The Louisiana road () is a roadway 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 ...

, built between 1803 and 1812 by an association of noble families ( Lichtenstein,

Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian nobility, Austrian noble families originating in the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the Uradel, high nobility (German: ''Hochadel''). The Mikulov Castle, Niko ...

Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...

Harrach The House of Harrach is the name of an old and influential German nobility, Austro-German noble family, which was also part of the Bohemian nobility. The ''Grafen'' (Counts) of Harrach were among the most prominent families in the Habsburg Empire ...

Batthyány The House of Batthyány () is an ancient and distinguished Hungarian noble magnate family. The Head of the family bears the title Prince (Fürst) of Batthyány-Strattmann, while other members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf ...

, Anna Maria Erdődy) and designed by Josef Philipp Vukassovich. The road was finished by the French Empire. It is named after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's second wife

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms: * Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese) * Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish) * Maria Luise (German) * Mari ...

. It linked

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

with

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 ...

through Grobničko polje, Kamenjak, Gornje Jelenje, Lokve,

Delnice Delnice () is a town in western Croatia, the largest settlement in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The town has a population of 3861, and total municipality population is 5135 (2021). Delnice is Gorsk ...

Skrad Skrad is a village and a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. History Skrad was first mentioned on 22 February 1481 in a document freeing the citizens of Grič from tariffs in Skrad and elsewhere, unless the oth ...

, Stubica, Severin na Kupi, and

Netretić Netretić is a village and a municipality in Karlovac County, Croatia. There are 2,862 inhabitants, 99% of whom are Croats. The settlements in the municipality are: * Baići (population 0) * Bogovci (population 3) * Brajakovo Brdo (population 1 ...

. The length of the Louisiana road was 18 Austrian miles (1 mile = 7.585 km). It was about 8 m wide (26 Wiener Fuß). It was the shortest route between Rijeka and Karlovac, and was one of the most modern roads in the empire. With the building of the Lujzijana, the Karolina road became less important.

History

After the Lujzijana was built, the ''Družtvo lujzinske ceste'' constructed a number of inns along it to provide it with the necessary infrastructure and maintenance income. The inns from Rijeka to Karlovac: Hrast, Zagradište near Kamenjak, Kamenjak (with

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

and large

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

), Škrobutnjak (with stables and 2 cisterns),

Jelenje Jelenje is a village and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. As of 2021, the municipality had a population of 5,096 with 94.6% Croats. The village itself had an urban population of 395. History After the Lujzijan ...

(with stables and 2 cisterns), Hundsberg by Bakar, Osoje (with stables and cistern), Mrzla Vodica (with stables), Mala Voda (with stables), Sopač (2 houses with cistern),

, Zalisina (with stables and running water),

(with stables and aqueduct), Vučinić Selo (with stables and running water), Lovnik, Vučnik, Severin, Zdihovo, Bosance, Vukova Gorica (with stable and cistern), Stative, and Borlin. In 1874, the society would sell all its assets along the road, including those in Jelenje. In 1864, a

rinderpest Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic water buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, African Buffalo, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wilde ...

outbreak in Bosanci and Kasuni caused the Lujzijana to be closed to horned traffic for 21 days in December.

References

Roads in Croatia Gorski Kotar {{Croatia-stub