Transhumance in the Alps

Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer (German Alpwirtschaft, Almwirtschaft from the term for "seasonal mountain pasture", Alp, Alm). Transhumance is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2,000 m (6,600 ft) would be forests. While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal migration to high pastures is still practiced in Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland, except in their most frequented tourist centers. In some places, cattle are taken care of by local farmer families who move to higher places. In others, this job is for herdsmen who are employees of the cooperative owning the pastures.

Most Alpine pastures are below 2,400 m (7,900 ft); all are below 2,800 m (9,200 ft). The higher regions not suitable for transhumance are known as the High Alps.

The German word Alp or Alm (meaning "seasonal mountain pasture", from Old High German ) is originally identical to the name of the Alps (German Alpen) itself, probably a pre-Roman (and possibly pre-Indo-European) term for "mountain". In French, the corresponding word for "alpine pasture" is alpage.

Evidence survives of a transhumance economy in the Alps dating to the later Neolithic period (c. 3000 BCE). with evidence for pastures above the treeline reported for the Bronze Age (17th to 11th centuries BCE) in the Northern Limestone Alps.

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