“It’s about our tradition”
Culture clash over the cowbell: How two couples from the city shake up a village in the Swiss Alps
Cow with a bell in front of the Swiss Alpine panorama: In June, the residents of Aarwangen will vote on the ringing of bells in the village.
© imagebroker / Imago Images
In the Swiss Alps, the tinkling of cowbells is part of the idyll for many people. However, some newcomers are bothered by the background noise. A real culture war has broken out in the village of Aarwangen.
Cows marching across the pastures with their gently tinkling bells are as much a part of Switzerland’s image as holes in cheese. But just as the holes are threatened because of modern milking technology, modern life is also increasingly making it difficult for cows to tinkle. In the municipality of Aarwangen in central Switzerland, traditionalists do not want to accept this.
If they had known what they would trigger with their complaint, they might have left it alone: because they were away from the “noise” of the… Feeling disturbed by cowbells, two couples from Aarwangen wanted to ensure that the approximately 15 cows that graze near their homes were no longer allowed to wear bells at night.
Aarwangers should vote on the ringing of bells
Aarwangen’s mayor Niklaus Lundsgaard-Hansen told the AFP news agency that he was quite surprised by the complaint. Even though he lives near the affected pasture, he was not aware “that cows make a lot of noise.” Only now did he know that people could feel disturbed by the tinkling
The reaction to the advance of the two noise-sensitive couples was violent. A counter-initiative to protect the nightly ringing of cowbells has been launched, which aims to put this issue to the local population for a vote. For the initiative to be successful, the support of ten percent of those eligible to vote in Aarwangen, around 380 of the approximately 4,800 residents, would have been enough. In fact, 1099 signatures were collected. “That’s huge,” says Lundsgaard-Hansen. The vote on cowbell ringing is now expected to take place in June.
GPS trackers replace cowbells
Cowbells were once used to find animals on the mountain pastures, but today there are GPS trackers for this purpose. But few want to miss out on the symbol of idyllic country life. Last Wednesday, UNESCO added the alpine season – the centuries-old tradition of driving cattle to high pastures for the summer, accompanied by numerous rituals – to the list of intangible world cultural heritage.
However, some city dwellers who are looking for peace and quiet in the countryside, which is not too far away, are annoyed by the audible side effects of country life. And Aarwangen, with its 19 farms, is only half an hour from Bern and an hour from Basel and Zurich. But complaints about cowbells aren’t just there. And there are also complaints about the noise of the church tower bells, which ring every quarter of an hour in many Swiss communities.
“It’s about our tradition”
Such complaints are usually met with strong resistance – as in Aarwangen: “It’s about our tradition,” says the originator of the pro-cowbell initiative, Andreas Baumann. “The cowbells are part of the DNA of the Swiss, and here in Aarwangen we want to preserve them.”
The Alps around 1900
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Regardless of the outcome of the planned referendum, the 15 cows in the community could have their bells removed at night if the authorities believe they are exceeding the permissible noise level. A court decision is expected shortly.
Rolf Rohrbach, who runs a nearby livestock farm, has little understanding of the problems of the townspeople. The gentle nocturnal tinkling lulls him to sleep, he says: “I then know that my cows are home.”
The two couples who felt deprived of sleep by the bells have now drawn conclusions from the uprising of Aarwangen’s residents: one of the couples has now withdrawn its complaint, the second wants to move away.