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Salzburg is already known for the Sound of Music, Mozart, its many festivals and for being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, but in fall 2000 Salzburg introduced to the public its most beloved animal-the cow. Over 100 artists participated in Salzburg's "Kuh und Kunst", or "Cow and Art", celebration by utilizing their creative skills to transform life-sized, plastic cow replicas into over 150 cow-razy works of art placed around the city. At the end of the exhibition period, these colorful bovines were auctioned, with proceeds going to selected health and welfare projects in and around Salzburg.

Why the cow? If you visit Salzburg for any significant length of time, you will notice that among locals the cow is revered as much or more than Mozart, Salzburg's musical claim to fame. Even as late as the 1950's, more than 50 cows still resided in the backyards of the city-the dairy industry heavily influences Salzburg's economy, landscape and culture. To see an example, visit a local supermarket. I had never seen such a vast array and quantity of dairy products. This is a city in which Got milk? is taken seriously. From yogurts to hundreds of different kinds of cheeses, Salzburgers produce and consume them with a passion.

The cow was even the saving grace for Archbishop Paracelsus of Salzburg. During a peasant uprising in 1525, the Archbishop's residence, Fortress Hohensalzburg, was besieged for months and bombarded by wooden cannons. After some time the Fortress' food supply was down to almost nothing, yet the Archbishop could not allow the angry mob of peasants to know this. He had more at "stake" than being dethroned. As the story goes, someone came up with a brilliant plan: in order to outwardly show that the food supply was still plenty, every day a cow would be paraded around the walls of the fortress for all below to see. The problem was that only one cow remained. What to do? Well, paint the thing, of course, and that's exactly what the Archbishop did. Every day the same cow, but painted so as to appear to be yet another member of the Archbishops' herd, would be paraded around the fortress walls for the peasants below to see. The trick apparently worked. The rebels gave up and Archbishop Paracelsus got to keep his fiefdom and his head.

Could this story have inspired the artists? Most possibly. Salzburg's cow-lorful celebration was the largest private sector sponsored event and was received with enthusiasm by locals and tourists alike. Children especially enjoyed scrambling on top of the extravagantly embellished beasts and posing for . Other "Kuh und Kunst" celebrations are sure to be planned and will well balance Salzburg's more black-tie affairs, like Jazz Herbst and the Salzburger Festspiele, with a little hoof-stomping fun.

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