Historical background

With Italy’s entry into the First World War in May 1915 on the side of the Entente, the Dolomites and the Karnischer Kamm became the front line: Italian alpine troops fought for two and a half years against the Austrian Kaiserjäger and the German Alpine Corps. Tons of food, firewood, cannons and ammunition were transported to the high altitude environment. The soldiers made difficult alpine terrain more accessible by widening rocky outcrops, installing ladders and securing rock passages with ropes. This is how the forerunners of today’s via ferratas were created in the Dolomites. On one hand, these led to mountains that were strategically important at that time (such as the Paternkofel) and on the other hand they represented important connection routes (e.g. “Alpinisteig”). Between 150,000 and 180,000 people are said to have lost their lives on the alpine front. Cold spells, lightning strikes, avalanches and rock slides claimed the lives of as many young soldiers as the fighting itself. After the war ended, Italy obtained South Tyrol and the Austrian parts of Trentino and Veneto by the Treaty of Saint-Germain in 1919. The onset of Fascism and National Socialism and the resulting systematic Italianization of South Tyrol led to great tension between the population groups and language groups, especially in this region and along the national borders. At the beginning of World War II, Austria was annexed to the German Reich in 1938. In response, Italy had the so-called “Alpenwall” built along the new border with Germany: Some fortifications on the Kreuzbergpass and on the Karnischer Kamm date from this time. During the Second World War, however, comparatively little fighting took place there. With the onset of tourism, many of the historic trails and paths were renovated, creating a coherent network of paths and attractive via ferratas. 100 years after the end of the First World War, the friendship and bond between the three provinces of South Tyrol, Belluno and East Tyrol is now more important than ever. The Dolomiti senza confini project shows us that national and regional borders no longer play a role in hiking and climbing.

Barbed wire in front of Drei Zinnen / Tre Cime (© Manfred Kostner)