Every Monday of the Federal Fast is the day when the sheep return to the village of Bellegarde, in the Friborg canton, to be sold following having spent a few months in the pasture.
A true living tradition, the sheep fair and the Jaun desalpe (Bellegarde) – or Schafscheid in German – are held in the only German-speaking town in the Gruyère district.
This event is the 428th of the name. It returned this Monday in its traditional form with around fifty stands, musical entertainment and of course herds.
For more than four centuries, the fair has symbolized the end of the alpine season for the sheep and their return to the “plain”.
Alpine herds traditionally brought together sheep belonging to different breeders. The event was then organized on the day of the desalpe so that the sheep would be returned to their owner.
Sheep were also the subject of a market. Today, in the street-village of just over 600 inhabitants, the fair has become an unmissable event in the Jogne valley (Jauntal).
The inhabitants, the herdsmen and the visitors rush each year, on the Monday of the Federal Fast, to attend this event.
Beginning at 9 am, the day dedicated to the autumn fair ended with traditional dances to be admired or practiced in the public establishments of Jaun.
