Aupa Valley (Friuli)

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Val d'Aupa / Val Aupe
Lower Aupatal near Pradis

Lower Aupatal near Pradis

location Friuli , Friuli Venezia Giulia , Italy
Waters Aupa
Mountains Carnic and Julian Alps
Geographical location 46 ° 25 '  N , 13 ° 12'  E Coordinates: 46 ° 25 '  N , 13 ° 12'  E
Aupatal (North Italy)
Aupatal
rock lime
height 299 to  2066  m
length 55 km
surface 50 km²
Template: Infobox Glacier / Maintenance / Image description missing

The Aupatal ( Italian Valle d'Aupa ; Furlanisch Val Aupe ; Slovenian Aupaska Dolina ) is a northern, sparsely populated side valley of the Fella in Friuli , Upper Italy , in the border area of ​​the Carnic and Julian Alps , which is at Moggio Udinese at about 299 m above sea level. Adria flows into the Eisental . The valley is flanked by several two-thousand-meter peaks - mainly made of limestone . Dordolla in the middle Aupa Valley is the largest place. A road along the Aupa leads from Moggio Udinese to Pontebba in the Canal Valley . The Aupatal is an example of a structurally weak area on the periphery, in which the consequences of mountain depopulation are very clear.

geography

The dominant mountain of the valley, the Creta Grauzaria

The Aupa Valley is located in the northern part of Friuli, in Montagna Friulana in the Canale di Ferro region and belongs to the municipality of Moggio Udinese. It is approx. 15 km long and extends over a vertical drop of 299 m at the confluence with the Eisental up to 2066 m above sea level at the Sella di Cereschiatis pass. The Torrente Aupa mountain stream , part of the Tagliamento river system, flows through the valley . When entering the Aupa valley from the south, you pass under the 209 meter long Val-Aupa viaduct of the Pontafelbahn , which connects the Campiolo-Monte-Palis tunnel and the 9222 meter long Zuc-dal-Bor tunnel. The Aupatal, which runs in a north-south direction, narrows towards the end and is surrounded on the right and left by craggy limestone peaks. The valley ends at the wooded saddle Sella Cereshiatis (1072 m). Soon after this pass on the way down to Pontebba, the hamlets Località Aupa and Frattis with the side valley Val Gleris to the rugged Zuc-dal-Bôr group are located. There is a cross-country ski run at the foot of the Crete di Gleris.

The soil in the Aupa valley is calcareous in the lower area and flysch-like in the upper area . The western flank in the lower valley is consistently steep. On the east side there are areas with a lower gradient and areas with meadows that have not yet overgrown. In the upper area, however, the west side is better suited for agriculture, while old forests are on the east side. Overall, the abandonment of agriculture has resulted in a lot of bush cover and regrowing forest. At the beginning of the 20th century, wood was still in short supply.

traffic

The Aupa Valley is best reached by car. A road (Strada Provinciale 112) runs along the Aupa from Moggio Udinese to Pontebba in the Canal Valley . The Aupa Valley is more difficult to reach by public transport due to the low population density of the region. Since the extensive tunneling of the Pontafelbahn , the next train station is in Carnia , a district of Venzone . From there, take the bus to Moggio Udinese and from there take another bus line into the Aupa Valley via Dordolla to Vorchians.

Places in the Aupa Valley

Neither valley bottoms nor alluvial cones or valley headings are suitable as settlement areas. Due to the damming high mountains and the proximity to the Adriatic, there is very high rainfall. There can be heavy rain, especially in autumn. Floods and rockfalls lead to extensive gravel areas. The valley is very sparsely populated and had 175 inhabitants in 2015.

Pradis (470 m) is the first village in the valley at the foot of the Masareit (1459 m) with a few houses in the valley and on the eastern slope of the valley. The upper village (480 m) with some lawn terraces on the east side of the valley. Pradis was mentioned as early as 1448 under the name Seletti Pradis . From here a road leads to the nature park in Val Alba or to Virgulins (700 m) and Drentus (720 m), where there is an AgriKultura Alpina. From a geological point of view, the villages of Moggio Basso and Borgo Aupa are already in the Aupa Valley. Since the river regulation of 1770, however, they have been seen more as belonging to the Fellatal.

Chiaranda or Cjarande , for fence or wall, is located in the valley and consists of about twenty houses, a rest house and the fountain l'Aip dai Cjavai . After the floods in 2003, the road was completely renewed. The place was first mentioned in 1341 as Stauli Cjaranda .

Borgo di Mezzo in Monticello

Grauzaria , furlanisch Grauçàrie (520 m) are a few houses at the confluence of the Rio Forcja des Torrente Aupa. The village is on the west side of the valley by a grassy terrace at the foot of the Creta Grauzaria. The former Grauzaria mill is now a trout farm. From here a steep road leads to the villages of Monticello (840 m), where the hamlets of Badiuz , Borgo di Mezzo and Morolz are located. A hiking trail leads from Morolz to the deserted village of Moggessa di Là . Grauzaria also includes the Staipie hamlet , which was inhabited until the 1960s.

Dordolla
Dordolla, S.Floriano

Dordolla is currently the largest place. It is located in the middle of the Aupa valley a little above the valley floor on a terrace (630 m). The access road leads over a new bridge over the Aupa to the east side of the valley. A little further into the valley there is a suspension bridge over which a footpath leads to the north side of the village. The church of St. Florian from the years 1891 to 1895 on a cliff above the river is striking. The church, which was destroyed by an earthquake, was rebuilt in place of the old chapel on the decision of the heads of the von Vorchians (then 65) and those of Dordolla (then around 50) families. Although larger, the Vorchians did not establish itself as a church location. In 1915 the church path of the Vorchians, the northern access path to Dordolla, was improved. Behind the church and cemetery there is a central car park, the town's piazza with a bar and alimentari. The densely built-up part of the village is another 200 meters uphill, where all the materials had to be transported by toboggan or wheelbarrow. Renovating houses under these circumstances is very time-consuming. This is probably one of the reasons why Dordolla has retained a very harmonious appearance to this day. The narrow streets look almost a bit Venetian. In the vernacular it is even said: “Venezia è bella, Dordolla è sua sorella.” (Venice is beautiful, Dordolla is his sister). The place name was derived from the Slovenian dol , for valley, like other field names in the area, which were collected in great detail as part of a cultural project. Due to the lack of people and the cessation of cultivation of the remote fields and the change to the car, old footpaths that have been used for centuries disappear and with them the names of the fields. Currently the place has about 40 permanent residents. In 1936 there were still 346. Typical family names in Dordolla are Della Schiava, Di Gallo, Faleschini, Filaferro, Gallizia, Not, Tolazzi or Moretti. The remaining residents love the slogan Dordolla non molla! (Dordolla does not give up). There are practically no job opportunities in town. You commute to Moggio, work in the trades, public service, in the paper mill or with civil defense, mountain rescue services or fire services. Nevertheless, there are also newly immigrated residents.

Footpaths lead from Dordolla to Soval (750 m), Virgulins and Drentus . The two hamlets can only be reached by car from Pradis di Sopra, but are much closer to Dordolla due to the 15-minute walk. There is organic farming here. Plezzana sheep are kept and typical Friulian crops such as potatoes or beans. The Agrikultura Alpina Tiere Viere (Friulian soil) is currently the only overnight accommodation option in the Aupa Valley, with the exception of an alpine hut on the Crete Grauzaria. A little above the village is the abandoned Neideralm Pustòts. The small-scale and varied cultural landscape with meadows, fields and gardens can be easily explored on hikes around the village.

A newly founded association, Cort dai Gjats , campaigns for the preservation of Dordolla and the surrounding cultural landscape. The cultural center has been usable again since 2012. In Dordolla people have found each other who, contrary to all economic sense, are fighting against decline and emigration. There are always extraordinary cultural events in town, such as the Ewige Baustelle | exhibition project in 2014 Večno Gradbišče | Cantiere continuo .

  • Dordolla in spring

  • Dordolla, in the background the Crete Grauzaria

  • “Asilo e Ricreatorio” for children of women working in agriculture, today a cultural center in Dordolla

  • Dordolla War Memorial

On the steep west side across from Dordolla are Fassoz (624 m) and Zais (540 m), which has been uninhabited since 2014. More hamlet above Dordolla are Belcis , Gallizis and Nanghets e la cite , uninhabited since 1995th

Vorchians further back in the valley means fork in the path and is the name for about fifteen villages (borgate) and hamlets (casali) on the slopes, scattered around an approx. 2 km long plateau along the west side of the valley. The names of the hamlets are Cjampiui , Coset , Belcis , Culos , Frucs (uninhabited since 2012), Galizis , Gravons (uninhabited since 1980) and Matanins (abandoned since the 1990s). The scattered settlement was first mentioned in 1338 as Bavorchans and is located at about 690 m. Vorchians has long been the largest and wealthiest area in the valley. The geological structure differs from the middle and lower Aupatal. The soil is flysch-like and therefore more productive and more grassy than the limestone soil. But it wasn't just farming that was easier. In addition to migrant work, there were other employment opportunities. On the steep east side of the valley, high-quality wood could be felled in the forests of Griffon, Laduset, Valeri and Lius. In the Gravons-Nais-Griffon area there was still a Valtellina cable car between 1972 and 1980 that only works with gravity. Another important source of income from 1872 to 1953 was mining in Rio da li Fous. During the period of economic prosperity (487 inhabitants in 1944), Vorchians had the largest number of dairies in the valley, ten, two sawmills and four mills. In Coset there was the Mulin Dodoine Moroldo until the beginning of the 1920s, which later became a dairy. The Cucjâr mill near Pustote fell victim to the floods of 1920. In Vorchians, most of the cattle, 210 head, were kept in 1925 and with it the largest hay meadows (approx. 220 h). The valley's first and only milk cooperative existed here from 1922, and ceased operations in 1976. The first school existed here from 1880, which was also closed in 1970 as the last school in the valley. Within about 70 years the number of inhabitants has decreased to less than a tenth, most recently to 36 inhabitants. Since 1990 Dordolla has been the most populous place. Saps is a little above Vorchians . The area around Vorchians is also known because there are some very stable, earthquake-resistant houses in higher elevations in Gran Cuel (963 m), Costa De L'Andri (971 m) and Costa Mozza (962 m). In earlier times (1891 census) the houses were inhabited all year round. The Filaferro mountain guide family lived in Gran Cuel until 1927. The Crete Grauzaria was led by Arturo Ferrucci and Emilio Pico in 1893 by the brothers Giovanni (1855–1938) and Giacomo Filaferro (1870–1942) climbed from Vorchians. Giovanni Filaferro was the first certified mountain guide in the Aupa Valley. Costa de Andri was temporarily inhabited until the mid-1970s. At the foot of the north face of Crete there is occasionally a field of snow, despite the low altitude (1225 m), even over the summer. In July 2009 it was around 70 m long and 25 m wide. When the first fresh snow came in December, it was still about 10 m long.

population

Abandoned Niederalm near Drentus

The ethno-linguistic structure in the Friulian Alps is more diverse than anywhere else in the Alps. Linguistically and culturally, the Aupa Valley is shaped by its early membership of the Roman Empire and its border location between Carinthia and the Friulian and Slovenian-speaking regions. The Furlanic language contains loan words from all of these language areas. An example of this is “sgnape” (pronounced schjnape) for schnapps.

Early population information can be found in the church registers for the year 1805. 58 families are spread over 15 hamlets and villages. Assuming around 6 people per family, around 350 people lived in the valley at the beginning of the 19th century. When the area came to Austria in 1815, the population grew to around 400 people. In 1820 the construction of the cemetery in Dordolla, which is adjacent to the chapel, was approved. Before that, the inhabitants of the valley had to bring their dead to the cemetery at the abbey church in Moggio, whereby the path from the most distant hamlets could be up to 13 km long. Probably a rest was made on the funeral procession at very specific places, which were also memorials for the dead, similar to the Mirla in the Karst. A survey to determine the number of believers in 1851 showed strong growth. There were now 787 people in 130 houses (families). Only in 1865 was a separate baptismal font approved and a chaplain sent to Dordolla.

With the ups and downs of population development, the area is currently experiencing enormous depopulation. Reports of waves of emigration from the Friulian mountains go back to the Middle Ages, but the Aupa valley experienced the greatest decline in population in the 20th century. A population peak was reached shortly after the Second World War . In the 1960s there was massive emigration to major Italian cities or abroad. In 2011 the population had decreased to less than a fifth from 1951. Like Montagna Friulana, the Aupa Valley as a whole did not participate in the economic upswing that hit the extra-Alpine South Friuli at the end of the 1970s. It is one of the valleys of North Friuli, which around 1990 was one of those areas of Italy that suffered the most severe population losses since the Second World War. The causes are the inhospitable landscape and a lack of jobs. The last wave of emigration weakened in the 1970s. Despite national and international Friuli earthquake aid, the population losses did not decrease. Emigration had left an aging population with rising death rates and falling births.

Population in the villages of the Aupa valley from 1805
year 1805 1851 1936 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
P | HH P | HH P P P P P P P P
Pradis 12 | 2 35 | 7th 88 128 124 99 92 78 58 44
Chiaranda 18 | 3 38 | 6th 57 74 84 56 38 43 29 24
Grauzaria 60 | 10 115 | 17th 158 160 115 89 55 44 33 22nd
Zais 18 | 3 44 | 6th
Fassoz 12 | 2 14 | 2
Virgulins 18 | 3 29 | 7th
Drentus 6 | 1 24 | 4th
Dordolla 96 | 16 248 | 40 346 344 260 149 90 85 66 58
Vorchians 6 | 1 11 | 1 380 386 327 180 105 73 57 36
Cjampiui 6 | 1
Nanghez 7 | 1
Culos 12 | 2 28 | 5
Frucs 30 | 5 28 | 5
Gallizis 18 | 3 56 | 9
Matanins 12 | 2 30 | 6th
Saps 18 | 3 43 | 7th
Costa Andri 12 | 2 31 | 6th
Aupatal as a whole 348 | 58 787 | 130 1,029 1,092 910 573 380 323 243 184

Data from 1926 Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT)
1805 Church registers: P = approximate value based on the assumption of 6 people per household (HH)
Vorchians = 1805/1821 Salez di Vorchians (localita Coset) / Costa Andri = 1821 Cueste a l'Andri

Virgulins above Dordolla. 2016: One resident

The largest place used to be the scattered settlement of Vorchians, now it is Dordolla. The population of Vorchians today is less than a tenth of the volume in 1951. Only those who could not emigrate stayed in the valley. Accordingly, few young people still live in the valley today. Most of the residents are retired. The very small number of immigrants are mostly former labor migrants who are returning to their old villages in the pension. The heavily subsidized reconstruction after the earthquake disaster meant that sufficient refurbished living space was available. These remigrants ensure that senior citizens' villages are created. In 2004, the proportion of older people was almost twice as high as that of younger people. In the whole valley there are partially evacuated villages, with most of the rebuilt houses serving as holiday homes. However, there are also some cases of immigration of people from urban areas (amenity migration) who work in the region and provide cultural impulses.

A special feature is that some of the residents of the valley are over 100 years old. In addition to genetic factors, the meager diet probably plays a role. The oldest man to date was 98.

Cultural landscape & agriculture

The result of the real division in Drentus: a tiny house, three house numbers, three owners

The historic cultural landscape of the valley was farmers in the sideline or from small farmers affected. One consequence of the real division that has been common in Italy for centuries is that the property is extremely split and scattered. There are hardly any larger spaces that consistently belong to a single owner. Therefore there were practically no full-time farmers . Agriculture was only used for self-sufficiency. The men from the Aupatal worked as migrant workers over the summer, mostly as bricklayers z. B. in the construction of the villas in Millstatt in neighboring Carinthia. The men from the other side of the Fella lying Résiatal were well known as a traveling knife and scissors sharpener. Survival was not possible without the exploitation of women and child labor . The elderly still report that most of them were so poor that they were never really full. The malnutrition resulted in the women becoming pregnant less often. You had three children at most. When they were around 15 years old, they were often given as servants and maidservants in the neighboring Canal Valley to the north. There were many full-time farmers there , as the area was subject to Austrian inheritance law until 1918 .

Meadow overgrown with hazel trees

The Aupatal is currently a prototypical example of the decline of a cultural landscape. A valley in which wood was very valuable for centuries, where every land was used for meadows and fields, is growing largely uncontrollably. Not only the natural framework conditions such as poor soils lead to overgrown vegetation and bush cover. Due to the litter and small ownership, there is no afforestation as z. B. is done in Austria at abandoned mountain pastures. Even if a farmer can be found who would like to lease small plots , this is usually hardly possible. Many owners often live with unknown addresses as migrant workers in major Italian cities, in Germany or elsewhere abroad. Often the ownership structure is unclear due to unresolved inheritance cases. The heirs often do not undertake the travel activities for the administrative expenses due to the low value of the property.

One consequence of this situation is that there are almost completely depopulated villages in the Aupa Valley . "Nowhere in the Eastern Alps the Entsiedelungsvorgang is so long-lasting and as pronounced as in the Friulian Alps, where there has been next to Flurwüstungen even to the creation of totally entsiedelten villages (ghost towns)." When ghost towns within the meaning totally entsiedelter villages are in Aupatal the The hamlets of Badiuz (838 m) and Morolz (855 m), which in 1951 had 26 and 36 inhabitants respectively.

economy

Vorchians with the approx. 800 m high north face of the Crete Grauzaria

In the Aupatal there are practically no companies that can be considered as employers. There is a little more economic activity in the Canal del Ferro. One of the largest companies is the Cartiere Ermolli paper and cellulose mill in Moggio Udinese, which, although in crisis, is still one of the most important employers in the surrounding area. New larger companies are not coming into the area. Concepts for business settlement do not apply in the mountain valleys. It is also becoming more and more difficult for small businesses. With the construction of the A 23 motorway as a new north-south connection, many of the former petrol stations, car dealerships, inns and shops on the old state road Strada Statale 13 have disappeared again, as there is hardly any through traffic there. Most of the workers in the north Friulian valleys commute to the central area of Tolmezzo or to towns in southern Friuli such as Udine .

Despite its beauty, the somewhat remote valley has not undergone any tourist development like the Canal Valley, which is close to the long-distance connections to the south. The cultural landscape in the Aupatal differs clearly from the neighboring areas of Carinthia , the Cadore or Isonzo areas .

There have been funding measures for the region for decades. Serious measures began in the 1970s, but they lost their intensity in the 1980s. The 1994 Mining Act made the mountain area a priority of national interest. In the course of the EU's Objective 2 region funding , infrastructure measures such as road and cable car construction, nature and culture trails and further training were implemented. However, all spatial development measures could not stop the depopulation of the Montagna Friulana.

The agricultural sector has never played a special role in Montagna Friulana, as the area is not very suitable for agriculture. Nevertheless there are new initiatives. In Drentus above Dordolla, a trained farmer and his wife have set themselves the goal of creating a livelihood by cultivating the arable land (organic farming), breeding rare breeds of sheep and renting rooms. The two strive to make the cultural landscape, which has been created by countless generations, accessible, and they are also supported by volunteers. The area is too impassable for the use of larger machines and agriculture can only be done by hand.

An underground gas pipeline runs through the Aupatal, which takes natural gas coming from Russia from the Austrian Trans Austria gas pipeline and feeds it into the Snam network, which runs throughout Italy . It was built in 1974 and later partially renewed. The project has no economic impact on the valley, except in the construction phases.

Riserva Natural Val Alba nature reserve

The Riserva Natural Val Alba nature reserve is located in the mountains between the Aupa valley and the Eisental valley . The remote area covers an area of ​​3,000 hectares in the municipality of Moggio Udinese. The largest mountain valley in the nature reserve is the Val Alba. The highest mountains are on the eastern border, the Monte Chiavals (2098 m) and the Monte Zuc dal Bor (2195 m). The highest mountain in the area is Monte Crostis (1898 m). The hard-to-reach area with no settlements is best reached via the Val Alba, into which it leads up a road from Pradis. The area was established in 2006 with support from the European Union and with the help of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region . It is administered by the Parco Naturale Regionale delle Prealpi Giulie in the Résia Valley . The objective of the regional parks to set in motion independent regional development as a separate economic factor and advertising medium has not yet been achieved. The infrastructural development of tourism stands in the way of the minor importance of agriculture. An agriturismo has hardly developed so far. Only in Drentus is there an AgriKultura Alpina.

In the area there is also the highest building in the valley, the Ricovero Cjasut dal Scior , an old military installation on Monte Vualt or Monte Forcjadice at an altitude of 1732 m. This building, disguised as a "military hospital", is in a fantastic view. It is maintained by an association and is only accessible to a limited extent.

On the west side of the valley at the foot of the Grauzaria is the alpine hut Rifugio Grauzaria, still below the tree line at 1250 m. The access road branches off at about Vorchians. This only managed hut in the Aupa Valley was revitalized in 2008 and is a starting point for mountain tours on the Grauzaria crest or hikes on the flop.

history

Interior of a derelict house in Virgulins

The history of the valley has been closely linked to Moggio since ancient times. The place at the valley entrance with a strategically favorable fortification hill is an ancient power center of the area. A Celtic settlement before the Romans can be assumed, although no archaeological evidence is available yet. It is assumed that there were a few first huts in the early Middle Ages , with hardly more than 100 people living in the valley. The first records can be found around the year 1200, when the Benedictine monastery Moggio, which was built around 1070 instead of a medieval fort, promoted wood extraction and cattle breeding. Around this time permanent settlements emerged in the valley, so-called "Stavoli". The first written mention of the place is from 1335 for Vorchians, 1338 for Grauzaria or 1420 for Pradis Chiarandà. During the period of the greatest expansion of the Ottoman Empire around 1481, the population certainly suffered from the Turkish soldiers who repeatedly passed through, who went on raids in neighboring countries such as the Republic of Venice , to which the area belonged at that time, up to Habsburg Carinthia. Until the end of the First World War , the border with Carinthia ran at the upper end of the Aupa valley. Due to its geographical location on a cliff above the valley, the place Dordolla was in a better position in the Turkish times, as the civilian population could defend themselves well here. The aristocracy was unable to protect the population, which is why there were peasant uprisings in the neighboring Canal Valley . Intensive logging of black pine, fir and larch is known from the Venetian period. Two sawmills were built in 1597 and 1620. In the area around Vorchians, transport routes for wood were built early on. In 1815 the area came to Austria as a result of the reorganization of Europe after the Neapolitan Wars in the course of the Congress of Vienna . The population grew to over 400 stoves. Due to the defeat of Austria in the German War , the Aupa Valley was awarded to the Kingdom of Italy in the Peace of Vienna in 1866 . The first school in the valley had existed in Vorchians since 1880. A second was established in Dordolla in 1905.

Suspension bridge at the beginning of the footpath to Dordolla

In 1910 the old road through the valley up to Sella Cereschiattis da Moggio Udinese was restored. It was destroyed in several places by floods and was expanded to a path width of 2.5 m. Some parts of the road came from the 1870s, others even from 1595. When the First World War broke out , the Aupatal was suddenly right on the front line, that from Monte Cullar in the west via the northern Monte Palon, Palis di Lius and the Crete dal Crons passed. Military fortifications, barracks and an infirmary were built. The male population of the valley was also forced to do this. 73 men, 33 from Vorchians, 19 from Dordolla, 9 from Grauzaria, 4 and 8 from Chiarandà and Pradis, did heavy work here in the construction and maintenance. Vorchians was the central location of this front section of the mountain war . Vorchians was on the edge of the Austrian artillery, which no longer caused any damage here. The traces of the old military roads can still be found today while hiking. In 1916, King Victor Emmanuel III came. on a visit from the front to Vorchians. This was officially the first time that a car was in the valley. On October 27, 1917, the population, especially of the upper valley, was evacuated, not because the Austro-Hungarian army was advancing, but because the army was afraid of sabotage by the civilian population. It was the only such case in Friuli. Some residents tried to stay as long as possible because they found it difficult to leave the farm. 1920 was another bad flood year. The Aupa tore all the bridges and footbridges in the valley, dozens of houses and the school in Pradis and two mills with it. There were eight mills in total in the valley. After flood damage, they were not restored in the 20th century. There were two mills near Dordolla, the Mulin dal Dognit and a little further up the Mulin dal Pâgno , which were active until 1930 and 1915 respectively. Another was at the Riu di Val on the way to Drentus.

Revitalization of the first power plant in the valley

Electricity was the first to come to Dordolla in the Auptal. In 1923 a power station was built there on the initiative of a Catholic priest. This was deactivated in the course of the network expansion by ENI in the 1960s. There is currently a private initiative to put the power plant back into operation. The pastor's name was Don Simone Treu, and he was pastor in Dordolla throughout the 1920s and also the initiator of the construction of the Asilo (kindergarten), which was inaugurated in 1927.

First and last elementary school in the Aupa valley.

At the time of Italian fascism , the flood-damaged street was once again restored (1928), military facilities reinforced and new schools set up in Pradis, Grauzaria and Chiarandà. From January 1944 to February 1945 the German Wehrmacht operated a military station in the school of Vorchians to fight the Tito partisans . Contemporary witnesses reported that the civilian population in the Aupa Valley was less at risk of getting caught between the fronts than, for example, in southern Carinthia. The memory of a barter with the soldiers, eggs for pipe tag or chocolate for the children has been handed down.

Immediately after the Second World War , the Aupatal reached its previous maximum population of 1250 inhabitants. Soon afterwards, the last wave of emigration began, which led to a population reduction to currently 220 residents. In 1953 the last mill in the Aupa valley ceased operations. It was in operation for 150 years. In the same year the mine of Rio da li Fous was closed, in which fluorite , galena ( galena ) and lead were mined. During the mining period from 1872 to 1953, a total of 12,866 tons were extracted. In 1968 the road through the valley was repaired again. The violent earthquake of 1976 caused severe damage and further accelerated depopulation. On August 29, 2003 there was the last major flood, which destroyed 5 km of the road from Moggio to Vorchians, which could only be reached again after two weeks.

The winter is mild and with little snow

There are around 480 buildings in the valley, 160 of them in Vorchians, 130 around Dordolla, 75 around and in Grauzaria, 45 near Chiarandà and 70 in Pradis. The building stock in the Aupatal is relatively young, there are hardly any older buildings to be found. The earthquakes of 1908, 1928 and 1976 destroyed a great deal. One of the few older buildings of architectural value is the Church of St. Florian in Dordolla, which dates from 1895. Dordolla or the other villages with its narrow houses and alleys was repeatedly destroyed in parts and rebuilt. The houses are unusually close together. An important reason for this was that agricultural land was very valuable and one did not want to waste any land that was somehow usable as arable land. One of the oldest still existing buildings is the house of the Gallizis in Vorchians dating back to 1727, as well as the old mill in this village, the Mulino dell'Ors from 1797. It is located at the confluence of the Rio Fontanaz in the Aupa and was active until 1953 . The barracks in Sella Cereschiattis from 1913 are also older. A sawmill had existed near Pelis since 1567, mentioned in 1620, which was active until 1915.

Literature / sources

Web links

Commons : Val d'Aupa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SentieriNaturaTV : Val Aupa - SentieriNatura 2008-01 (animated flight with commentary on the tectonics of the Aupa valley). YouTube, May 13, 2010, accessed July 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ SAF Autoservizi FVG SpA: SAF Autoservizi / Homepage. October 27, 2019, accessed October 27, 2019 (Italian).
  3. ↑ SAF Autoservizi FVG SpA: SAF Autoservizi / Bus to Aupatal. October 27, 2019, accessed October 27, 2019 (Italian).
  4. ↑ Antonietta Spizzo: Su e jù pa Val AUPE. Animals furlane. Terrafriulana. Revista di cultura del Territorio. September 2009, Anno 1 number 2, September 2009, accessed on March 16, 2016 (Italian).
  5. ^ Christopher Thomson: The Place Between. Photographs of landscape form a mountain village amidst.Il luogo in mezzo. Photography della metamorfosi paesaggistica attorno ad un villagio di montagna. Platin Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-95-69404-5-2 .
  6. ↑ Kaspar Nickles / Marina Tolazzi: Animals Four / AgriKulturaAlpina / surroundings. March 17, 2016, accessed March 14, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Michael Beismann: Where trees live in houses. Quart Heft für Kultur Tirol No. 25/15, 2015, accessed on March 25, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Christopher Thomson: Mapping of the area that aims to document and preserve old place names. May 1, 2014, accessed March 17, 2016 .
  9. ↑ G. Pilgram , W. Berger, W. Koroschitz, A. Pilgram-Ribitsch: The last valleys hiking and stopping off in Friuli. November 22, 2010, pp. 123-131 , accessed March 16, 2016 .
  10. ↑ University cultural center UNIKUM University of Klagenfurt / Kulturni Center Univerze v Celevcu: Eternal construction site / Večno Gradbišče / Cantiere Continuo. UNIKUM, May 1, 2014, accessed on March 16, 2016 .
  11. ↑ italy-tours-in-nature.com: Moggio and the Canal del Ferro: Ancient Abbey and Historic Trails in a 'Hidden' World of Secretive Mountains. Retrieved March 14, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Wikimedia Commons contributors: Agriculture in the valleys of the southern Carnic Alps. Interview with Kaspar Nickles. joadl on 01/24/2016. January 24, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2017 .
  13. ↑ a b Peter Čede, Ernst Steinicke: Ghost towns in the Eastern Alps. The phenomenon of depopulation in the Friulian mountain area (Italy). Geographica Helvetica / Vol. 62 2007 / Issue 2, May 8, 2007, pp. 93-103 , accessed on December 29, 2017 .
  14. ↑ a b c d e f g h ISTAT: Population of Housholds. istat.it, February 27, 2016, accessed on December 29, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Roland Löffler, Michael Beismann, Judith Walder, Ernst Steinicke: New Highlanders in traditional migration areas of the Alps. The example of the Friulian Alps. Revue de Géographie Alpine / Journal of Alpine Research 102/3, 2014, accessed on March 24, 2016 .
  16. ↑ NN: You breathe new life into the mountain village. Kleine Zeitung , quoted in the Gailtaler Akademie für Genuss und Lebenskunst, September 2, 2009, accessed on March 27, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Splinter Faction Productions: Kaspar Nickles grass cutting in Val Aupa June 2011. YouTube, July 21, 2012, accessed on March 27, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Parco naturale delle Prealpi Giulie : Riserva Naturale Val Alba / Homepage Nature Park. March 4, 2016, accessed March 4, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Parco naturale delle Prealpi Giulie : Parco Naturale Regionale delle Prealpi Giulie / homepage park administration. March 4, 2016, accessed March 4, 2016 .
  20. ↑ SentieriNatura: Ricovero Cjasut dal Scior. April 23, 2016, accessed April 23, 2016 (Italian).
  21. ↑ SentieriNatura: Rifugio Grauzaria. April 23, 2016, accessed April 23, 2016 (Italian).
  22. ↑ Marco Borga, Paulo Bosolo, Francesco Zanon, Marco Sangati: Hydrometeorological Analysis of the August 29, 2003 Flash Flood in the Eastern Italian Alps. Department of Land and Agroforest Environment, University of Padua, Padua, Italy, November 16, 2006, accessed March 19, 2016 .