The town called “The Colourful Cow” (die bunte Kuh) is where Zarathustra delivers all the speeches in Part I, as well as the speech in chapter 3.8, On Apostates. Little is said about the town, except that it lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. Zarathustra finds an audience here; throughout his speeches he addresses “friends”, “brothers”, and occasionally “disciples”. While most speeches in Part I address a group, some are directed toward a single “brother”. He also addresses other social types or groups, such as the “despisers of the body” and “judges and sacrificers”.

There is no clear indication in the book as to why Zarathustra’s favourite town is given this name, and it might simply be a reference to the old German idiom “there is more that one colourful cow” (“Es gibt mehr als eine bunte Kuh”), which suggests that while a thing might appear unique, there are likely others of its kind, or of a similar kind. While Zarathustra’s favourite town is certainly unique, at least to him, its generic description suggests it could be almost anywhere, and the topics, types and behaviours discussed in his speeches given here can also represent events that are not bound to any specific time.