GREINA

Located at 2,200 meters above sea level Greina is a six kilometer long and about one kilometer wide plateau, which connects the Cantons of Grisons and Ticino. The tundra-like landscape is one of the oldest, used by the Romans as trade routes and is an imaginary line between this two areas. The Greina became a symbol of resistance against the exploitation of nature. 1948/49 and 1985 was repeatedly discussed whether the plateau should be flooded in order to build a hydroelectric power plant. The Swiss population protested against this project and were able to win this figth for themselves. The habitat diversity level in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and natural Monuments of Switzerland (BLN). The Greina is called in Italien „ deserto“, the desert, derived from the latin word deserere- leave. For me is it not only the geographical but also the mental space circumscribed. Through the barren and untouched expanse, which partly resembles a lunar landscape, creates a state of Euphorie and melancholy. It opens borders – around and inside me.