St Stephen Dairy Cow Parade in September

[Pauline]

On Saturday September 6, the Dairy Cow Parade takes place in St. Stephen, a village in the Bernese Oberland near Lenk. The farmers from the alpine farms decorate their cows with flowers and ribbons and bring them down from the high meadows to the valley. There will be alphorn and yodeling, plus local music groups and food booths.

We are staying nearby in Lenk and will be going to this event. On our walks we have often encountered the cows summering in the Alpine meadows. There is a similar thing where we live, when the cows are released onto Minchinhampton Commons in the spring and taken in again in the fall, but we have never bothered going to it - maybe if they promised yodeling and decorated the cows.

This event is called "Alpabfahrt St. Stephan" in German, which makes me remember how much fun we have with the German language when we are in Switzerland.

I used this photo from 2002 on SlowTrav and it was the most "stolen" of all my photos. Cows in the alpine meadows above Engstlenalp.

 

[Chris]

That's a GREAT photo! I'm looking forward to seeing your photos this year.

 

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Hi Pauline, that is an amazing photo! I'll have to bookmark the Cow Parade. It sounds like such a cool and fun event. Thanks so much for sharing the link. I'm also looking forward to seeing your photos.

 

[Pauline]

We went to the Cow Parade when we were in Lenk in September. I made an PHOTO ALBUM - the Cow Parade.

The festival was held in St Stephan, near Lenk (where we were staying) and celebrated bringing the cows down from their alpine pastures, where they has spent the summer, to their fields in town. Each farming family brings downs its cows in a group. The farmers where traditional costume and the cows are dressed in flower hats.

The cows walk down a lane from the alpine fields and then around the festival grounds, then out onto the road and back to their farm.

Local music (those alpen horns and some great yodeling), food (mostly meat but some cheese - the vegan is out of luck), drink. Booths selling local food and crafts. Pay to enter. Lots of parking. Held mid-day. The festival opened at 11am, but the cows started arriving at noon. We, and others, walked up the lane towards the cows to see them coming down.

 

[Pauline]

A bit more information on Switzerland Cow Parades.

There are several places in Switzerland that have a festival for the Cows Alpine Descent. Read more on myswitzerland.com.

There are also cow ascents, bringing the cows up to the alpine meadows at the start of summer, usually the end of June. There is a festival for the ascent in Adelboden (Bernese Oberland mountain town near Kandersteg, the other side of the mountain from Lenk where we saw the Cow Parade) - Alpaufzug Engstligenalp (read more on ).
500+ cows are taken up a steep mountain trail, to the alpine meadow at Engstligenalp. The procession is called "Alpaufzug". It is an early-morning, 600 meter, climb. Calves are transported by mountain cableway. Read more on myswitzerland.com and the Adelboden tourist site.