- Resia Pass
Infobox Mountain pass
Name = Resia Pass
Photo =Reschensee.jpg
Caption =Thecampanile inLake Resia
Elevation = 1504 m.
Location = AUT / ITA
Range =Alps
Coordinates = coord|46.848|N|10.505|E|type:pass
Topographic
Traversed by =Resia Pass (Italian: "Passo di Resia", German: "Reschenpass") or Reschen Pass is an Alpine pass (1504 m) located at the Italian-Austrian border, close to the border with
Switzerland . It connects the two countries, like theBrenner Pass further to the east.Before the Roman era, a path linked the valley of the
Inn River with the valley of theAdige "(de. Etsch; lad. Adesc)" river. The current Resia Pass was part of theVia Claudia Augusta , opened in50 AD.Until the 19th century, the pass was an alternative to the passes of
Graubünden . Unlike the wide and smooth southern side, the northern side has a steep and narrow bottleneck, theFinstermünzpaß (1188m). Until 1854 the custom houses betweenAustria andSwitzerland were found on the fortified bridges of the Inn atFinstermünz .Between
1850 -54,Carl von Ghega (who already had built the rail-road ofSemmering , fromLower Austria to Styria, throughVienna andGraz ) andJoseph Duile built a new road from the fortress ofNauders (1394m) toCajetansbrücke near Pfunds (972m). The projects for a road from Reschen were not accomplished.An additional mountain road leads from the Inn valley from Martina/Vinadi up to
Norbertshöhe and Nauders, providing a shorter way from Switzerland to Italy compared to the longer road viaCajetansbrücke .In
1950 , on the Italian versant, the artificialLake Resia was created, famous for thebell tower which emerges out of the water in front of the village ofCuron Venosta (German: "Graun im Vinschgau").External links
* [http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Passo%20di%20Resia%20&qryMountainID=3087 Profile on climbbybike.com]
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