Switzerland
15m
Jun 15, 2026
The Cows Come Home: Switzerland's Alpabzug and the Living Ritual of Alpine Life
Every autumn in the Swiss Alps, herds of cows adorned with enormous flower headdresses and ceremonial bells descend from high mountain pastures in a procession that has been made every year for at least a thousand years. This is not a festival put on for tourists. It is a genuine agricultural migration — and the tradition wrapped around it is one of the most complete expressions of mountain civilization anywhere in the world.