The Iconic Swiss Cowbell: Celebrated Artisans, Festivals, and Celebrity Cows

Cows grazing on a hillside in Villard-sur-Chamby, Switzerland. July 14, 2019.

Anyone who knows anything about Switzerland knows the country has a thing about its cows.

A thing that gets somehow even more intense in the autumn, if my observations aren’t mistaken.

Because in addition to the désalpe cow procession, they have an entire festival devoted to cowbells.

The Specialness of the Swiss Cowbell

Now, Swiss cowbells aren’t the average, run-of-the-mill cowbell most of us elsewhere around the world know and shrug off.

Oh no.

The Swiss cowbell is a serious thing indeed.

Cowbells in Switzerland have several different sizes and shapes and may even hang on large leather collars with extensive stitched or tooled decorations.

Dominant animals have the largest bells, younger animals wear smaller bells, and farmer-favorites (because oh yes, the farmers do have their favorites) boast specially sized bells that hang from highly ornate collars that often feature symbols and dates important to the farming family.

For some Swiss-cowbell audio, here’s a video I captured up in the mountains near Gruyère one spring afternoon:

The Craft of the Swiss Cowbell

Swiss cowbell manufacture often passes down the familial line, one generation teaching the next the basics and letting them take it from there.

Traditional cowbell artisans make each cowbell by hand, pouring smelted iron into custom molds, lining the iron with melted bronze, and finishing each bell by smoothing and polishing it in machines, presses, and by hand with mallets.

The time to bring a bell to completion varies depending upon the size and the shape of the bell and the decoration of the finished product.

A quick video of one of these artisans in action:

The Romanmoitier Cowbell Festival

For all the Swiss cowbell goodness you can imagine—plus the opportunity to buy your very own—you can go to the town of Romanmoitier in late October for Les Sonnailles, a festival with a market where people display their Swiss cowbell collections and buy and sell Swiss cowbells. You can watch metalworking demonstrations while there, too.

Of course, while cowbell shopping (or swapping), the festival regales visitors with music, animal experiences, and, of course, food.

A foundation in the town of Romanmoitier captured a bit of the festival on video for you:

A Visit to Switzerland Should Involve a Few Cows

When we brought our niece and nephew gifts from Switzerland on one visit to the United States, the store had wrapped them in Swiss-red paper block-printed with classic Swiss motifs. Turning the wrapping paper over in his hands, perplexed, my brother asked me why it had cows on it.

The Swiss love for their cows may not have as much renown as they think.

I might have to finagle a visit for the niece and nephew during the autumn one year to attend the autumn cow procession and drop by Les Sonnailles in Romanmoitier. Then they’ll really get the picture.