Luisenstrasse (Croatia)

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Milestone on Luisenstrasse near Nadvučnik (part of the municipality of Vrbovsko )
Obelisk 15 km from Rijeka

The Luis street is a historic trunk road in the early 19th century in Croatia , which at the time of the Hungarian Austrian monarchy was built by a private association.

Building history

The Luisenstrasse (Croat. Lujzijana or Lujzinska cesta ) was to replace the old, very winding and steep connection of the Karolinenstrasse (Croat. Karolina from Latin. (Via) Carolina ; built by Emperor Charles VI. ). It is considered the third major road to the Adriatic and connects the interior of Croatia with the coast. Luisenstrasse was built between the city of Karlovac (Karlstadt) and the important Adriatic port of Rijeka (Fiume). The client was Joseph Philipp Vukasović on behalf of a private association.

Construction began in 1803, and it was also possible to obtain a privilege from the emperor, but the wars of 1805 and 1809 interrupted activities several times because Vukasović took part in them and died in the battle of Wagram . Nevertheless, the goal of completion was maintained and the last mile of the almost 18 miles (= almost 140 kilometers) long road was completed by 1812. Construction started from Rijeka, in 1806 they reached Skrad and in 1808 Mala Jelsa near Karlovac. The street was then a little more than eight meters (26 Viennese feet ) wide and avoided steep climbs. In sharp turns, it was up to 14 meters wide. To achieve this goal, rocks were blasted, so that passages were created, which included the Porta Hungarica (renamed Banska vrata after 1848 ).

Particular attention was paid to the underpinning and protective measures such as parapets near Rijeka or wind protection walls at various points - for example on Veliki Kamenjak - in order to be protected against the Bora downwind . In addition, cisterns and water pipes were created to ensure the water supply and connections to Karolina and Bakar . Road ditches could also be dispensed with, as canals were created instead. The road equipment also included 17 Ganz milestones , eight of which have been preserved. They show the distance to Fiume (= Rijeka) and Carlstadt (= Karlovac) and also show the height above sea level in the unit of length shoe . It has not yet been finally clarified whether the two obelisks with kilometer information near Rijeka were also part of this initial equipment. They emerged at the latest with the introduction of the kilometer in the 1870s. There were also toll stations at regular intervals.

Conservation measures

Numerous workers were involved in maintaining the road. So-called stage managers were responsible for the road sections allocated to them and were able to dispose of stone / gravel stores next to the road, some of which were kept in larger, bricked-up squares, and some in rock recesses. The workers tirelessly tended to repair damage. Above the stage managers and workers stood a general directorate in Vienna with their local director in Karlovac, who also traveled the street annually.

Routing

The connection led from Karlovac via Netretić , Severin na Kupi, Stubica, Skrad, Delnice , Lokve , Gornje Jelenje, Kamenjak and Grobničko polje to Rijeka. The highest point of the route was reached at Ravno Podolje, where a stone marks this high point (928 meters above sea level) to this day. Some sections (e.g. near Karlovac) were lined with plane trees, and separate channels were built for the water to drain off.

Surname

At the start of construction it was decided to name the street Via Ludovicea , after Maria Ludovica , the third wife of the Austrian Emperor Franz II. Documents from 1808 testify to this . However, the street was completed under French administration. Hence the name of Marie-Louise , the daughter of the Austrian Emperor Franz II, who later became the wife of Napoleon I. At first she was also called Marie-Luisenstrasse and also wrote herself Louisenstrasse in some works .

society

The society that built the street was a society of higher nobles, including the princes v. Dietrichstein , Liechtenstein and Esterházy , as well as Count Johann v. Harrach , Countess Marie von Erdődy and Counts Carl and Franz von Batthyány or their heirs. He wanted to relieve the state in this way, since Austria-Hungary was unable to do so because of the numerous acts of war, and the connection between Hungary and the sea should be improved and trade should be promoted.

On February 14, 1820, the Louisenstrasse Society was granted a privilege for another 50 years. In the age of the railway , the road as such was questioned several times and criticized for fluctuating prices. However, the planned connection Karlovac – Rijeka (later part of the Zagreb – Rijeka railway ) did not materialize for a long time due to the topographical conditions. As a result, in 1844 the proposal was made that traders from Karlovac and Rijeka should join forces and intervene in trading through a private joint-stock company in order to control the fees.

In 1877 the Luis Street, with their branching side streets and facilities for which an inventory was created was definitively by the Company to the royal Hungarian Aerar passed. For this she received 325,000 guilders - spread over five years.

Aftermath

The road was considered one of the most modern roads in the world at the time of completion. However, it was initially viewed as a failure, as trade had collapsed as a result of the warfare and the toll road therefore neither carried the trade nor could the costs be covered, so that the association had to continue to contribute funds. The only solution was therefore to be handed over to the stands in Hungary, because this largely eliminated the toll . However, this could not be implemented immediately.

The travel time from Karlovac has been reduced from several days to 14 to 16 hours thanks to Luisenstrasse. In 1841 it also says: "Incidentally, the best-preserved Luisenstrasse to Fiume is used far more frequently than the Josephsstrasse to Zengg, and those freighters are far more reliable than these." Nevertheless, no judgment of the time can do without criticism and so it goes on: "One must only regret that the excessive road toll on Louisenstrasse to Fiume makes the goods expensive, that there is still a lack of return freight, and that the journeys in the winter months occasionally suffer interruptions due to snow drifts. " In addition, criticism is expressed of the route over the mountains, which is said to be harmful to trade.

In her letters (published in 1831) Therese von Artner also expresses great praise (solid and at the same time delicate, bold and ingenious foresight of the builder, "this is one of the most important and grandiose works in the Austrian states") and regret: " It is a pity that this admirable work does not provide the benefit that would correspond to the efforts of its donors and the hopes of the public. " In addition, she sees this street surpassed by another street of the Habsburg Empire. As the reason for the disproportionately high toll, she identifies the construction costs of over two million guilders, which are far too high for a private association.

The Luisenstrasse is meanwhile generally classified as important for the development of the region. It was led through arid, sparsely populated areas, in which new settlements emerged in the mid-19th century, whose residents benefited from traffic on the street. There were z. B. Post stations and inns, some of which were built by the road construction company itself.

The two older connections to the Adriatic suffered considerable losses due to the new construction of Luisenstrasse. In 1848 it was said of the Karolina: "These are the steep trains of the old Karolinenstrasse, now in ruins and no longer used." The road from Karlovac to Senj ( Josephina ) also slowed and was therefore expanded in the 1830s by repairing bridges and defusing steep sections.

In the 20th century

After Italy reached Rijeka in 1924, road traffic decreased sharply. Today there is also a motorway link between Karlovac and Rijeka ( A 1 until the junction " Bosiljevo 2" , continue on the A6 ), which largely follows the route of the road Luis and shows their great economic importance.

literature

  • Representation of the Luisenstrasse leading from Karlstadt to Fiume and its relationship to the Hungarian export trade , 1850 ( Google Books edition ). Building history of the street.
  • The Luisenstrasse between Karlstadt and Fiume . In: Jurende's Vaterländischer Pilger for the year 1848, Vienna (probably 1847), pages 202–205 ( Google Books edition ). With travel description of the route.
  • Therese von Artner: Letters on part of Croatia and Italy to Caroline Pichler 1830 , Halberstadt 1830 ( Google Books edition ).
  • Anton Johann Gross-Hoffinger : Handbook for travelers through the Arch-Duchy of Austria, Styria, Salzburg, Carniola, Carinthia, Tyrol, Illirien, Dalmatia and the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom , Munich 1831 ( Google Books edition ).

Web links

Commons : Lujzijana  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Illustration, page 1–2.
  2. ↑ a b c d e The Louisiana - from the most important road in history to a tourist attraction (English), geotech.hr, accessed on June 16, 2020.
  3. ↑ Illustration, page 2–3.
  4. ↑ v. Artner, page 103.
  5. ^ Luisenstrasse, pp. 202–203.
  6. ↑ a b c d Luisenstrasse, p. 203.
  7. ↑ a b c v. Artner, page 101.
  8. ↑ Miroslava Despot: Nekoliko neobjelodanjenih pisama Filipa Vukasovia pisanih Maksimilijanu Vrhovcu , In: '' Arhivski vjesnik '' IV (1961), pages 205–212, here page 212. Google-Books Snippet
  9. ↑ Illustration, page 3.
  10. ↑ a b Luisenstrasse, page 202.
  11. ↑ a b v. Artner, page 97.
  12. ↑ Illustration, pages 1–3.
  13. ↑ Well-intentioned proposal to regulate the shipment of goods between Karlstadt and Fuime, and to fix the freight prices, which hitherto have been so extremely fluctuating . In: The Pilgrim. Commerzielle Belletristische Zeitschrift 4 (1844) 76, pages 631-633 ( Google Books edition ). With a detailed calculation of the advantages.
  14. ^ A b Ferdinand Sporer: Some more about the desirable facilitation of the export of Hungarian products . In: Journal des Österreichischer Lloyd VI (1841), No. 30 ( Google Books edition ).
  15. ^ State laws of the year 1879, pages 141-144 ( Google Books edition ). It became legally binding in 1879.
  16. ↑ Illustration, page 3–5.
  17. ↑ v. Artner, pp. 97-98.
  18. ↑ Boris Banovac, Robert Blažević and Željko Boneta: Modernizacija (i / ili europeizacija) hrvatske periferije - primjeri Istre, Like i Gorskog Kotara (Croatian). In: Revija za sociologiju , Vol. XXXV. (2004), No. 3–4, pages 113–141, here page 132 ( pdf ).
  19. ↑ Luisenstraße, p. 203 mentions Vukova Gorica , Skrad and Delnice as places created by the street.
  20. ↑ Gross-Hoffinger, page 400, mentions in 1831 a developing village called "Mersla Rodiza", presumably today's "Mrzla Vodica". Since his information apparently for the most part (partly verbatim) from v. Artner were taken over, but this information can only be trusted to a limited extent, as it is not in v. Artner thinks.
  21. ↑ Marko Špikić: Carski trofeji s tounjskog mosta . In: Vijenac 456 (September 8, 2011), ( online edition )