Barthlmastag is an important Rittner vacation with a long tradition. It is celebrated annually on August 24 and takes its name from the patron saint of shepherds and farmers, St. Bartholomew. If the 24th of August falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, the cattle drive and the market are moved to Monday since Sunday is not a market day according to custom.
In the past, on this day, the farmers met on the Rittner Alm for the cattle drive and the subsequent market. The cattle of the farmers, who spent the summer on the alp, are herded together at the Saltner hut and driven in at noon with “Goasslschnoellen”, Saltner calls,
neighing and yelling. The meeting point is a fenced-in area, the “Stricker Pfarrer”, where in earlier years the Barthlmas market took place, where the farmers met
to do various business. Today the market takes place in Pemmern, where agricultural products from the region are offered. Since 1927, the spectacle has been accompanied by the Wangen music band, which has also provided food and drink since the 1960s. After this highlight on the Rittner Alm, the afternoon continues downhill to Pemmern, where the Almfest becomes a meadow festival with music and children’s programs.
How to get to the Rittner Alm?:
- with public transportation: With the Rittner cable car from Bozen - Oberbozen, with the Ritten Railway from Oberbozen - Klobenstein/station + Bus 166 to Pemmern, timetable: www.ritten.com/mobil
- by own car or with the paid shuttle bus to the parking lot Pemmern.
From parking lot Pemmern via hiking trail n° 1 you reach the Rittner Alm.
Walking time: 40 minutes. Difference in altitude: 150 m.
Over the years, Barthlmastag has become the largest folk festival in Ritten and is known and loved far beyond the borders of the municipality
