More than 1,000 sheep made their way through the streets of central Madrid as part of the Trashumancia Festival, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. The event, which lasted around four hours, attracted Spaniards and tourists in large numbers.
Held every autumn, the festival transforms the heart of the Spanish capital into a rural landscape, with the sound of car horns giving way to bleating lambs and cowbells.
The custom recalls the seasonal practice of driving sheep up to highland pastures to escape the summer heat and bringing them back down to the villages in autumn. Today, the festival aims to promote livestock farming, protect the ecological balance and honour shepherds.
According to records, the first Trashumancia in Madrid took place in 923, but it became an established tradition in 1273 with the founding of the Honourable Council of Shepherds. Since 1994, the festival has been recognised as part of Spain's cultural heritage and has become an official ceremony.
In medieval times, shepherds paid a toll to local authorities to move their flocks through the city. Today, that payment is made symbolically to mayors.
