It has now been 23 years that the towns of Tesimo-Prissiano, Lana and Foiana celebrate, from mid-October until November, the autumn fruit with a tasty heart and a spiny shell: the chestnut. “Keschtnriggl”, the Chestnut Festival, for its rich program of events and appointments from October 15th to November 1st, 2020, is a much anticipated and heartfelt event in the region, also because the area of Lana and surroundings is characterized by the presence of many chestnut trees and therefore these trees and their fruits have always been part of the local tradition and culture. In fact, in a Tyrolean writing from 1558 there is the following statement: “…along the Adige river there are many chestnuts, but the best are found in Lana.”
And it was precisely in Lana, in 1992, that a congress on the chestnut was held, from which the initiative to safeguard and preserve the chestnut tree started. From this common intent come the days dedicated to the chestnut, also with the aim of transmitting to the many visitors the importance of the chestnut for the landscape and for the population.
Keschtnriggl
“Keschtnriggl“derives from the name of the wooden tool made of chestnut and willow, typical of the Burgraviato, which has been used for centuries to peel roasted chestnuts. It was precisely the wine-growing farmers from the area around Merano who invented it, to avoid dirtying their hands while peeling roasted chestnuts. The basket, with its characteristic oval shape, is about 70 centimeters long and is able to separate the shell of the roasted chestnut from the fruit, simply by shaking the chestnuts inside it.
For the event “Keschtnriggl”
Program of the Lana Chestnut Festival
The main events of these days dedicated to the chestnut are gastronomic and naturalistic
- Friday 16 and Tuesday 27 October, from 2 pm to 5 pm there will be the excursion “Chestnuts and Wine”. From the meeting point, the parking lot of Via Palade in Lana di Sotto, participants will be accompanied through irrigation channels, nature, historic walls, and cellars to the chestnut groves of the “Katzenthalerhof”, near the Brandis canal walk, and the vineyards of “Hännsl am Ort” in Lana di Mezzo. They can then enjoy a delicious chestnut soup with traditional chestnut bread and taste the farm’s wines. At the end, roasted chestnuts on an open fire for everyone.
Cost: €28 per person. Registration required.
- Tuesday 20 October at 10 am will depart from the Kirchsteiger Restaurant to Discover the chestnut groves of Foiana. A guided excursion along the Educational trail on the chestnut tree and its 10 stations where you can learn, through multiple sensory experiences, everything about the world of the chestnut. A final tasting of chestnut delicacies at the Kirchsteiger restaurant in Foiana will be the perfect conclusion to this event.
Cost: €30 per person. Registration required. - Another tasty moment will be Friday 23 and 30 October, from 11 am to 4 pm: A taste-filled excursion through the mountains of Tisens with chestnut roasting. Starting from the Prissian information office, Irmgard Windegger, guide and expert in oenology, will accompany participants through the beautiful landscape of the lower mountain range of Tisens-Prissian, the rich vineyards and chestnut groves up to the largest and probably oldest vine in the world, called Versoaln, near Katzenzungen Castle. Along the way, you pass close to ancient medieval farms and their gardens and vineyards cultivated according to organic principles. In the company of the oenologist Michl Knoll from the Großkemat farm, cheese producer Gitte Geiser from the Perl Hof farm, and Hannes Gasser, baker at the Tisens village bakery, local products will be tasted together with the local roasted chestnuts. Cost: 29€ per person. Registration mandatory by 5 p.m. the day before.
- The winter sports athletes of ASC Laugen Wintersport from Tisens organize a chestnut roasting with “Sußer”, the new wine, Friday, October 16 at 6 p.m..
- A very evocative appointment is that of Sunday, October 18 at 7:45 a.m. (Sunday 25 at 7:00 a.m. in case of bad weather) for the Picnic & sunrise with concert on the hill of St. Hippolytus in Naraun by the Tisens brass band. The meeting point is the St. Hippolytus parking lot in Naraun; from there a 20-minute walk leads to the Church of St. Hippolytus where participants, sitting on blankets and enjoying food both brought from home, will watch the sunrise accompanied by an exceptional soundtrack and scenery.
- Friday, October 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. you can discover different ways to use chestnuts in cooking: Cooking course with chestnuts – sweet & spicy. At the home economics and agri-food school in Tisens, you will learn to prepare autumn dishes, sweet and spicy, and many tricks of the trade.
For info and reservations: tel. +39 0471 440 981
Furthermore, on the days of the chestnut events, various selected gastronomic establishments and wineries of Tisens e Foiana will offer special menus and new gastronomic creations based on chestnuts. All products under the ” Keschtnriggl” brand are also chestnut-based, delicious specialties created by local producers:
- chestnut praline and panettone from the Mair Andreas pastry shop, Nalles
- original chestnut hearts from the Winkler pastry shop, Lana
- chestnut-based beer from the Pfefferlechner private brewery, Lana
- chestnut sweet from the Schmidt bakery, Lana
- chestnut cream from the Großkemat Estate, Prissiano
