 Pinzgauer History |
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The name Pinzgauer derives from the district of Pinzgau in Austria near the Italian
border and from the Pinz Valley of Austria. The designation 'Pinzgauer' appears for
the first time in documents of the 1600s and herd books from the region dated in the
1700s show that selective breeding had been going on for some time. (Austrians often
refer to a strong hardworking man as a Pinzgauer) |
This region of origin is irregular in topography, very rocky, and
unpredictable in terms of weather. Temperatures may drop quite suddenly so these Pinzgauer
ancestors had to have the hardy constitution to deal with such extremes. These early
tough origins have probably done much to enable Pinzgauers to survive, and in fact
flourish in a variety of often difficult conditions around the world. |
By the end of the eighteenth century selective breeding resulted in
fairly fixed breed characteristics and the animals began to catch the eye of cattlemen
from other parts of greater Europe. Soon Pinzgauers were seen grazing in the fields
of Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and Yugoslavia. In the early nineteen
hundreds South African farmers travelling in Europe were impressed by the Pinzgauer's
adaptability and qualities and soon large numbers of breeding cattle were on their
way to their homeland. |
The breed proved to be a phenomenal success in South Africa's arid
conditions, to the extent that South Africa now has the largest herd of fullblood Pinzgauers
in the world. Surely there is no better testimony to the remarkable adaptability of
this breed. The terrain and climate in Africa could not be more different to those
of the original native Alpine regions.
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This adaptability and hardiness was
further proved with the Pinzgauers highly successful introduction to Canada in 1972
and the US in 1974 where there are now over
3000 registered breeders of Pinzgauers. With their arrival
in Australia in 1990 the Australian chapter in the Pinzgauer story has only just begun
to be written. |
