Carinthian Blondvieh (german: Kärntner Blondvieh) is an old cattle breed that is native to

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Characteristics

Carinthian Blondvieh is typically uniformly white or pale yellow, with a pale mouth, horns, and hooves. Cows weigh to , bulls to . Blondviehs were once bred to be triple purpose cattle, a draft animal as well as a milk and beef producer.

History

The breed's date of origin is unknown. Dr. Adolf Gstirner sees the Blondvieh as descendant of Slovene cattle that came to Carinthia during the early medieval

Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps The settlement of the Eastern Alps region by early Slavs took place during the 6th to 8th centuries. It is part of the southward expansion of the early Slavs which would result in the characterization of the South Slavic group, and would ultimatel ...

. They were crossed with Franconian Gelbvieh to develop a new breed which was officially formed by 1890.Mittelkärntner Blondvieh, Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture
First recorded in the Carinthian lordship of Eberstein, breeding became common in the

Lavanttal The Lavant Valley (german: Lavanttal, sl, Labotska dolinaGams, Ivan. 1992. "Labotska dolina." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 6. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, pp. 87–87. or ''Laboška dolina''; Southern Bavarian: ''Lovnthol'') lies in the Lav ...

and the area around

Friesach Friesach ( sl, Breže) is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in an 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia. Geography Location Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km2 a ...

. A Carinthian Blondvieh breeding association was established in 1924.

Population

Carinthian Blondvieh became a

rare breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation statu ...

in the late 20th century, when the population decreased sharply to about 100 cattle by 1990. Since then, several efforts have been made for the recovery of stocks: 2002: 421 cows – 42 bulls 2005: 524 cows – 40 bulls – 323 calves 2015: 1,118 cows – 81 bulls – 611 calves

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* Prof. Dr. A. Gstirner: ''Entstehung der steirischen Rinderrassen'' * Dr. Johann Burger: ''Die Lavanttaler Hornviehrasse'' * Dr. H. Sommeregger: ''Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kärntner Blondviehzucht'', 1944

External links

Homepage ''Kärntner Blondvieh mit Fotos''
Cattle breeds Cattle breeds originating in Austria