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Since Roman times, the towns of Graun and Reschen high in the Alps near the Italian-Swiss border had been occupied. But in 1939, the local power company drew up plans for a dam that would give the area plenty of seasonal electricity — but create an artificial lake that would unify two natural lakes and submerge the towns in the valley between them. Despite fierce resistance on the part of the villagers, the plan was eventually passed and the ancient towns submerged in 1950. (That pesky second World War delayed things a bit.) The settlement as it once was:
Today all that’s visible above the waterline is the campanile, or bell tower, of Graun’s 14th-century church tower. Below the waters of Lake Resia, the remains of 163 buildings house fish and eels instead of people, accessible only to divers. (Although I can’t find any evidence that diving Lake Resia is actually allowed, which is unfortunate!)
Photo by flickr user Rich007.
When the lake freezes in winter, you can simply walk out to the bell tower. Local legend holds that on cold nights you can still hear its bells ringing — although the bells were removed on July 18, 1950, a week before the waters came and drowned the church’s bottom half.
The lake in winter:
Comments (15)
Comment
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That first pic is kinda spooky. I’d like to see underwater pics (Google here I come).
posted by Rich on 1-20-2009 at 12:26 pm
Dear Google:
No, I don’t mean “grain and reschen”
Your pal,
Rich
posted by Rich on 1-20-2009 at 12:30 pm
That is very unfortuante if they don’t allow diving there. it would be a huge tourist attraction. I’m from the scuba diving capital of Canada and people go there just to see trees underwater.
posted by Lola on 1-20-2009 at 1:24 pm
Something’s a little fishy about this…look in the original B&W picture, you can clearly see the rest of the church(?) beside the bell tower. It appears that the building comes up to at least the bottom of the roof of the bell tower. But in the second and third pictures, you can see anything else, just the bell tower.
I wonder how much of the town remains underwater or if most of the buildings were torn down prior to the expected flooding.
posted by Adam on 1-20-2009 at 1:53 pm
Ahhhh, some quick research on Wiki shows that the church was in fact demolished prior to the flooding. Search “Lake Resia” on Wikipedia to find out more.
Now I wonder if the bell tower is the only thing left from the original town…
posted by Adam on 1-20-2009 at 1:57 pm
Good point on the church… I, too, wonder how much was demolished before the flooding (it would be pretty strange to have buildings sticking out of the water and ice) and why they left the church tower but obviously leveled the church itself.
In the last picture, I see that bottom window and I wonder if anyone has ever taken a ladder and tried to get inside when it’s frozen. If not, I volunteer! :-D
posted by Sarah on 1-20-2009 at 2:06 pm
What a true shame. Since we have almost no “old” buildings here in America we don’t often take for granted a 700 year old building.
posted by norkio on 1-20-2009 at 2:28 pm
Norkio not sure about your part of the country but where I live we thrive on the old buildings. When people ask where you live you tell them by who used to live there “the old smith house” People just know where that is. my family’s house i grew up in was over 100 years old.
posted by kc on 1-20-2009 at 4:46 pm
Lake Minnewanka near Banff, Alberta, Canada also has submerged buildings and other cool things. Not nearly as many as Graun and Reschen but you can scuba dive there.
From the town’s website:
Lake Minnewanka is a favourite destination for scuba divers in the Banff area, mostly because of the interesting archaeological and historical sites submerged in the waters of the lake.
Power-generating dams built in 1912, 1923 and 1941 increased the size of the lake and deepened it, flooding several small settlement sites that were built around the shores of the natural lake.
Divers at Lake Minnewanka can explore the submerged town site of Minnewanka Landing (established in 1888) and a dam built in 1895. Features include a hotel, several house foundations, wharves, breakwaters and bridge foundations. These sites were partially flooded in 1912, and completely submerged in 1941.
All dives at Lake Minnewanka are cold water. Visibility fluctuates depending on the time of year and the number of divers at the site. Dives vary in depth from 12 m to more than 25 m (80 ft.), and vary according to the time of year, rising as much as 5.5 m from spring to fall. The town site dive requires access by boat.
There are no local operators who provide Scuba tours, training or rentals. However, several Calgary dive shops organize trips to Lake Minnewanka.
posted by Cardinal Fang on 1-20-2009 at 5:08 pm
Another similar case is that of Capel Celyn (Treweryn), a Welsh village that was drowned in the ’60s to provide a reservior for the greater Liverpool area, even though there was no real need for the water at the time. The interesting thing is that the ultimately doomed effort to keep Capel Celyn above water played a large role in altering another landscape – that of Welsh politics. It’s a fascinating case that intertwines language, governance, culture, and nationalism and definitely worth some further exploration if that sounds appealing to you.
Also see the poem “Reservoirs” by truly underappreciated Welsh poet R.S. Thomas (no relation to Dylan). It opens with these lines: “There are places in Wales I don’t go:/ Reservoirs that are the subconscious/ Of a people…”
Man, sometimes eminent domain sucks.
posted by Jonny R on 1-20-2009 at 7:05 pm
kc, our “old” is not so very old at all. . .that’s what norkio is referring to. Europe has plenty of places that are well over 200 years old and that would be about the oldest we can find here in America. What a shame, old buildings carry such knowledge and character!
posted by Meg on 1-20-2009 at 7:43 pm
Okay, so I am not defending KC’s comment. Yes the US has plenty of buildings that are 100 plus years but I think Noriko was referring to ols like 300 years or more. In that case, there are some. The ancient Pueblo structures that are found in the South Western US date back to the 1200’s at least. Though they may not be what you think of, they are buidings that are still standing and some feel are worth preserving. Also, some structures have stood since the 1600’s such as St. Luke’s church in Smithfield, Virginia and the House on De Vargas Street in Sante Fe New Mexico. But These are few and far between, not like Europe.
posted by britt on 1-20-2009 at 10:09 pm
Lake Herrington, in Kentucky, has a submerged town with a Mill and Coveredbridge.
posted by John on 1-21-2009 at 7:23 am
Boston’s water supply comes from an area that used to be four towns in Western Massachusetts. Everyone was moved out and the buildings were taken away in the 30’s.
posted by auslander on 1-21-2009 at 8:14 am
This is really freaky i would like to see more underwater
We are learning about it and acting about it in Drama
Really Spooky
Thanks ;]
Laura
posted by Laura on 3-11-2009 at 11:52 am