Farmhouses and grazing in the Picos de Europa

The heritage of living in the mountains

Farmhouses and grazing in the Picos de Europa

The heritage of living in the mountains

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Las majadas, cultural heritage of the Valdeón Valley

If you stroll through the landscape of the upper area of the Valdeón Valley you will notice that it is easy to find areas of great beauty dedicated to pastures, wide meadows sometimes humanized with small stone constructions, which grouped or scattered, are used as a refuge for cattle or shepherds in summer. These are the “majadas”, places where the shepherds traditionally spent the summer months with their herds, taking advantage of the pastures and dedicating themselves almost exclusively to the production of milk for the production of butter and the internationally recognized Azul de Valdeón cheese.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Herds, herders and cattle

Despite the abruptness of the territory it is common to find within the National Park of the Peaks of Europe the presence of numerous hamlets and wide extensions of meadows dedicated to pasture of the cattle ranches, mainly cattle. They are in fact the most frequented spaces during the summer by shepherds and cattle.

At that time, and after the snow was withdrawn, the cows and calves were grouped around these spaces and they were to graze freely until the end of autumn, when they were to descend again towards the stables and pasture areas closest to the valley’s populations, where they’ll spend the winter.

Life in the Houses

In the Valdeón Valley, as in the rest of the territory of the Picos de Europa National Park, it was the custom to use the local milking throughout the summer in the mountain huts.

At dusk and after the day’s work, one member of each house faced the road that led them to the village.

Once there each neighbor, and after the arrival of the goats and cows and in order to be able to milk them freely, proceeded to separate the jatos (calves) from their property, collecting them inside a corral or hut, small construction with a circular base of stones and covered with thick broom branches in the shape of a cone, supported on a frame of beech wood.

Herds, herders and cattle

Despite the abruptness of the territory it is common to find within the National Park of the Peaks of Europe the presence of numerous hamlets and wide extensions of meadows dedicated to pasture of the cattle ranches, mainly cattle. They are in fact the most frequented spaces during the summer by shepherds and cattle.

At that time, and after the snow was withdrawn, the cows and calves were grouped around these spaces and they were to graze freely until the end of autumn, when they were to descend again towards the stables and pasture areas closest to the valley’s populations, where they’ll spend the winter.

Life in the Houses

In the Valdeón Valley, as in the rest of the territory of the Picos de Europa National Park, it was the custom to use the local milking throughout the summer in the mountain huts.

At dusk and after the day’s work, one member of each house faced the road that led them to the village.

Once there each neighbor, and after the arrival of the goats and cows and in order to be able to milk them freely, proceeded to separate the jatos (calves) from their property, collecting them inside a corral or hut, small construction with a circular base of stones and covered with thick broom branches in the shape of a cone, supported on a frame of beech wood.

The milk was collected in bodies or jars and placed in a bowl at the entrance to the pens. At dawn the next day, the cows were milked again, which had remained overnight in the vicinity of the huts where the calves were kept. The milk obtained in the morning was added to that of the previous night, mixing both into a “ballico”, a container made of goat skin, and was carried hanging on the shoulders to the village. With this milk they made cheese and butter.
These kinds of tasks also had their fun part as normally the people who met in the Majada were young people and there was also time for jokes, music and fun.

The remains of these herd houses are still in Santa Marina, Montó, Freñana, Seroya, Anzo…