The "Keschtnriggl" is a device made of chestnut wood, which has been used for centuries in the Burggrafenamt to remove the roasted chestnuts. It may well be no coincidence that it was just the portly winegrowers around Meran, who invented this tool in order not to have to dirty their fingers.
The sweet chestnut is particularly deeply rooted in the southern corner of the Burggrafenamt, in Lana and on the overlying low mountain ranges of Ackpfeif, Rateis, Völlan, Naraun, Tisens, Prissian and Grissian. As early as 1558, the noble fruit was mentioned in the Tiroler Landreim and has always been known for the "bestn kestn". So it is not surprising that it was in Lana, where in 1992 with a much visited chestnut conference an important contribution to the rescue of the sweet chestnut was started.
Since 1998, every year in late autumn, the chestnut days take place, whose name "Keschtnriggl" reflects the exclusivity of the South Tyrolean chestnut culture. The Kastanientage are not an event staged with a lot of money. Rather, farmers, forestry authorities and numerous local associations are trying to give the numerous visitors a vivid and authentic picture of what the sweet chestnut has meant to this landscape and its inhabitants for many centuries. Highlights of the Kastanientage are the chestnut festivals in Völlan and Tisens, which always enjoy a large influx. Also the gastronomy waits in the late autumn weeks with exquisite chestnut specialties.