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| Man and the Nature Park |
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 The Ladins are the most ancient people of the Alps. They belong to the Rhaetian population which settled the Alps from Carnia to Switzerland already at the beginning of the migration of peoples. During Medieval times, Germanic, Italic and Slavic peoples restricted the area of Rhaetian settlement from north, south and east. The natives either retracted to valleys which were not easily accessible or assimilated to the new predominant cultures. This is the reason why only three territorially separated Rhaeto-Romanic enclaves still survive today. |
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| The Valleys Gröden and Gadertal |
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Due to the population density of the Rhaetian areas in South Tyrol, which was rather high in relation to the agricultural production, the natural resources of the area had to be intensively exploited, even at considerable altitudes. Especially in Gadertal, the intensive use of the forests led to landslides and erosions which have not yet stopped.
From the 16 th century on, the craft of wood carving developed into a domestic tradition able to provide a large part of the population with a second source of income. Wood carving became so widespread by the 19 th century that cembra pines had to be put under strict protection.
Grödner Joch leads to the upper Gader Valley. Small groups of houses - called "Viles" in Rhaeto-Romanic - represent the traditional settlement pattern of Gadertal. Up to ten farmhouses are usually situated around a small village square with a well and an oven, used by the whole community. The need for protection, a strong community feeling, as well as the need to use the scarce arable areas parsimoniously have lead to this original settlement solution in the Alpine area. |
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| The Villnöß Valley |
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 The Villnöß Valley in the west can be considered the green heart-piece of the nature park. It is an oasis of calm between the busy skiing areas of Gröden and Plose. When the implementation of the nature park began in the 1970's, the land-use plans for the area contained a ski-lift-project on Zanser Alm. The "Action Group for the Protection of the Geisler group" initiated a petition and collected over 500 signatures favorable to the nature park. Today Villnöß supports gentle tourism in order to preserve its agricultural landscape, its intact forests and its flowering pastures at the foot of the majestic Geisler peaks. |
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