Rocchetta roadblock

Defense plan of the roadblock with the barbed wire entangled

the Rocchetta lock - the battery block at the top left, the defensive barracks with the defensive wall leading down to the right

The Rocchetta roadblock was part of the Austro-Hungarian defense bar at the rear of the Trento fortress . It was located below the Rocchetta rock northeast of Mezzolombardo and was sometimes referred to as "Sperre Nontal" (actually Non Valley ).

The work was built according to the fortification program of 1850 in the years 1860 to 1864 in order to seal off the Non Valley from the Adige Valley and thus cover the Trento fortress against a breakthrough from the Tonale Pass . This was the second line of defense behind the Strino works on Passo Tonale, which was also built during this period (1860–1862) . At the narrowest point, this work blocked the Val di Non and thus the roads from Cles and the Tonale and from Spormaggiore to Mezzolombardo.

After the Tonale pass barrier had been massively strengthened by the construction of further works until 1912 and it became apparent in 1915 that an Italian breakthrough over the Tonale pass was becoming increasingly unlikely, the works were disarmed and used only as a camp and troop accommodation.

investment

Built from stone blocks in a towering construction on a rocky promontory above the Nocebach, the roadblock was already classified as less shell-proof when it was completed; it could only have withstood fire from field cannons for a certain period of time - but not fire from howitzers - which is why it at The outbreak of war in 1915 was already unusable.

The main part of the plant was on a slope, consisted of a transverse battery block and behind it, separated by a courtyard, a defensive barracks . Both components were connected on the north side by a transverse structure, which had rifle slots and a caponier for painting the courtyard. In the throat facing the Rocchetta rock, a throat trunk was attached. This main building sat on the road from Cles to Mezzolombardo, which, after overcoming a drawbridge with a gate in front, led through the postern of the battery block into the courtyard and then left the factory again through the postern under the defensive barracks.

The road from Spormaggiore to Mezzolombardo, which was a little below and ran parallel here, was only secured by a drawbridge with a gate in front of it and a guardhouse. The space between the main plant was covered by a defensive wall.

The original armouring consisted of eleven 15 cm M 61 field cannons, which were replaced over the years by four 9 cm M 75 field cannons and two 15 cm M 80 mortars as part of modernization measures.

After the end of the First World War , the property fell to the Italian army, which set up an ammunition depot here. Due to an unexplained cause, there was an explosion in the depot in 1925, which completely destroyed the structure. The remains were then almost completely removed, only the valley-side foundation of the battery block and some wall or casemate parts in the rising slope remained. In the meantime, as with most of the Austrian fortifications in Trentino , restoration work has been carried out to secure the ruins.

Note

A photo from April 1912 showing the construction work can be found on Google earth under the specified position.

literature

• Erwin Anton Grestenberger: Imperial and Royal fortifications in Tyrol and Carinthia 1860–1918. Verlag Österreich ua, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-8132-0747-1 .
• Wilhelm Nussstein: Dolomites. Austrian fortresses in Northern Italy. From the seven municipalities to the Flitscher Klause. Mittler, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0496-0 , ( military history travel guide ).
• Vienna War Archives

Coordinates: 46 ° 14 ′ 2 ″  N , 11 ° 4 ′ 5 ″  E