The cellar worlds of Girlan

For centuries, the cellars were simply there and used by winegrowers and wineries. Despite their stately dimensions and impressive vaults, Girlan's "deep cellars" were not a sensation, but simply rooms used in everyday work and for wine storage.
But around the turn of the second millennium, that changed: Three Girlan wineries gave up their operations or relocated. Because the old, the tradition, the memories and testimonies associated with it suddenly threatened to be lost, a new consciousness gradually grew that wanted to save the past for the future. This awareness has been borne by the conviction that the valuable witnesses of history must not be forgotten or even lost.
Some committed residents of Girlan therefore organised the surveying of the cellars by the University of Innsbruck. Between 2003 and 2005, 52 cellars in the centre of Girlan were surveyed and a cellar plan drawn up. The survey was a prerequisite for the cellars to be officially protected as cultural heritage.
This gave rise to the idea of the "Vineum" project, a wine experience that would have included many Girlan cellars that had lost their original use. For various reasons, however, this large-scale project has not been realised to date.
Despite various setbacks, disappointments and unfulfilled agreements, "Weinwelt Girlan" has not thrown in the towel. On the contrary: We are unwaveringly committed to the preservation of this historic underground architecture ("terratecture"), because nothing has changed in our conviction: We have a duty to pass on the cellars as a bequest to future generations.