Damit die Strassen […] iren Gang hab und zu Fuessen gehalten wird: Schnee, Eis, Wasser und alpine Verkehrsinfrastruktur im Spätmittelalter
Abstract
Water was the cause of many problems for people living in the Alps during the Middle Ages, ranging from snow covered or muddy roads up to devastating avalanches or floods carrying away entire bridges. Rural alpine communities, like villages or local associations of transporters, were not only the groups most exposed to the risks from the alpine rivers, but they were also in most cases responsible for preventing and repairing any damage caused by water: They were charged with maintaining the transport infrastructure in order to keep traffic flowing - including duties like rebuilding bridges on their own, if necessary. The aim of this article is to discover if and how people living in the Alps during the Middle Ages managed to adapt to their environment. It does so by investigating what techniques and strategies rural alpine communities developed and employed to carry out their duty of maintaining roads and bridges. The investigation covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century and includes cases from the regions of present-day Valais, Uri, Grisons, Tyrol and South Tyrol. The resulting findings show that the medieval alpine population had a remarkable capability to adapt to their environment. This included the development of a range of pragmatic adaptation to natural processes, like the construction of seasonal bridges and road networks. In doing so they could not only mitigate risks but were even able to use the characteristics of water to their advantage.
Date Issued
2025-09
Publication Type
Book Section
Subjects
Alpen
•
Alpine Geschichte
•
Alpine History
•
Sustainability
•
Nachhaltigkeit
•
Mittelalter
•
Frühneuzeit
•
Tirol
•
Schweiz
•
Österreich
Language(s)
de
Editor(s)
Neuhauser, Georg | |
Torggler, Armin |
Additional Credits
Publisher
Effekt
ISBN
979-12-5532-122-4
Funding(s)
Access(Rights)
open.access