14 ALPE | Summer
The Saltner Much The Alpe di Siusi holiday area has three Saltners, one in the Tschapit area and one on the Sciliar mountain. The third and at the same time the youngest is Michael Tirler, the Saltner (cattle drover) from Saltria. However, the local people only know him by his nickname of Much.
W
henever Much puts on his Saltner clothes and hat, his Haflinger (a local breed of horse) mare, Daisy is already waiting impatiently to ride off with him to the Bosco dei Bovi forest. Much hails from the Untermulser farm in Castelrotto. He works as a cattle drover on the Alpe di Siusi and is responsible, starting from the Saltner mountain hut, for the eastern
pasture lands of the Alpe di Siusi. From a legal point of view Alexander Ciabattoni is the head Saltner. He is the leaseholder of the Saltner mountain hut, but Much really looks after the animals.
“Saltner” has its origins in the Latin word “saltus” that could be translated as pasture land. The oldest legendary Saltner on the Alpe di Siusi, »
Text: André Bechtold Photo: Helmuth Rier
Summer | ALPE 15
16 ALPE | Summer
handed down historically, is “Partschott”. He was the gamekeeper and cattle drover of the famous dwarf king Laurin. When he was taken prisoner by Dietrich of Bern, he put a curse on his Catinaccio so that it should not blossom during the day or night. However, he forgot to include the twilight and so the Dolomites glow red when the sun goes down. But King Laurin also forgot his Saltner on the Alpe di Siusi when putting his curse on the Catinaccio and so Partschott still wanders today through the woodland and can be seen, especially at solstice. Much has met him often.
the only people allowed to carry arms in church and even under Napoleon this right was not withdrawn. But Saltners were not allowed to marry. They were also supposed not to pester maidservants or farmers’ daughters. But at the same time Saltners were attractive. There were rumours that they could speak to animals. They were physically strong and, as they lived in harmony with nature, they gathered strength from this. If you ask Much whether things are still the same today he just smiles mischievously.
Peter Sattler, his predecessor, once said that he Between 1473 and 1477 the so-called “Castlrutterische Seiser Albm Zetl” was recorded. It is about comprehensive rules of court of 45 articles in which the Saltner were instructed and sworn in. In 1582 and 1583 further additions were added to the “Albm Zetl”. Article 22 lays down how the Saltner has to look after the livestock. For example, he has to report the loss of an animal within three days. Much still has to do this today, but the dangers are fewer now than they were for his predecessors because today there are no longer bears and wolves on the Alpe di Siusi. The last wolves were deployed in 1966 for filming Roman Polanski’s cult film “Dance of the Vampires”. But Much still has a lot to do. Whenever the cattle come to him in June for transhumance to the summer pastures, he makes a mental note of each one of the 400 cattle and knows also its owner. There are in addition the Haflinger horses and the goats.
Much portions up the meadows and supervises the possible extra benefit of salt stones. From now on he has to monitor the cattle and make sure that none gets lost. If an animal gets injured or shows signs of illness, Much has to inform the vet and, as laid down already in 1473/77, the owner. Every day he has to make his walkabout, or rather his round tour on horseback, through the meadows until the beginning of October when the cattle are brought down from the mountain pastures – an event that is followed today by many spectators. In the time of Empress Sissi the Saltner was a tourist attraction in South Tyrol’s wine-growing regions. With his fine display of feathers he appeared to step out of a Karl May novel. But this wine Saltner has little in common with the Saltner on the alpine pastures. Nevertheless there is a lot that is mysterious and erotic about this figure, whether on the alpine pasture or in the vineyard. Saltners were
placed a lot of importance on the following old-established law. The Saltner gets a Schüttelbrot (special bread made in South Tyrol) for each animal brought down from the alpine pastures. Initially many young farmers did not want to do this. Peter settled this matter very simply. Whenever the farmers came to move their cattle down from the alpine pastures, he did not “know” where they were that morning and so they had to come back – this time with Schüttelbrot. This “profession” is shrouded in legend, but in reality its everyday work is much more challenging and harder compared to the romantic picture of the American cowboys in westerns. Much has not played a part in any western, but he is meanwhile well-known beyond the borders of South Tyrol. On 3 November 2013 in the ZDF HERBSTSHOW (autumn show) the reporter Eric Mayer accompanied him and during the broadcast the various articles that Saltners carry with them were shown and their purpose explained: for example, the Saltner horn, their whip and their traditional costume. The third series of the ZDF programme “Auf dem Dach Europas” (On the rooftops of Europe) was broadcast on 2 January 2014. There Much can be seen bringing the cattle down from the alpine pastures. If you meet Michael Tirler in Castelrotto, he appears to be a typical young man. If you meet him in his working place then he is the Saltner Much and you willingly believe the old stories, the longing for promised time and the return of King Laurin. Whenever you see Much in the distance on his Daisy riding over the alpine pastures under the red-glowing Sassopiatto mountain, then time somehow stands still. Yet if Much then speaks to an old man, who then quickly disappears again into the legendary depths of the Alpe di Siusi, then the legacy of Partschott is alive. «
Summer | ALPE 17