 |
 |
| |
|
Man and the Nature Park |
|
 The remains of prehistoric settlements, fortifications and places of worship prove that Texelgruppe was inhabited in very early times. Examples are the heights of Saxnerknott, Saxnerhof in the locality Oberplars (with its fortification walls, living-holes, bowl-shaped stones and several findings of clay fragments), Gampbichl or the so called "Nörggelelöcher", two caves north-west of Saxnerknott. These places still bear many secrets. Near the lake Spronser See, on the ancient "death path" from Pfelders to Dorf Tirol, bowl-shaped stones were found. They were probably used to light fires to light the way for mourners bringing their dead for burial to the parish church St. Peter in Dorf Tirol after the snow melted. Women also took newborn babies there in order to get them christened.
 Due to the increase in population during the late Middle-Age, permanently inhabited Schwaighöfe were built on Alpine pastures as high as 2000 meters above sea level. Some of them were situated above the altitude where cereals grow and their inhabitants could not depend on the traditional subsistence economy. These farmers used to provide the land owners with cheese, livestock and wool and got cereals and salt in return. Some of these ancient farms were turned into Alpine dairy cottages. Examples are Grafalm, Mitterkaser, Rableit, Eishof, Mairalm, Unterglaneggalm and Seeberalm. Until 1897, Eishof - at 2070 meters above sea level - was the highest situated permanently farmed settlement.
The Schnals Valley has the largest livestock of sheep in South Tyrol . It is an archaic experience to see the seemingly endless procession of over 1000 animals being driven through snowfields and glacier firns across Hochjoch (2,875 m), Niederjoch (3,019 m) and Gurgler Eisjoch (3,152 m) to the pastures of Ötztal, where lush green grass grows even during the summer months.
  A characteristic element of the cultural landscape in Vinschgau and to some extent also in Burggrafenamt are the so called Waale. They are irrigation canals built by farmers some centuries ago. The water came from rivers situated higher up in the mountains, sometimes even from areas far above the timber line. Depending on the characteristics of the area, the water flowed either in ditches or in channels cut in the rock or in open wooden channels called "Kandeln". These were often fixed to the rock faces at dizzy heights. Some of these irrigation canals reach a length of 20 kilometers before they ramify out in the fields. The "Waalers" were responsible for the functioning of this irrigation system. A hammer, loosely fixed to a waterwheel alerted them by its monotonous hammering sound that the water was flowing regularly. During the last decades most of these old canals were given up and substituted by modern irrigation facilities. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
