Berchtesgaden cat

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The Berchtesgaden cat was a domestic animal breed , on the pastures of the first fürstpröpstlich ruled country Berchtesgaden and later in Bavaria risen Berchtesgaden country was bred.

Appearance, performance and inventory

This breed of cattle was characterized by a small figure and particularly good surefootedness, which they benefited from on the sometimes very steep mountain slopes and narrow slopes within the Berchtesgadener Land. But already the historian and Salzburg government councilor Joseph Ernst von Koch-Sternfeld described this breed of cattle as a "low-milk, unsightly breed". With a weight of 5 to 6 quintals, although well adapted for the impassable alpine terrain, the milk yield of this cattle breed was neither quantitatively nor qualitatively satisfactory and was no longer competitive with the newly bred breeds that were about twice as heavy as early as the middle of the 19th century.

So far it is not known from when the Berchtesgaden cats were bred, nor since when they became extinct or in other breeds - e.g. B. the Pinzgauer cattle , which was first described as a breed in 1846 - rose. At best, the available sources allow assumptions for a period between the mid-19th century and the 1950s at the latest.

Historical framework

The geological and morphological conditions in Berchtesgaden always allowed only low yields in agriculture - and here most likely with livestock. But even this did not completely cover the supply of the country, so that at all times larger amounts of cattle had to be imported.

An early 19th century in all Berchtesgaden Gnotschaften performed livestock census (but without disclosing calves) gave 5445 cows, 2500 GALT and beef cattle, 247 horses, 1,090 sheep and (estimated) 300 goats, 400 goats and 500 pigs. At that time, the Berchtesgadener Almwirtschaft was "not at a very high level". This emerges clearly from an expert opinion that was prepared in 1806 in order to identify the previous ban on the sale of Alm shares to non-Berchtesgaden residents as not justified. It emphasizes: "The Berchtesgaden alpine pasture would do very well with more modern methods that might be introduced by strangers." On the one hand, the unfavorable natural conditions, but on the other hand, the "wrong terms of the farmer" had a part in the mismanagement. The Berchtesgaden farmers drove their cattle to the alpine pastures immediately after the winter break, paying attention only to the number and not to the quality of the animals. Because the advantage of the “spicier alpine pasture” had many “disadvantages such as B. the long distances, the steep inclines, the bad water and the temperature fluctuations ”. Therefore, with regard to the quality of the milk products and the use of the fertilizer, it would have made much more sense to "keep four large, well-fed cows in the barn than 16 small 'miserable' cows on the mountain pasture". But the willingness to make changes in alpine farming was “very low” in the Berchtesgadener Land at the time. Whether this was mainly due to the unsatisfactory ownership structure or the “extremely conservative attitude of the Berchtesgaden farmers” cannot be clearly proven - but “both factors probably play a major role”. From the middle of the 19th century, however, there was an extensive retreat of alpine farming from the high-lying areas and areas furthest away from the settlements. Last but not least, the increasing development of tourism, which soon became far more profitable for the region , may have played a role here.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Wemer in Louis Carlen, Gabriel Imboden (ed.): Alpe - Alm. On the cultural history of the alpine world in modern times . Research institute for the history of the Alpine region. Rotten Verlag, Brig 1994, p. 70.
  2. ↑ a b See Walter Brugger , Heinz Dopsch , Peter F. Kramml: History of Berchtesgaden - Stift-Markt-Land , Volume II, From the beginning of the Wittelsbach administration to the transition to Bavaria in 1810 , part Politics – Society – Economy – Law . Pp. 513-520. Verlag Anton Plenk, Berchtesgaden 1993. ISBN 3-922590-78-0
  3. ↑ Joseph Ernst von Koch-Sternfeld , Salzburg and Berchtesgaden in historical, statistical, geographical and state-economic contributions , Salzburg 1810, p. 102 cited in History of Berchtesgaden - Stift-Markt-Land , Volume II
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Klaus Fehn: Alpine pastures and Alpine farming in the Berchtesgadener Land from the Middle Ages to the present in the magazine for agricultural history and agricultural sociology, year 16. DLG-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1968. pp. 51-54. ISSN  0044-2194
  5. ↑ Mountaineering, of course, DAV ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Environmental education hiking leader DAV - WL1: Alpine cultural landscape . See section on page 15 below: “Typical breeds of cattle such as B. the Tuxer cattle or the Berchtesgadener cat, which were adapted to the difficult environmental conditions of the high alpine region (resistance, thanksgiving for food), have since died out because they did not provide enough milk. "Ed. By DAV Bundeslehrteam Naturschutz, 01-2011, PDF - file @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sac-cas.ch
  6. ↑ This information is based on the conscription of 1808, supplemented by descriptions of cattle and insider knowledge previously carried out, see Joseph Ernst von Koch-Sternfeld, Salzburg and Berchtesgaden in historical, statistical, geographical and state economic supplements , Salzburg 1810, p. 93 cited in History of Berchtesgaden - Stift-Markt-Land , Volume II
  7. ↑ See quote 35 from Klaus Fehn: State Archives for Upper Bavaria, Hochstiftsliteralien 5, Fasz. 1, Akt 13.