Franco-Italian Alps cleared of barbed wire

fraula — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:12:53 -0800

Barbed Wire no longer lines the Franco-Italian Alps. On the 11th of July this year, after working since 2002, mainly in the Mercantour National Park, the last of 134 tonnes of steel was finally removed for recycling by teams of volunteers. During WWII, although the Franco-Italian alpine border was "not a military front of primary importance, it was defended by massive fortifications and specialised troops: the Italian Alpini and the French Chasseurs alpins, who were recruited from local communities." There were several types of barbed-wire defences, many of which could be found in the Alps: "For about 70 years, the ground in the area had hidden a network of metallic spikes, barbed wire, and debris". The Franco-Swiss and Franco-Italian Alps have now been cleared of these dangerous installations [article in French], which had been injuring and hampering wild animals as well as hikers. In order to preserve the wartime history, each barbed wire site was mapped, and a line of it was kept at France's Mont Saint-Sauveur, with a sign explaining its background.

On The Fence

DWRoelands — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:50:37 -0800

On November 24, 1874, Joseph Glidden was granted patent number 157124. The invention decribed within is the subject of striking images, body art, and painfully bad movies. Yet, the history of barbed wire is interesting enough to warrant multiple museums.

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Franco-Italian Alps cleared of barbed wire

On The Fence