The ''Josephina'' ( or , ) is a historic road in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

that connects

Senj Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

and thus the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coast and

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

and the

Pannonian plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

. It crosses the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

via the Vratnik pass (

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

) between Senj and

Brinje Brinje is a settlement and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. It is located about east of Senj and north of Gospić. Geography The town is formed around a castle called ''Sokolac'', which contains one of the most well preserved G ...

and the Kapela Pass between Brinje and

Josipdol Josipdol is a village and municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is part of Lika region. Geography Josipdol is situated in the Ogulin-Plaški valley which together with Lika and Gorski Kotar forms Mountainous Croatia. The town is located ...

. Vratnik pass, currently a part of the D23 road, was already in use during Roman time as a

salt road A salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) refers to any of the Prehistory, prehistoric and Recorded history, historical trade routes by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it. Fro ...

, and it became important for timber and other goods in the Middle Ages. However, the first well documented road built along the route was ''Via Josephina'' named after

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

who commissioned its construction in 1775. Latin inscriptions carved in rock along the original Via Josephina route completed in 1779 testify that the Emperor travelled through the Vratnik pass on horseback when he realized that the route between

, as a major fortress on

coast, and the hinterland was nearly impassable. Legend has it that this happened when he fell from his horse near Vratnik Pass. Even though the incident is impossible to verify, the town of

to the east of the mountain pass is named after the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1775, Joseph II indeed commissioned construction of the route, exactly long, from

Vincenc Struppi Vincenc is a Czech masculine given name, equivalent to English Vincent. Notable people with the name include: *Vincenc Beneš (1883–1979), Czech painter *Vincenc Lesný (1882–1953), Czech indologist *Vincenc Makovský (1900–1966), Czech scul ...

, a military engineer, and the road, named after the Emperor, was completed in 1779. The original route comprised very steep sections and 20% inclines were not uncommon. There was even one climb at a 30% grade. Because of this the road was modified and extended by , in order to remove such steep sections. The first reconstruction was carried out as early as late 18th century, and another one between 1833 and 1845 managed by Field Marshal

Josip Filip Vukasović Baron Josef Philipp Vukassovich (; 1755 – 9 August 1809) was a Croats, Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, h ...

and

Josip Kajetan Knežić Josip () is a male given name largely found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones thro ...

respectively. Subsequent modifications were not as significant. The road was paved in 1950, when the last minor modifications of the route were executed. The route was distinguished by mile markers along the route, an obelisk in

marking the beginning of the road and a specially built gate in

marking its end. Most remarkably the original road included a stone bridge across three spans in

Tounj Tounj is a village and a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. In the 2011 census, the total population was 1,150, in the following settlements: The fountain near the bridge has provided water continuously since 1847 without interruption a ...

, which was expanded during the reconstruction of 1845 and now has two levels. The upper level was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but it was rebuilt in the 1950s.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephina (Road) Lika-Senj County Roads in Croatia Gorski Kotar