2023-10-05 11:27:32
As a journalist, I have traveled extensively and visited many countries with magnificent mountains, myself coming from a country with prominent mountains, and with ancestral traditions. The desalp means the descent of the cows. This ancestral tradition has transformed over the past 32 years into a major popular festival.
This fall, I participated in Saint-Cergue. I had to choose a festival, because it takes place at the same time in all the cantons of Switzerland.
Thousands of visitors: a sumptuous spectacle
According to the road map, the journey from Geneva to Saint-Cergue was 35 minutes, but it took more than an hour. Ten kilometers before the village there was a huge traffic jam, as thousands of visitors from all over wanted to take part. There were so many outside visitors that the village hall had to organize a large parking lot more than 15 kilometers from Saint-Cergue, with a shuttle bus to the village. The heat of the last day of September was strong. Some impatient people did not want to wait for the shuttle and headed towards the village through the forest. All this was spectacular because of the sumptuousness of the desalps.
A little history
Saint-Cergue is a Swiss commune in the canton of Vaud, surrounded by mountains and forests with its 2,800 inhabitants. In 1798, Saint-Cergue came under the domination of Napoleonic France, then in 1803 became a commune of the new Canton of Vaud. A gentleman dressed in traditional costume proudly told me that in 1733 Jean-Jacques Rousseau passed through the center of the village and that since then, this square and the main street have been named after him. As in all Swiss villages, serenity and peace reigned in Saint-Cergue. And nature was so beautiful.
A demonstration reminiscent of Soviet parades
During the desalp, the herd of cows crossed the center of the village three times, accompanied by shepherds and farmers. These were the moments I was waiting for. All the cows were decorated with flowers and their most beautiful bells… The young shepherds, girls and boys, carefully kept the line and the distance between the cows. And behind, the artists played national instruments and sang “Le ranz des vaches”.
This image reminds me of Soviet parades when I was young. All factory and factory workers, civil servants, peasants, students and schoolchildren passed through the city square holding flowers in their hands. After the fall of the USSR, everything stopped as if the water had been cut off. Since then, not only the cows, but even the people no longer hold festive events like here. So with this tradition, the Swiss show the world how to breed with quality and care. The Swiss also heavily advertise dairy products and Swiss cheese. Alpine descent events take place throughout Switzerland and attract thousands of tourists.
After a day of emotions on the mountain pastures, the idea was born of doing a similar event in my country in Kyrgyzstan thanks to my association “Alpalatoo“. This was created to create cultural links between Central Asia and Switzerland. It works with bilateral projects between continents.
Further reading:
Geneva celebrates National Day along the water
What to do in Switzerland during your vacation this summer? I.Lugano
Photo credits: Zhenishbek Edigeev
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