Cow festivals in Austria at end of summer

Does anyone know anything about the festivals in Austria at the end of summer when the cows are brought down from the mountains? I've heard there are some this month but I couldn't find any websites about where and when exactly. Has anyone been to these before?

never heard of this, but if it exsits sometime i want to take my best friend.

I think there was a thread on here about it before and a few TTers went to it

It's called Viehscheid (I think this is what you're referring to anyway). Here's the previous thread on the subject.

yea thats the one.

Stupid me did a TT search for 'Cows in daft hats'

It's called Almabtrieb (Austria) or Alpabtrieb (Bavaria), or Viehscheid (the procedure after the Almabtrieb when the cows are sorted so each owner gets back his own animals)

Here is a site with dates for Austria, Hopfgarten seems to be one of the biggest (400-500 cows).

I found the following dates for Bavaria (Allgaeu):

Viehscheid in Allgaeu

Have fun!

Thanks everyone! I can't wait!

Now the question is should we wear tracht or not? Are gumboots or boots a wise idea?

A group of us went a couple of years back and it was good fun, although it poured down all day. Quite a few of us were in tracht, but definitely wearing chunky walking boots or similar, because the muddy ground obviously got churned up by all the people and cows. There was a little market on, and of course, a beer tent.

I just got back from Tirol (Gerlos) and because of the snow many cows were already brought down early. The festivals will still happen, but not sure what they will do about the cows already being brought down last week. We do plan to go to one of these.

I took my mum to the little Viehscheid at Kirchberg in Austria on Saturday. It was very... er... rustic.

We had planned to go to the one at Oy, that is until my Bavarian parents-in-law pointed out that the locals down there in the Allgau had cottoned on to a crafty trick: they bring the cows down one Saturday as planned, and then to increase the revenue from the tourists they take the cows back up to the mountain and bring them down a second time the next Saturday. In one town they are planning to do it 3 times next year.

Took my father to the one in Obermaiselstein on Saturday. Twas cool and we may do it again in Gerlos this coming Saturday. Check out the differences and of course the different views.