Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative names: The Black Cow
Category: Cow
The Myth
One evening, a shepherd from Montavon arrived late at the Latonz Alp to retrieve a black cow that had been left behind when the herd descended from the mountain. He put the cow in the stable and spent the night sleeping on a bunk in the alpine hut.
Around midnight, the alpine spirits, known as Bütze, entered the hut. They began cooking, boiling, and roasting in the room with an incredible din. The shepherd awoke and stared at them in confusion.
Suddenly, one of the spirits called to him to come down from his bunk. He was forced to leave his sleeping place and join them.
Then he noticed something horrifying. His black cow, standing outside in the stable, appeared to have an enormous hole in its body. The shepherd thought that the spirits had cut the flesh out of his cow and feared that they would have eaten the entire animal before dawn.
After their meal, the Bütze began playing music and dancing so violently that the alpine hut seemed almost to come apart. At the first light of dawn, the strange visitors departed.
The shepherd watched them leave and noticed a hide stretched across the doorway of the alpine hut. He believed that it was the hide of his black cow.
But when daylight had fully arrived, the hide had mysteriously disappeared. Outside, the black cow stood in the stable completely unharmed.
The terrifying events of the night had apparently been an illusion—or something supernatural that had left no lasting mark on the cow.
Sources
Vonbun, Franz Josef. “Die schwarze Kuh.” In Die Sagen Vorarlbergs. Mit Beiträgen aus Liechtenstein, no. 183, p. 141. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/oesterreich/vorarlberg/montavon/schwarzekuh.html
