The Sunken Clock Tower : Entire Town Under Water
In the western part of South Tyrol in Italy, approximately 2km (1mile) from the Austrian border is Lake Reschen (a.k.a. Lago de Resia in Italian) – the largest man-made lake in the province, with a capacity of 120 million cubic meters (or 97,000 ac-ft). The lake is kept alive by the Adige, Rojenbach and Karlibach rivers, and drained by the Adige river.
In 1920, there were plans to build a 5-meter-deep lake at the site, but in 1939, the Edison Energia (formerly the Montecatini company) introduced a new plan for a giant 22-meter-deep late which would result in the unification of nearby Reschensee and Mittersee lakes.
The plans for the lake would result in several nearby villages being submerged, including Graun and part of Reschen, but Graun’s population unsuccessfully disputed the building of the lake, resulting in over 523 hectares (1,290 acres) of cultivated land and 163 homes being submerged.
Interestingly enough, the top of the 14th century church tower of Graun is still visible today as it sticks out of the middle of the lake – the rest of the church was demolished in July 1950, a week before the lake was filled. In the winter, the Lake Reschen clock tower can be reached by foot once the lake has froze (and legend has it that the bells can still be heard ringing in the late, cold winter nights).
