Austrian Brown
(most common name in English)

(most common name):
• Österreichisches Braunvieh
(transboundary/brand name):
• Brown Swiss

The Austrian Brown started soon after 1945 and is a the result of the amalgamation of brown-colored cattle from the Austrian federal states of:
• Vorarlberg
• Tyrol
• Styria
• Carinthia
• Lower Austria
• Upper Austria

Montafon cattle — with dark brown coats, high milk yields and a tendency for draught — played a key part leading up to this consolidation. (The name ‘Montafon’ was officially replaced in 1923 with ‘Vorarlberger Braunvieh’.)

Three strains were bred independently after 1945:
• Vorarlberg Brown
• Styrian Brown
• Tyrolese Brown

By 1954, these strains had converged and were usually known simply as ‘Braunvieh’. However, starting in 1960, considerable introgression occurred from the import of Swiss Brown, and (since 1968) from Brown Swiss (Canada, USA).

Cattle without Swiss Brown introgression are known as Austrian Brown (Original) and have a recovery program restricted to the use of appropriate bulls of the Allgäu and Original Swiss Brown breeds.

NOTE: As of 2021, there is no listing in DAD-IS for the Austrian Brown (Original).

(German) Vorarlberger Braunvieh = Vorarlberg Brown

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-14

You can also go to:

My Daily Cow® Austria and read about other Austrian cattle breeds.

The Cow Wall® A-Z Cattle Breed Picture Reference to see other breeds of cattle in the world.