Ancient form of singing Yodelling in Switzerland to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hardly any other sound characterizes Switzerland as much as yodelling. Now this ancient form of singing is to become a World Heritage Site. Paris will decide whether the voices of the Alps will be heard internationally.
06.11.2025, 21:18
dpa
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- Switzerland has applied to Unesco for yodeling to be listed as an intangible world cultural heritage, a decision is expected by the end of 2025.
- Yodelling has developed from a shepherd's call into a diverse form of singing with musical influences from classical music, jazz and country.
- In order to preserve the tradition, yodelling is increasingly being integrated into education, for example through teacher training and a university course in Lucerne.
Which Alpine tourist doesn't know them - the yodelers in lederhosen and felt hats, melodically resounding through the valleys? At least 12,000 of them are active in Switzerland alone. To keep it that way, the tradition could be recognized as a World Heritage Site.
They are as much a part of the sound of the Alps as cowbells and alphorns: the yodelers. Their calls have echoed through the mountains for centuries. Once the signal of shepherds, today the heart of folk music. Now they could soon receive an answer from the lowlands - from Paris.
Switzerland wants to have yodelling added to Unesco's list of intangible world cultural heritage. A decision is expected by the end of the year.
More than just a shepherd's call
Modern yodelling fans emphasize: Yodeling has long been more than the falsetto singing of bearded men with suspenders on green hills. It is an independent form of singing. With history, emotion and a goosebump factor.
In the last century, numerous yodeling clubs emerged in Switzerland, further developing the tradition. Their sounds and tremolos even found their way into classical music, jazz and country - even US stars yodeled in the 1930s.
There is now a Master's degree: the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has been offering a yodeling course for seven years. "There are actually four languages in Switzerland. But for me, there are five languages - the fifth is yodeling," says yodeling lecturer and HSLU professor Nadja Räss.
From natural yodeling to yodeling songs
In the beginning, yodeling consisted of wordless vowels - the so-called natural yodel. Today, it often includes verses and choruses. Around 12,000 yodellers are organized in the Swiss Yodelling Association.
Swiss yodelling is unmistakable, says Räss: "It lives from the timbre of the voice - from the bright u sound from the head to the warm o sound from the chest." It sounds different depending on the region: melancholic in Appenzell, powerful and short in Central Switzerland. More and more women are also taking to the microphone today - in a country that only gave women the right to vote in 1971.
Where exactly yodeling comes from remains an open question. "Some say it is a means of communication between valleys that uses these very characteristic sounds that can be heard far and wide. Others believe it is a form of singing," says Julien Vuilleumier from the Federal Office of Culture, who is supporting the Unesco application. "What we do know: Yodelling has changed and evolved time and time again."
The Unesco committee in New Delhi will make its decision in mid-December. It is about traditions that are passed down through generations - from Ghanaian Highlife to Kyrgyz Maksym and Venezuelan El Joropo.
Yodeling for children
To keep yodelling alive, it should also be taught in schools: "We want every child in Switzerland to yodel at least once," says Räss. Together with the yodeling association and the Center for Folk Music Roothus Gonten, teachers are being trained. Around 20 can already yodel - and teach the students how to alternate between chest and head voice.
"One of my life's goals is for every Swiss schoolchild to yodel at some point," says Räss. "Unesco recognition would be a wonderful way to get started."
