Schwaige#

Schwaige, special type of settlement and farming in Alpine regions. Often the "Schwaighof" farmhouses were founded as permanent types of settlement by the territorial princes themselves and used for keeping cattle, especially dairy cattle (in particular for the production of cheese); documented in Tirol and Salzburg since the 12th  century. Later the term Schwaige was sometimes used to refer to Almen, Alpine pastures which are used only during the summer months. Dairymen and dairymaids are sometimes called "Schwaiger" and "Schwaigerin".