I will take you on an unforgettable journey at Spycherberg, where tradition, community and delicious cheese meet. Join me on my personal adventure to the Chästeilet in Justital, where I not only discovered the custom of sharing cheese, but also experienced the warmth and hospitality of a close-knit community. Immerse yourself with me in the 300-year-old tradition of the "Chästeilet im Justital".

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At 8:01 a.m. the bus departed from Thun station in the direction of Sigriswil. The route along Lake Thun was pleasant and took about half an hour. The municipality of Sigriswil consists of the 11 villages: Sigriswil, Aeschlen, Endorf, Gunten, Meiersmaad, Merligen, Reust, Ringoldswil, Schwanden, Tschingel, Wiler.

Arrived in Sigriswil village, one has the possibility to take a beautiful hike over the "Falle" into the Justistal. However, since it was rainy and fresh, we decided to accept the offer of the shuttle bus. Because from Sigriswil the road is closed for private traffic. Only rides of the farmers are allowed. Therefore, along the route we met beautifully decorated with flowers agricultural vehicles that use their trailers to chauffeur their family and friends to the Justistal.

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At the end point of the ride, a road led further into the valley. We shouldered our backpacks and marched off. The first stop with the possibility to get something to eat is at the alpine hut Grön or Grönwaldhütte. The Grön is the foremost alp in the Justistal. The cheese produced there is shared directly on site.

However, our way led us further to the cheese stores, which are located below the Spycherberg alp. At these stores, seven of the nine alps and alpine cooperatives share their cheese. Like the Grön, the Spycherberg alpine cooperative also shares the cheese at its own hut further up. However, we will stay with the four storages.

Three of the reservoirs each stored the cheese of two alpine cooperatives. The Grosse Mittelberg is the largest alp in the valley. Here 55 cows, 12 goats and 40 pigs stay on the alp in summer. The alp is managed by three alpine dairymen and produces about 7.5 tons of cheese. Therefore, it is the only alp that has its own reservoir.

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By now it is about 10:30. There is a festival restaurant with food and drinks. Many of the cow right owners have brought their own food for themselves, their family and friends. We were allowed to get food from Daniel Eschmann. He is a mountain right owner of the Grosser Mittelberg, a member of the management of the Hauenstein Group and describes himself as a sofa farmer. A farmer who has a cow on the alp, but is not a farmer himself. We toast with a sip of white wine and enjoy freshly baked Zopf and delicious Hobelkäse and wait for the spectacle of the "Chästeilet".

Before we start, however, we get an introduction from Daniel Eschmann himself, who is celebrating 25 years of alpine summering in Justitstal at the same time. He has inherited this right from his grandfather. I will be happy to pass on Daniel's explanations and explanations to you:

"Each cow right owner has his cow/cows on the alp for the summer. There are 34 owners for every 55 cows. The alpine season starts in June and ends in September. Once a week, the milk per cow is weighed and entered in the milk book. At the end of the season, a certain amount of cheese is produced for a certain amount of milk - a simple 3-set calculation. What follows is now a little more difficult to understand. There is a separate unit: hem. One hem is 400 pounds of milk. Four hems gives one lot. One hem gives one batch of alpine cheese of about 70 kg. "

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Daniel himself has 8 hems: how many stacks of cheese does he get? 8 hems divided by four gives 2 lots. Daniel gets two stacks of alpine cheese.

While the weight of the June cheese does not change much, the cheese produced in September will still lose a lot of pounds. Therefore, in advance, the cheese loaves are arranged in as equal batches as possible of older, medium and younger loaves with as equal a total weight as possible (137-138 pounds).

That it opens with the milk yield and the slack is almost impossible. Therefore, it often happens that someone has 8.5 or 6.5 hems. An unwritten law from 1750 says that no cheese wheel can be cut. However, the cheese must be divided. So it happens that one buys and the other sells a part. In this way, all the cheese loaves remain whole.

At 11:00 a.m. sharp, the cheese loaves are carried out by the alpine dairymen, alpine dairywomen, and mountain right owners and stacked on wooden slats. There are altogether 740 cheese loaves a 98 lots. All the onlookers gather around the stores and watch the events with great interest. After an hour, the last loaf is placed on the last lot.

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Now the lots are drawn. The cheesemaker, Flavia Liechti, has a small box with as many wooden signs, so-called "Brittleni", as there are lots, i.e. 98. On these "Brittleni" are the names of the owner of the mountain rights and the number of hems that the lot (the pile of cheese) receives. The cheesemaker goes through the row of cheeses and puts a "Brittleni" on each lot and calls out the name of the owner until all the "Brittleni" and thus all the stacks of cheese are divided. Where there is more than one name, it must then be divided.

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Another exciting question for you: What is the difference between mountain cheese and alp cheese? Alpine cheese is not the same as mountain cheese. Alpine cheese is only produced in summer during the so-called summering on the alp. Mountain cheese, on the other hand, is produced all year round in the village cheese dairies of mountain regions, i.e. also in winter when the animals are fed with hay in the barn.

Now the whole thing gets a little wild. The family, friends and acquaintances of the owner help to get the cheese loaves into the respective vehicles to transport them to the cheese cellar afterwards. Many helping hands are needed here. The cheese is divided.

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After the cheese was stowed in all the vehicles, I got into conversation with many strangers. We talk about the tradition, the environment and how extraordinary the hospitality is. It is a wonderful event with wonderful people in a wonderful environment. I would be happy to recommend that you attend yourself next year, September 20, 2024.

Announced by the bells, the cows make their way along the road out of the valley to their winter camp. The Alpabzug is a general highlight, which of course also exists in other regions. Many of them are decorated with flowers, but not all. Why is that? Well, only cows that have produced a certain amount of milk on the alp are decorated and get the "Meien". However, the different alpine cooperatives have different delimitations and regulate this individually.

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After the third train of cows, we also set off on foot towards Sigriswil. The departure takes a good two to two and a half hours with individual stops. The view of the lake and the area opposite is breathtaking. Every now and then a herd of cows comes from behind again, for which we make room or we meet people with whom we get into conversation. So far, the day has been a single adventure, which, however, is far from over.

Many of the mountain right owners, mountain right owners in Sigriswil offer food for their family, friends and acquaintances in the garden or garage. Helping hands are also welcome here, because the cheese must be brought from the vehicles to the cheese cellar. At Daniel Eschmann's there is a soup for us to strengthen. The atmosphere is great. There is laughter, dancing and enjoying the get-together. If you still haven't had enough of the day, you can go to the festival tent at the village square, where you can party with music far into the night.

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My personal conclusion about the "Chästeilet in Justistal

My trip to the Justistal showed me that it is not only about cheese and tradition, but above all about the people and the stories that animate this valley. I hope I could bring you a little closer to the "Chästeilet in Justistal" with this blog post. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to you to visit this spectacle yourself after the next alpine summer.

The "Chästeilet" will take place on September 20, 2024. I am there!

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Gallery

Here are some more photographic impressions of this day for you.

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