In a subalpine spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) forest at Paneveggio in the Italian eastern Alps, 204 cross-sections were taken from 117 trees, at stem base and at 4 m. On the 4-m stem-disks, ring-width measurements were carried out on one radius. The site chronology is characterized by an abrupt growth change ca. 1915 due to releases after a suppression phase. Skeleton plot analyses were carried out on the basal cross-sections. The master plot of abrupt growth changes reveals two abrupt growth releases, around 1872 and 1915. Several scars were dated in the dormant seasons 1871/72 and 1912/13. The synchronous occurrence of scars and growth releases allowed the reconstruction of past forest cuts in the stand. Two major disturbances (forest cuts) occurred in 1871 and 1912. The site is heavily impacted by human activities. Analyzing the present structure of the forest, it seems likely that forest cutting done on small patchy areas in the past did not negatively affect the stability of the stand. Accurate reconstruction of disturbance history is labor-intensive, but extremely useful for gaining further insight into stand history. As a rule, basal cross-sections contain qualitative information about stand dynamics that can be analyzed by skeleton plotting and that cannot be found through ring-width measurements on the 4-m cross-sections.