6 most interesting Austro-Hungarian roads in Croatia
Croatia was under Austro-Hungarian Monarchy from the second half of 19th century until beginning of the 20th.
During that time Austro-Hungarians invested a lot in road infrastracture as Croatia was a link to the south of Europe but had poor road connections because of complicated terrain.
Josephina, Lousiana, Teresiana, Carolina and Rudolphina, alongside with the Master’s road, are roads built by Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for the development of trade and traffic between Lika region and the coast. Today those are local asphalted roads (besides the Maester’s road) with a lot less importance then back then, but definitely are enjoyable roads worth taking as they take through rural areas along their routes.
Master's road
One of the most beautiful panoramic roads in Croatia – The Master`s Road over Velebit has been enchanting the travellers with its beauty and craftsmanship for nearly two centuries.
To shorten the way to Dalmatia, in 1825 began the construction of trans-Velebit road in the route Sveti Rok – Mali Alan pass – Obrovac. That was the first big undertake of a renowned builder of mountain roads and a border officer Josip Kajetan Knežić. When this 41km long road was completed in 1832, it had a grand opening on October 4th (St.Francis Day and there is church to his honor on the road) under the name Master’s road as it was clearly the masterpiece of 19th-century road construction and an extremely advanced construction project. The word comes from German ˝meisterstück˝ which means ˝a masterpiece˝.
The way Knežić lead the route through steep slope of Velebit with numerous serpentines between cliffs and gorges presented a huge development in road construction at the time. Maximum inclination of the road was up to 5,5% which is in accordance with today’s regulances of road construction. This new Velebit transverse, except for trading, was also used for postal traffic between Vienna and Zadar on Croatian coast. Master`s Road was built in a time when there were no machines, only chisels and gunpowder were used and Knežić encountered numerous problems. He was told it is not possible to break the living rocks, and the workers often complained about impossible working conditions. Legend has it that whenever his workers complained that it was impossible to build the road, Knežić would ask them, “How about a kilo of gold for the same weight of stone?”
The road passes under significant geomorphological site Tulove grede (Tule beams) – one of most beautiful examples of vertical white limestone cliffs and gorges. It is one of most attractive and recognizable peaks of Velebit and a trademark of this area.
Mali Alan pass, famous mountain pass in motorcycle world, is just under Tulove grede.
Many commemorative stones can be along the way, mostly fallen victims in war in the 90s or those who died trapped in winter storms.
This beautiful area is also known as stage for Winnetou movies filmed in the 60s.
Historical road of Velebit mountain has been enlisted as the cultural good of the Republic of Croatia in 2007.
Louisiana
The road that connects Karlovac to Rijeka. It is 141kms long, built from 1803 to 1811. One of the best and most important roads in Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and it is said to be one the most beautiful roads in Europe in its time.
This historical road was supposed to be named Via Ludovicea after the wife of Austrian-Hungarian emperor Francis II but as it was finished under the French rule it was named after Marie-Louise, the daughter of Francis II and Napoleon’s wife.
Its highest peak is at 928m above the sea at Ravno Podolje. Between 1947 and 1954 it went through a few reconstructions, has been shortened a little bit and finally covered in asphalt in 1957. With the construction of A1 highway Zagreb to Rijeka it lost its importance and today it is a road for those who want to take it slow and enjoy the beauties of Gorski Kotar region.
It presented the peak of carreer of the ingineer Filip Vukasović who did not have a chance to live to see the end of iuts construction. He succumbed to the injuries gained in war against the Napoleon’s army and did not see the last 15kms of his life work being finished. There was a lot of scepticism that he would not be able to carry out the road through the steep canyon, so he left a note for the unbelievers written in stone just before the end at Rijeka – ˝per gli increduli˝.
Carolina
Carolina was the first road connection of Karlovac and inland of Croatia to the Adriatic. It was named after the emperor Carl VI Habsburg who was the initiator of the project and the first one to take the road while it was still being constructed. It was built from 1726 to 1732 in length of 105kms as a ˝wheat route˝ to Bakar port.
The cargo was transported by mules, horses and chariots so it presented a challenge to its builder Matija Weiss because of many sharp hairpins and for being narrow. Parts of Karolina are still being used for traffic and A1 highway Zagreb – Split follows its route in the vicinity of only a few kilometers.
The best preserved parts of Carolina today are the bridge in Novigrad on Dobra river, viaduct in Brestova Draga, stone subwalls and a stone obelisk at its end in Rijeka city.
Theresiana
Theresiana was built in 1786 for a better connection of a colonel center in Gospić with a free port Karlobag and to make the trading route over Velebit easier to pass. Its purpose was also to replace the existing Carolina road which presented challenges because of its sharp hairpins and steep segments.
The construction was ordered by the Austro-Hungarian emperor Joseph II and it was named after his mother Mary Theresa. Road construction was consigned to Filip Vukasović, who later also built Lousiana.
Its highlight these days and an obbligatory stop for all pasengers is the so-called Kubus – a cube carved out of rock standing on four spheres, as the monument to road construction. It takes 33 steps to climb to it from the road and it is on Oštarije saddle at 927m above the sea level from where the panoramic view extends over Pag island and the whole Velebit canal.
Theresiana is another historical road enlisted as a cultural good of the Republic of Croatia in 2007.
Josephina
Road’s route starts in Karlovac, goes over Kapela at 888m above the sea and at Vratnik goes down to Senj on the coast. It was built from 1770 to 1779 and with its lenght of 100kms it was the shortest connection of Karlovac to the Adriatic.
It was named after its initiator, the emperor Joseph II the Habsburg. The legend says the project was funded by the emperor himself as he had experienced difficulties passing Kapela next to Josipdol when he fell from horse during storm and decided to make an easier way to approach Senj from the inland.
Emperor’s ingineer colonel was in charge of construction and it was carried out in military organization although worker were civilians. Supposedly around 25 tons of gunpowder were used. It had 220 workers, 2 per each kolimeter whose task was to clean the road from snow.
It went through several reconstruction phases, and although a lot hasn’t been preserved – obelisk in Karlovac, the Great Gates in Senj, bridges, sundials, milestones and other monumets present a permanent cultural heritage.
It was asphalted in the second half of the 20th century and still in use.
Rudolphina
Built as an extension of Josephine over Ogulin city to reach Novi Vinodolski on the coast. Constructed in 1874 in its length of 68kms it is the shortest of trans-Velebit roads. The start is in pictoresque Ogulin city at Molinari bridge and ends is in Novi Vinodolski right at the approach to the sea. Its main purpose was to ease the transport of woods from the forests of Velika Kapela but soon after it was built it fell into oblivion and was not maintained until the 2000s when it was completely asphalted.
It was named after the son of Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I, although the name would lead to the conclusion that it was named after some princess.
Today is it the scenic road for those who want to enjoy nature and ride through the landscape of forests and unusual rock formations of Velebit.
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