Murnau-Werdenfels Cattle are an old, robust

dairy breed Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ma ...

from

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, the southernmost part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The animals are brown-yellow, but there are great colour variations from straw-yellow to reddish brown. Hooves and horn tips are black. There is a white rim around a dark muzzle. They are very long-lived and fertile. It is a German breed that is specially adapted to a husbandry in boggy landscapes. The breed originated in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

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 ...

and is closely related to Brown Swiss,

Braunvieh The Braunvieh (German, "brown cattle") or Swiss Brown is a breed or group of breeds of domestic cattle originating in Switzerland and distributed throughout the Alpine region. It falls within the "Brown Mountain" group of cattle breeds. The Swis ...

and Tyrolese Grey Cattle. Nowadays the main breeding region is around

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

and Murnau that is also called "Werdenfels Country". The breed is in danger of extinction, with only around 130 females in the herdbook and frozen semen from around eleven males. the breed was voted Endangered Breed of the Year 2007 by the German Society for the Conservation of Old and Endangered Livestock Breeds.German Society for the Conservation of Old and Endangered Livestock Breeds
/ref> The Federal State of Bavaria maintains a suckler herd of cows and a sperm bank. It gives financial support to breeders. The breed is part of the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...

of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, dedicated to the preserving of endangered agricultural heritage.Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
/ref> Cows produce around of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

per year (3.8% fat; 3.4% protein). They reach in height and a weight of , while the bulls may reach and . Both bulls and bullocks may be used for beef production. Bullocks formerly served as strong draught oxen, and were an important source of income for small farms.

References

Cattle breeds originating in Germany Animal breeds on the GEH Red List {{cattle-stub