Lötschental

The Lötschental is known far and wide as a valley with lively customs and a rich cultural background. This has its roots in the remoteness of the valley - not only for traffic reasons but also due to the forces of nature. Until modern times, avalanches from Goppenstein blocked "the forgotten valley" in winter. People moved closer together and held on to age-old traditions. Even today, women still wear traditional costumes on Sundays and at Corpus Christi, colorful processions parade in the uniform of Neapolitan mercenaries.

The remoteness of the Lötschental has been the source of a multitude of stories, legends and myths. Wild creatures hunted through the history of the Lötschental and left their traces behind. They are regarded as the origin of the Tschäggättä tradition, which is still celebrated today with great attention to detail. The masked carnival figures typical of the Lötschental, the so-called Tschäggättä, appear between the Catholic feast day of Candlemas and "Gigiszischtag" (i.e. the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). Every evening (except Sundays), after work, these wild creatures roam the valley and scare the living daylights out of anyone who happens to be on the streets at this time.