Living traditions

These practices, representations, expressions, or skills must meet the following three criteria to be recognised as a living tradition:

Each living tradition can be classified into one of the following five categories:

• Have existed for at least two generations
• Be in constant evolution
• Convey a sense of identity

• Oral traditions and expressions
• Performing arts
• Social practices, rituals, and festive events
• Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
• Traditional craftsmanship skills

The intangible cultural heritage of the Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Nature Park is exceptionally rich, with numerous living traditions from both Fribourg (FR) and Vaud (VD) present across its territory.

Some examples include:

• Singing on May 1st (FR)
• Charmey cart races (FR)
• The Charmey Désalpe (FR)
• Belle Époque mountain train journeys (VD)
• Schafscheid (FR)
• Mardi Gras little soldiers (FR)
• Summit crosses (FR)
• The alpine grazing season (FR & VD)
• Narcissus picking (VD)
• Gathering resonance wood for musical instrument making (VD)
• Château-d’Œx International Balloon Festival (VD)
• Painted Poyas (FR)
• Tavillonnage wooden shingle roofing (FR & VD)
• Pays-d’Enhaut paper cutting (VD)
• Dry-stone walls (VD)

Since the 19th century, every May 1st, Fribourg children have gone from house to house in their village, singing to announce the arrival of spring. They are rewarded with a few coins and sweets.

Some prefer to play a musical tune rather than sing, and some perform in the local dialect. In Gruyère, it is not uncommon to see children wearing the bredzon or dzaquillon, the region’s traditional costume.

This tradition is also widespread among youth societies, whose members go singing door to door in the evenings during the week of May 1st.

Since the 1970s, the cart race has been a highlight of the Bénichon festival in Charmey. Each team, made up of five people, decorates a cart provided by the local youth society and registers either in the humorous category or the competition category.

In the past, these wooden carts were used by farmers to transport hay on sloping terrain. They are recognisable by their two large rear wheels and their two front runners topped with handles.

At the start of autumn, herds come down from the alpine pastures and are returned to their owners. The Désalpe is a true celebration: for the occasion, the armaillis and their companions wear traditional dress, the cows are adorned with bells and chimes on embroidered leather collars, and decorated with flowers and/or a small fir tree ornamented with colourful paper.

In Charmey, the Désalpe takes place on the last Saturday of September and attracts over 10,000 spectators. On the same day, an alpine cheese market and a craft market are held, and around ten herds parade through the village.

The Désalpes of Albeuve and L’Etivaz are also well-known within the Park’s territory.

In the 19th century, Switzerland developed its transport infrastructure to attract tourists, leading to the creation of the railway line connecting Zweisimmen to Montreux.

Today, it is still possible to travel along this legendary line aboard the Belle Époque train and enjoy the panoramic views in a romantic, elegant atmosphere.

The Schafscheid in Jaun, Gruyère, is the sheep equivalent of the Désalpe. Summer grazing flocks are often made up of sheep belonging to different farmers. Once brought down from the alpine pastures, the sheep are gathered in an enclosure and sorted into pens before being returned to their owners.

On the day of the celebration, between 300 and 500 sheep arrive in several flocks, decorated by the shepherds. The event is not only about returning the sheep to their owners but also includes a market.

Nearly seventy alpine crosses have been recorded on Fribourg’s mountain summits. Around the mid-20th century, religiously significant “Mission crosses” were carried up into the mountains. With the development of mountaineering, crosses gradually began to be erected throughout the Alps and Pre-Alps. Some also serve as memorials to mountaineers who lost their lives in the mountains.

In the villages of Villars-sous-Mont and Neirivue, every Mardi Gras morning, schoolboys dressed as soldiers parade from door to door, marching to the beat of a drum and singing. At least four boys are needed for the parade to take place, with each having a specific role: the leader, the drummer, the flag bearer, and at least one soldier.

In Neirivue, the boys wear a kepi and carry no weapons, while in Villars-sous-Mont they wear a cap and carry a wooden rifle.

In May, cattle, sheep, and goats are taken up to high-altitude pastures (between 1,000 m and 2,000 m). This ascent, called the Poya, marks the start of the alpine pasture season.

During the summer months, alpine farmers and their families manage the herds, care for the animals, and work on maintaining pastures, fences, and buildings. Milk processing and the production of alpine cheese also play a central role in the daily life of the armaillis.

In the hills above Montreux, blooming narcissus flowers cover the fields in May. From the late 19th century onwards, the city of Montreux turned the narcissus and its picking into a genuine tourist attraction. The Narcissus Festival was also held in Montreux from 1897 to 1957.

Today, the narcissus still blooms, but its numbers are steadily declining. Preserving the flowers has therefore become a priority to ensure this tradition endures.

Since the 16th century, resonance wood gatherers have been seeking out red spruce for the making of musical instruments. Their selection process follows numerous criteria, such as altitude (between 1,000 and 1,800 m), stable climate, slow and steady growth, sheltered terrain, and an age of 200 to 400 years.

The gatherer listens to the forest, striking the tree with a hammer to assess its acoustic properties. Selected spruces are felled during the waning moon, in the constellation of Leo, as late as possible in November.

Blending science and instinct, only 1 spruce in 10,000 will be chosen.

The first International Balloon Festival took place in 1979, initiated by Mr. Ramseier, then director of the Château-d’Œx Tourist Office. The winter season was chosen because local weather conditions were particularly favourable for hot-air balloon flights.

Since then, the festival has continued to grow, attracting more and more spectators and participants from all over the world.

In Fribourg dialect, poya refers both to the ascent to the alpine pastures and to painted depictions of this iconic moment in the alpine grazing season. The poya began appearing on the façades of farmhouses in the Fribourg Pre-Alps in the early 19th century.

Each farmer would depict their own herd, showing it in its best light. Through a long winding path running across the painting, the poya presents a procession of cows framed by other farm animals, armaillis, and characteristic elements of life in the alpine pastures.

The paper cuttings of the Pays-d’Enhaut are lace-like artworks made from paper using scissors or a craft knife. They may be crafted from a single piece in black and white or assembled from several coloured papers. The main subjects depict motifs of an idyllic Switzerland and alpine traditions.

In Château-d’Œx, the Musée du Pays-d’Enhaut dedicates permanent collections and year-round exhibitions to the art of paper cutting.

Tavillons are split wooden shingles, made mainly from spruce grown at over 1,000 m in altitude. Choosing the right tree is essential to ensure quality: felling generally takes place between November and mid-February, when the moon is favourable.

The art of tavillonnage is as precise as it is timeless. This skill is learned under the guidance of a master shingle-maker over two years. While renovation work still makes up the majority of demand, the technique is increasingly sought after for modern constructions.

Built without mortar or cement, dry-stone walls are solid, durable structures and a distinctive feature of the Swiss landscape. They were traditionally used to mark property boundaries, contain livestock, or secure wells.

The skills involved in their construction reflect both an ecological approach — using natural resources and blending into the landscape — and a civic one, with community service workers often participating in restoration projects, including avalanche protection works.