The summer spent by the cattle in the mountains traditionally closes with the ‘Almabtrieb’, or ‘Viehscheid’ as it is called in the Allgäu region. After around a hundred days grazing on the Alpine meadows, the yearlings are brought back down into the valleys in September. If all has gone well, the leading cow is elaborately decorated. Whilst all of the cattle are decorated in most parts of Bavaria, only the leading cow, or ‘Kranzkuh’, is decorated with a wreath, the ‘Kranz’, in the Allgäu region. It leads the procession of animals wearing a wreath fashioned from Alpine flowers, and bearing a cross and a mirror. All the other cows wear huge bells to ward off any evil demons the cattle might encounter on their way back down into the valley. Over the years, the various Almabtriebe or Viehscheid have increasingly become popular public events.
The Almabtrieb in the Berchtesgaden National Park which takes place at the beginning of October is unique. The path down from the summer grazing to the winter quarters in and around Schönau is blocked by a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in the shape of the majestic Lake Königssee. There is no road around so the cowherds drive their charges onto purpose built rafts and row them back across the water to Schönau.
