration and the strength of the cow. The little ones get a small bell and a very light headpiece, while the strongest cows get the biggest and heaviest decorations.

Transhumance, the seasonal droving of livestock along migratory routes in the Mediterranean and in the Alps are on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists

 Stamps: 

The 500th Anniversary of the Postal Treaty

(Issued 02-04-2016)

Maria Theresia

(Issued 08-10-2010)