The cattle calendar
63 cattle fairs, festivals, pasture days, races and shows of the year, with the breeds at the centre of each. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
May 2027
1 May 2027Beltane and the cattle firesThe Gaelic first of May, when herds were driven between two fires before going up to the summer pastures.
about 23 May 2027Fête de la transhumance on the AubracOn the Sunday nearest 25 May, decorated Aubrac cows walk up to the summer pastures of the plateau, with villages lining the way.
September 2027
11 Sept 2027Viehscheid in Bad HindelangOn 11 September, about a thousand cattle come down from five alps to Bad Hindelang in the Allgäu and are handed back to their owners.
about 15 Sept to 14 Oct 2027AlmabtriebFrom mid-September, herds in Tyrol, Salzburg and Bavaria come down from the alm in decorated processions.
about 17 to 19 Sept 2027Cure Salée at In-GallAt the end of the rains, Tuareg and Wodaabe herders bring their cattle to the salt pools near In-Gall, in northern Niger.
about 25 Sept 2027DésalpeAt the end of September, cows of the Swiss Romande come down from the alpage wearing flowers and great bells, to village festivals.Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cure Salee: NigerTZai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dewgal Diafarabe: Jacques Taberlet, CC BY 3.0, source
- Beltane Cattle Fires: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aubrac Transhumance: Lecybersurfeur at French Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Alpaufzug: CamDib, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Viehscheid Bad Hindelang: -- Xocolatl 22:29, 10 September 2006 (UTC), Public domain, source
- Desalpe: Caumasee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Almabtrieb: Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and if, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta Trashumancia Madrid: Diotime, Public domain, source