The legend of the Reschen Lake

Today, the beautiful bell tower peaking up from the Reschen lake´s water, represents one of the most loved places to take pictures in the Vischgau Valley. It is one of the places tourists love the most, even though not everyone knows the sad story that lies behind this attraction.

Since about the middle of last century, the town of Graun lies under the lake´s surface. That story begins when, between 1948 and 1950, the big Electric Company Montecatini came to this area to make good businnes out of nature´s power. That is the reason why the company wanted to build a huge dam which  burried Graun under water.

500 hectars of cultivated ground and more than 150 houses had been drowned. Lots of families, in spite of the little money the company gave them, had a present with no future. Some moved away, some others tried to build a new life and home in upper Graun, where they still live today.

Nature´s wounds have been healed quite fast, but the ones in people´s hearts are still there, in the hearts and rememberings of the ones who saw their home sinking.

Today, the bell tower is surely a nice spot to take a beautiful pictures, but surely, if you will visit Graun, one thought about what happen will come to your mind and, maybe, you will look down in the Reschen Lake and imagine the town sleeping undernieth the water.

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