Three-stage economy

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Alpdorf: Vorderhopfreben and Schalzbach pastures , opposite Üntschenspitze ( 2135  m above sea level ), above the tree line the high alpine Schoppernau , Vorarlberg

The three-tier economy is a form of alpine dairy farming in the alpine region , in which the cattle are initially lifted to a medium altitude level and the cattle are not driven up to the high alpine pastures until the end of June . The steps are also known as stafel , this term being a Roman loan word and based on the Latin stabulum u. a. for stable is based.

distribution

The three-stage form of alpine farming is mainly found in the Central Alps , in western Austria , the Bavarian Alps , South Tyrol and Trentino , in the Swiss Alps and the French high Alps , where there are narrow valley settlements with wide high-montane meadows.

procedure

The farmers in the alpine regions followed the fodder with their cattle. That means they changed from one stable to another several times a year.

Level one

The first stage concerns the home estate in the valley, which could be cultivated from spring to autumn and is intended to provide supplies for the winter. The associated alpine regions are called Niederalm or Niederleger , the cattle can be stabled in the yard.

Almabtrieb , return of the cattle to the valley towns ( Kufstein , Tyrol)
 Low / valley
hill country - / low mountain range collin
/ submontane
ecumenical movement

Stage two

The Vorsäß or Maisäß , Unterstafel (alemann.), Mittelalm (bair.), Niederleger (tir.) Are located at about 1,500 meters above sea level, about two hours' walk above the permanent settlements: If the feed stocks run out in the valley, the cattle are driven ( Cattle, horses, sheep, goats) on the Maisäß for about three to four weeks around the beginning of June.

Even after the high alpine pastures are over, grazing is still possible on the Vorsäß until the actual cattle drive takes place and the cattle then finally find winter quarters in the valley.

Vorsäß in Seewald near Fontanella , Vorarlberg
 Middle position
mountain level ( Montanstufe )
submontane / montane
subökumene

Stage three

In June, the cattle are brought from the mountain pasture to the Hochalpe / Hochalm, Oberleger, Oberstafel at altitudes of around 1600 to 2000 meters, with the third stage being reached. During the alpine season (also summer dawn ), the meadows on the Maisäß are partly mowed, in alpine locations also by wild hay . The cattle returned to the Maisäß from mid-September to mid-October.

Engstligenalp , Canton of Bern
High altitude high mountain level
subalpine / alpine
anecumene

This form of management worked for centuries and was only limited by the fact that many people had to do their livelihood outside of the valley in the warm season, leaving mainly the female population behind.

Change in the 20th century

A profound change took place in the 20th century: On the one hand, agriculture was to steadily and statistically clearly lost in importance due to new branches of business that offered themselves in the use of hydropower and in the emerging tourism. In some areas of Switzerland, for example in central Switzerland , in Graubünden and in the western Bernese Oberland , this change was less pronounced and the alpine economy still plays an economic and cultural role to this day and also makes a significant contribution to the maintenance of the landscape.

On the other hand, agriculture itself also went through a fundamental change, which within a very short time brought a huge surge in technology combined with time savings and shortening of the distances. Less agriculture means that the agricultural goods of the valley and those of the Alps are sufficient. The technological push and the shortening of the routes means that the still existing Maisäß cultivation can be carried out from the valley.

Until the traffic engineering of the Maisäß areas was opened up, the milk was processed into butter and cheese on the spot, which can still be proven in many places through inventory and can still be found today.

Regional

Austria

In Austria there are about 2000 Niederalmen, 4500 Mittelalmen and 2400 Hochalmen (survey of the Almkataster 2007). There are clear regional differences: The three-tier economy - often with a fourth tier - is only pronounced in the inner Alps , while a reduced two- tier form predominates in the peripheral alps due to the lack of altitude, but also because of permanent settlement that extends further up in the southern alpine area. In Tyrol, which lies entirely in the Inner Alps, the ratio of low: middle: high alpine pastures is about 1: 3: 3, which shows that many farms do not have designated low alpine pastures, but consistently both mountain forms, while in Carinthia with no high altitude The Lower Tauern and the barreness of the Southern Limestone Alps are dominated by medium-high elevations 1: 7: 4, as well as in Vorarlberg with its culture of the mountain pastures (solid alpine villages) 2: 5: 2, and in Salzburg, where with the differences between the foothills of the Alps, limestone, slate and the Central Alps, the national average is 1: 2: 1. In Styria, on the south-eastern edge of the Alps and in Upper Austria, which mainly has a share in the northern foothills of the Alps , the ratio is 3: 3: 1 and 17: 8: 1, i.e. a low-level economy dominates, whereby there are almost no milking trees (under 10 %), most of the alpine pastures are used for young cattle as part of the Schwaigwirtschaft .

Structure of the alpine pastures 2007
Number of alpine pastures Ktn Lower Austria Upper Austria Sbg Styria Tir Vlbg AT total
Number of alpine pastures 2.010 81 210 1,816 2,034 2.163 596 8,910
including Niederalmen 177 50 138 421 821 347 132 2,086
Mittelalmen 1,168 29 64 948 915 994 321 4,439
High alpine pastures 665 2 8th 447 298 822 143 2,385
thereof milking trees in total 176 3 11 546 149 1,248 413 2,546
In Burgenland and in Vienna there are no pastures
Source: 2008 Green Report

Since 2011, the three-tier economy in the Bregenz Forest has been part of the intangible cultural heritage , as declared by UNESCO, on the Austria list (national cultural asset) . It is characterized by its special independence within Austria (the origin of this form goes back to the Swiss Walser ), and is still relatively well anchored there in everyday life.

literature

media

  • Uphill, downhill . Documentary, Hans Haldimann, CH 2008 - about a three-tier farm in the canton of Uri

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ortsnames.ch, entry Stafel (SZ) , accessed on December 16, 2018
  2. ↑ Article Stāfel in: Schweizerisches Idiotikon Vol. 10, Sp. 1394 ( digitized version ).
  3. ↑ a b Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Department II 5 (Ed.): Green Report 2008 . Vienna 2008, OCLC 613625769 , Structure of the Almen. Number, areas and aged cattle in 2007, Table 3.1.16 .
  4. ↑ Three-stage agriculture in the Bregenzerwald . Directory of the intangible cultural heritage in Austria , nationalagentur.unesco.at