The sunken village appears again after 71 years «kleinezeitung.at

In South Tyrol, the remains of a flooded village in the 1950’s to create a reservoir for a hydroelectric power station have re-emerged. The water has now been drained for maintenance

2.15 PM, May 20, 2021

The steeple that juts out from the water. This photo of Lake Reschen in South Tyrol is world famous. In 1950, villages were flooded to build a reservoir for the hydroelectric power station. Since then, only the top of the steeple can be seen in place.

Due to maintenance work, the water was drained from Reschensee at Graun in Vinschgau – It sank so deeply that the ruins of the village that flooded in the 1950’s have surfaced again, the Resin Pass Tourism Association said. The work has been going on for the past few weeks. Many people know the lake because of the sunken steeple of Saint Catarina Church, which protrudes from the water. The unusual location was also the main filming location for the mystery series “Curon”, called Graun im Vinschgau in Italian, which premiered on Netflix last year.

At that time, the steeple remained standing for reasons of protection of the monument

In some rubble, you can still guess the house walls, stairs, or rusty components. More than half a century ago, the villages of Reichen and Graun were flooded to create a reservoir for the hydroelectric power station. More than 160 homes were blown up, flooded and the villagers were forced to leave. Only the 14th-century steeple was left standing for reasons of monument protection.