---
type: "Article"
title: "Miss Zermatt has a black nose — at Tradition Julen"
description: "Zermatt has world's biggest blacknose sheep raising operation - and its own beauty contest! Mind you, here the contestants tend not to be tall and lissome:"
resource: "https://travelmemo.com/switzerland/zermatt-blacknose-sheep-tradition-julen"
author: "Katja Birrer"
publisher: "Travelmemo"
photo_count: 7
tags: ["Animals", "Nature", "Zermatt", "Switzerland"]
entities:
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/switzerland"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/zermatt"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/matterhorn"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/wallis"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/wildlife-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/nature-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/restaurant"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/experience-travel"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/hiking"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer"
generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer", at: 2026-07-04T14:16:30+00:00 }
verified:
  - { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer", at: 2017-02-10T19:38:35+00:00 }
sources:
  - id: photos
    resource: zermatt-blacknose-sheep-tradition-julen.md#photos
    title: "Original photography by Katja Birrer"
    author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer"
    last_modified: 2017-01-20
timestamp: 2026-07-04T14:16:30+00:00
---

# Miss Zermatt has a black nose — at Tradition Julen

> Zermatt's Tradition Julen family runs the world's biggest Valais Blacknose sheep operation alongside 3 hotels and 6 eateries, combining alpine husbandry with tourism in the shadow of the Matterhorn.

## What to see
- **Julen family blacknose sheep pen** — Home to the world's largest Valais Blacknose sheep operation, where the famously cute, curl-covered sheep greet visitors at the fence.
- **Blacknose sheep on the alp below the Matterhorn** — In summer the sheep graze freely above 2,400 metres on unfenced pasture with views of the Matterhorn north face.

## What to do
- **Guided alp hike with the Julen family** — Each year Paul and Paul-Marc Julen invite guests to hike up to the summer grazing alp where the blacknose sheep roam.
- **Miss Zermatt beauty contest** — An annual sheep beauty contest held the second weekend in September judging blacknose sheep on breed markings and conformation.
- **Dining at Schäferstube Grill / Restaurant Schäferstübli** — Family-run restaurants serving blacknose mutton specialties using meat raised on the Julen farm.

## Good to know
Tradition Julen is a vertically integrated family enterprise: sheep wool becomes hotel bedding, horns and hides are used as décor, and since 2015 a biogas facility produces energy from Zermatt's waste. Zermatt's official mascot is a blacknose sheep named Wolli.

## Photos

```yaml
photos:
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland-9.jpg"
    caption: "Paul-Marc Julen mit 2 Monate altem Schwarznasenschaf"
    keywords: ["Paul-Marc Julen", "Schwarznasenschaf", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0116, longitude: 7.7391}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland.jpg"
    caption: "Zutrauliches Schwarznasenschaf"
    keywords: ["Schwarznasenschaf", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0116, longitude: 7.7391}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland-11.jpg"
    caption: "Schwarznasenschafe mit gefleckten Hinterläufen"
    keywords: ["Schwarznasenschaf", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0116, longitude: 7.7391}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Matterhorn.jpg"
    caption: "Schwarznasenschafe vor dem Matterhorn © Paul Julen"
    captured: 2011-07-01
    geo: {latitude: 46.0145, longitude: 7.7097}
    credit: "Paul Julen"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland-13.jpg"
    caption: "Instagrammerin Rayana Gasparotto mit Schwarznasenschaf"
    keywords: ["Rayana Gasparotto", "Schwarznasenschaf", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0116, longitude: 7.7391}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland-4.jpg"
    caption: "Das Schwarznasen-Elektromobil von Tradition Julen"
    keywords: ["Elektromobil", "Schwarznasenschaf", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0185, longitude: 7.7488}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/black-nose-sheep-Zermatt-Switzerland-3.jpg"
    caption: "Schwarznasenschaf-Spezialitäten vom Schäferstube Grill"
    keywords: ["Restaurant", "Schwarznasenschaf", "Schäferstube Grill", "Tradition Julen", "Zermatt"]
    captured: 2017-01-20
    geo: {latitude: 46.0185, longitude: 7.7488}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
```