Excursion: Borderlands: Memory, Identity and the ‘Invisible Border’ between Tret and St. Felix
Prof. Ingrid Kofler
As part of the unibz Studium Generale programme ‘Borderlands: Memory, Identity and Current Border Issues’, this excursion takes us to a special place: the so-called ‘invisible border’ between Tret (Trentino) and St. Felix (South Tyrol).
This border is not visible as a physical barrier, but manifests itself historically, linguistically, culturally and administratively in the everyday life of the population. It refers to the ‘hidden frontiers’ described by John W. Cole and Eric R. Wolf in their study of the border region: invisible social, cultural and economic dividing lines within a supposedly homogeneous Alpine area. More recent approaches also understand borders not only as state lines, but as multi-layered, historically grown networks of power, identity and everyday practice.
The excursion combines historical, cultural and landscape perspectives:
The starting point is the Gampenbunker, a material testimony to territorial security during fascism. Along the pilgrimage route to Our Lady in the Forest, questions of memory, religious practice and spatial appropriation are addressed. This is followed by a hike along the ‘invisible border’ between St. Felix and Tret in a landscape where linguistic and administrative borders still structure social orders today.
Organisation:
- Meeting point: Gampen Pass at 9/9:10 a.m. (bus 246 departs Merano at 8:10 a.m.) (individual arrival by bus or car) Cost €10 per person for admission and guided tour
- 12:00 Lunch at Restaurant Cervo – Historisches Gasthaus zum Hirschen
- 13:00 Hike from Unsere liebe Frau im Walde to St. Felix and Tret (approx. 2 hours)
- Return by bus from Tret (bus 246 at 15:43)
The costs for transport, admission, guided tour and lunch are to be borne by the participants themselves. Fix cost of €10 per person for admission and guided tour
The excursion requires sturdy footwear; warm clothing is recommended for the bunker tour.
Advance registration is required. Please send an email to: plattform.kulturerbe@unibz.it