In the westernmost part of South Tyrol, in the Upper Vinschgau Valley, traditional irrigation systems are still in operation today: the typical mudslide and slope irrigation of the Malser Haide and the Matscher Valley on the one hand and the valley floor irrigation of the Schludernser Plain on the other. The three irrigation systems impressively demonstrate the entirety of the irrigation elements from the collection of the irrigation channels to the discharge onto the cultivated land. The irrigation channels and ditches are mostly open and the old small relief is still preserved or can be reconstructed. Irrigation allows the grass of the meadows to thrive better and combines constructively with the interests of tourism, landscape ecology, flow regulation and even the local power station industry. With over 1000 years of history, they are an important part of regional culture and identity.
Read more and discover:
Book volume (in German): Traditionelle Bewässerung – ein Kulturerbe Europas, Band 2, Regional Documentation
Vuseum Vinschgau www.vuseum.it/wasserwosser
South Tyrol Heritage Association, www.hpv.bz.it
Organisations of landowners and land managers
Waale and trickle meadows: Malser Haide © Heimatpflegeverein der Gemeinde Mals (Local history association of the municipality of Mals)