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Reap the Benefits of the Alpine Pasture: When the Dairy Becomes Sensory
Something very special has evolved where man and beast have been spending the summers amidst lush nature for centuries: an environment bursting with energy. Valuable and healthy – for the soul and the senses.
What’s so special up there for our physical and mental well-being? It’s the return to the original, the simple, the reduced. We are surrounded by clean air, clear light, and carefree ease. The fragrances of the meadows, trees, and herbs fill every breath. The tranquillity is accompanied by cowbells, the burbling of a stream or a gust of wind. The splendour of colours from grass green to sky blue delights the eye every second that we are away from the hectic pace of everyday life.
Tales From the Pasture
If you speak to people who have spent a certain amount of time on the alpine pasture, you quickly realise it’s this special high, triggered by the pure, the authentic, the reduced, that characterises alpine life. A dairymaid, alpine hoteliers, and a hiker reveal which lessons can be learned for life on the pasture.
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I Don’t Need Anything on the Pasture and Have Everything
Daniela Nuber: Dairymaid for a Summer
"Every time I’ve been to the mountains I’ve felt the desire to just stay up there and not go back down into the valley. That was the reason why I quit my job one day to spend the summer working on the alpine pasture. What was the best thing about it? It was the little moments and the big picture. I don’t need anything up here and have everything. On the pasture, we are close to the animals, nature, the weather, and the mountains with all our senses. I love sitting on the wooden bench in the morning sun with a coffee, watching the animals graze and listening to the cowbells. The pasture teaches us that we need far fewer material possessions than we think to be happy."
Daniela Nuber has documented her experiences in her book "Mein Almsommer" (My Summer on the Alpine Pasture) and on her blog (German only).
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The Pierer Family: Alpine Hoteliers With All Their Heart
"The space, fresh air, nature with all its incredible facets: we want to show our guests how beautiful it is on the alpine pasture and how healing, relaxing, and comforting time out in nature can be. From hiking along Moor Nature Trail to watching the sun rise from the Hochlantsch, it’s the encounters that make the experience so special. When you come across a wild animal, you realise just how close you are to nature. We are very luck to live in a place that is surrounded by green meadows, wild herbs, and pristine forests. We humans often forget that the good is so close by and looking out across the seemingly endless mountain world makes challenges seem ever further away."
The Pierer Family runs the Almwellness Hotel Pierer on the Teichalm in Styria.
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Pia Matkovits: A Passion for Hiking
"The mountains are my retreat. They put everyday problems into perspective. When I hike from hut to hut, I can enjoy the moment – without my phone, without stress. There is a wooden bench in front of the door on almost every alpine pasture – and that’s my favourite spot. From here you can absorb it all: the view of the alpine meadow and the animals, the sound of the bubbling spring, the delicious smells from the kitchen, the people who come and go. The Austrian Alps are not just an impressive natural landscape, they are also a true cultural landscape, which we must preserve. That is why I like to do my bit and regularly help with the maintenance of the alpine pastures."
Pia Matkovits is a student in Salzburg and Vienna. In her free time, hiking is her greatest passion.
The Alpine Pasture: An Interplay Between Man, Beast, and Nature
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Venetalm media_content.tooltip.skippedThe onset of spring depends on the harshness of winter on the alpine pasture. It is not until the spring sun has melted the snow that the first herbs, grasses, and meadow flowers can make an appearance. After long winters this can be much later than the beginning of spring on 20th March.
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Frauenalpe near Murau media_content.tooltip.skippedThe herdsmen accompany the animals up the mountain for the summer, to the lower pastures (up to 1,300 m), middle pastures (up to 1,700 m), and high alpine pastures (up to more than 2,000 m).
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Mountain pasture experience day Millstätterseemedia_content.tooltip.skippedThe animals’ grazing period depends on the altitude. Where it is an average of 120 days on the lower pastures, this is reduced to 110 days on the middle pastures and 90 to 75 days on the high alpine pastures.
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Alpine dairy Stutzalpe media_content.tooltip.skippedThe day usually starts before 5 am on the alpine pasture, with sunrise being the real alarm clock. Then it’s time to see to the animals, milk the cows, and muck out the barn. Things are meant to quieten down when the cattle go out onto the pasture to graze, although the reality is that there is cheese to be made, guests to cater for or laundry to be done before the animals have to be milked again in the evening.
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Medicine From Nature
Univ.-Doz. Dr. Arnulf Hartl, Head of the Institute for Ecomedicine at the Paracelsus Medical Private University in Salzburg, and his team are researching the health benefits of a stay on the alpine pasture. "There is an incredibly high level of biodiversity and a diverse microbiome on the alpine pasture. We know that children who live on a farm are less prone to asthma and allergies", says Dr. Hartl.
But how come children who grow up on farms and alpine pastures develop better immune defences? The answer is simple, Dr. Hartl explains: "Our immune system needs to be exposed to a variety of bacteria – particularly in childhood – to develop and work properly against harmful invaders. If this doesn’t happen then it can turn on false enemies, which can result in allergies and autoimmune diseases."
There’s a Herb for Everything
The special herbs on the alpine pasture have equally special names: alpine sorrel, motherwort, Speik, yarrow, arnica, gentian or houseleek. Beautiful to look at nowadays and put to good use in earlier times.
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Arnica on an alpine meadow in the Lake Millstättersee region media_content.tooltip.skippedWith its yellow flower heads and strong scent, arnica is used in many ways. Here and there you will see a bunch of arnicas tucked under the roof of a hut or behind a crucifix, to spare those who live there from lightning. Elsewhere, the ground leaves were mixed with snuff. But arnica is best known for its use as an antiseptic.
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Eyebright and peppermint in the Gastein Valley Gasteinertalmedia_content.tooltip.skippedThe eyebright plant with its small white flowers is particularly common on alpine pastures that are low in nutrients, earning itself the name "milk thief" from the farmers. It has a different reputation when it comes to traditional medicine: a cool compress is said to reduce inflammation of the eyelids and conjunctiva. And Kneipp valued it as an important ingredient for digestive bitters.
Authors: Corinna Meyer, Laura Elsayed, Monika Plank
with help from Kurt Stelzer
