The ''Gamsbart'' (, literally ''chamois beard'', plural Gamsbärte) is a tuft of hair traditionally worn as a decoration on

tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolian and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other German- ...

en-hats in the

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

regions of

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

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. Originally worn as a

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

trophy and made exclusively from hair from the

chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the R ...

' lower neck, ''Gamsbärte'' are today manufactured on a large scale from various animals' hair and are commonly sold by specialized dealers and also at

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

shops. A ''Gamsbart'' is made by enclosing the lower end of the tuft of hair in a setting of

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

or horn that allows the upper end to spread in a brush-like fashion. Traditionally, hairs are selected for a dark color at the lower end with a very light tip. The size and diameter of the ''Gamsbart'' are important signs of the wearer's pride and manliness. Traditionally, ''Gamsbärte'' are exclusively placed on hats worn by men; however, recent developments in

dirndl A dirndl () is a feminine dress which originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps. It is traditionally worn by women and girls in Bavaria (south-eastern Germany), Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Alpine regions of Italy. A dirndl ...

fashion have seen ''Gamsbärte'' added to various places on female dresses.

References

Culturally authentic pictorial lexicon (English)
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720112835/http://capl.washjeff.edu/browseresults.php?langID=1&photoID=1938&size=l , date=2011-07-20
About the Gamsbart-Olympia 2008 at BR-Online(German)
Headgear German clothing History of clothing (Western fashion)