The name of the Vianese breed refers to an ancient population of Galician cattle that extended throughout the Orense region of Viana de Bollo. It preserves very primitive characters since it is one of the few European bovine breeds that has never stopped coexisting with the wolf.

The presence of this breed in Galicia, integrated into the so-called “browns of the northwest”, has been documented since ancient times. However, the first descriptions of this type of livestock appear at the end of the 19th century.

The majority of authors who have studied it, and their brown neighbourts counterparts, classify it within the so-called Cantabrian bovine trunk, which is assumed to be of Central European origin. Sánchez Belda (1984) indicates that it is understandable to attribute the arrival of this bovine family to the Celtic people, across the Pyrenees in successive Indo-European waves. The history of this log is that of the people who exploited it: simple, sober, hard-working, isolated and mountaineer.

The Vianese race spread mainly through the region of Viana de Bollo, located in the province of Orense.

The first descriptions of the brown cattle of Galicia date back to the beginning of the 20th century. Rof Codina (1914) indicates that:

“In Galicia there are many specimens with all the typical characteristics of the “Galician race” but with black or slaty nasal mucosa, lips, eyelids, vulva and margin of the anus, and there is also another type also with conformation the same as that of the country, but with dark sclera and black or ashy hairs surrounding the mouth. We believe the same as Dechambre that these pigmentations are signs of breed impurity and that these animals should be considered as crossbreeds and eliminated from competitions in which only the selection and constitution of the Galician breed is pursued."

The Vianese race would today be part of the so-called group of brown races of the northwest, along with the Alistana-Sanabresa, Frieiresa, Cachena and Limiana.


The Viana cow is characterized by its rusticity and was subjected to a mixed management system, taking advantage of the communal pastures and mountains of the Viana de Bollo region during the summer months. In a similar way to the rest of the brown breeds of the northeast, the Viennese breed was dedicated mainly to work and meat production without forgetting its adequate predisposition to produce quality butter.

Today, the Vianese cow is a very important instrument of landscape management that helps keep the mountains clean and is an important element in the fight against the spread of fires.