A living legacy of Alpine culture

Transhumance – a seemingly foreign word. It hovers over the Schnalstal Valley like a gentle whisper. It tells of lively flocks of sheep, of sedentariness and high-altitude pastures between the Ötztal Alps. Of 2-day marches over 44 kilometres. And of a tradition that points deep into the valley’s prehistory.

The tradition of transhumance

In the Schnalstal Valley, as in the Vinschgau Valley, the sheep remain in the care of their owners during the cold season on the steep and barren winter pastures of the farms located on the Sonnenberg or in the stables. In the summer months, however, they are led up over the Niederjoch and Hochjoch and feed on the lush grasses and flowers of the Ötztal high meadows. It’s not an easy ascent over ice fields, water channels and crevasses, which has claimed many a life – and at the same time a magnificent spectacle, accompanied by numerous onlookers. Boundaries that nature knows no bounds.

Transalpine crossing

Transalpine crossings – the high borders in the Alps, these man-made lines, have been crossed since Ötzi’s time over 5,000 years ago, for grazing, trading and smuggling. The Schnalstal Valley farmers have always had grazing rights on the approx. 2,000 hectares of high Alpine pastureland. For high up, at around 2800 metres above sea level, where it seems from below as if pure barrenness is in charge, the mountain meadows bloom in green, yellow and red colours between the old ice and soaked by glacier water. In order to regulate grazing at altitude, a grazing rights contract was concluded between the farmers of Schnals and those of Vent in Ötztal as early as the 14th century. This contract includes grazing rights from mid-June to mid-September and is still valid today.

Cultural heritage of transhumance

Through the Vinschgau district community and the regional management of the Imst region, the cross-border project ‘Cultural Heritage Transhumance Schnalstal-Ötztal’ was brought to life.

Discover the Schnalstal Valley and the Ötztal Valley!

Ecological significance

In addition to its cultural value, transhumance also has an important ecological function. Seasonal grazing promotes biodiversity on the mountain pastures and keeps the soil fertile. The animals help to spread plant seeds and help to keep the landscape open, which in turn reduces the risk of avalanches and erosion.

Two valleys one story

There has been a close connection between the Schnalstal Valley and the Ötztal Valley for over 6000 years, mainly due to the traditional sheep herding across the partly glaciated Jöcher mountains. Until around 1850, large parts of the rear Ötztal valley belonged to South Tyrol, more precisely to the court of Kastelbell or Schlanders. Vent in Ötztal was settled from the south, i.e. from Schnalstal Valley. Over generations, close family, social and cultural relationships developed between the inhabitants of the two valleys as a result of transhumance.