Most villages in Austria have their own Kirchtag ('Church Day') or Kirchwoche. The neighbouring village to Nötsch, just over the Gail on the other side of the valley, is Feistritz, and they certainly know how to have a traditional event. Whitsun in Austria is Pfingsten, and the week is the Kirchtag for Feistritz, kicking off on Whit-Monday (National Holiday) with the KUFENSTECHEN. For further historical context, look it up, but suffice to say it involves young men bareback-riding horses at high speed and trying to smash a barrel on a stick by wielding heavy cast iron clubs. The winner gets the first dance with a fair maiden apparently. Plenty of an excuse for dressing up in the Tracht and Dirndel, drinking copious quantities of alcohol and having a knees-up.