The potato is part of Project Terra by Hannes Egger, a work that recalls the First World War. The artist specifically refers to events connected to the situation in Galicia – formerly the easternmost region of Austria-Hungary – which between August 1914 and December 1917 was the site of brutal fighting involving, among others, soldiers from South Tyrol.

As part of this project, Egger had soil from the former battlefields around the Polish town of Przemyśl excavated and transported to the fortress of Franzensfeste. At this historic symbol of South Tyrol – which belonged to the Austrian territories until 1919 and was assigned to Italy as a consequence of the First World War – the artist created a temporary field to grow potatoes in the imported soil. The harvest was then served to the public during a performative “potato festival,” making the engagement with the traces of long-past events tangible.

This artwork, displayed in the corridor between the spa and the bistro of Hotel Schwarzschmied, represents the essence of the project. It presents the potato as a fundamental staple food and as a reminder of the significant historical events that shaped South Tyrol and the world.