Reschensee
artificial lake in Italy
Reschensee (German: [ˈʁɛʃn̩ˌzeː] ; Austrian German pronunciation: [ˈrɛʃn̩ˌseː]; Italian: Lago di Resia [ˈlaːɡo di ˈrɛːzja]) or Lake Reschen is an artificial lake in the western portion of South Tyrol, Italy, approximately 2 km (1 mi) south of the Reschen Pass, which forms the border with Austria, and 3 km (2 mi) east of the mountain ridge forming the border with Switzerland. With its capacity of 120 million m3 (97,000 ac·ft) it is the largest lake in the province. Its surface area of 6.6 km2 (2.5 sq mi) makes it also the largest lake above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the Alps. It is fed by the Adige, Rojenbach and Karlinbach and drained by the Adige.
The lake is famous for the steeple of a submerged 14th-century church; when the water freezes, this can be reached on foot. A legend says that during winter one can still hear church bells ring. In reality the bells were removed from the tower on July 18, 1950, a week before the demolition of the church nave and the creation of the lake.
Origins
Plans for a smaller (5 m deep) artificial lake date from 1920. In July 1939, the Montecatini company (now Edison Energia) introduced a new plan for a 22 m (72 ft)-deep lake, which would unify two natural lakes (Reschensee and Mittersee) and submerge several villages, including Graun and part of Reschen. The creation of the dam started in April 1940 pursuant to this second plan but, due to the war and local resistance, did not finish until July 1950.
“Reschensee” enters the record as artificial lake in Italy. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Reschensee, artificial and lake can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Reschensee” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Reschensee, artificial and lake provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1249840. VIAF identifies the subject as 246964586. Authority coordinates are 46.801, 10.531. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1950, 1920, 1939 and 1940.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Reschensee” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.