Łupków Pass or Lupkov Pass ( pl, Przełęcz Łupkowska, sk, Lupkovský priesmyk) is a significant

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

on the border between Poland and Slovakia, and close to the western border of Ukraine. Its highest point rises 640 m above sea level. It is located just south of the village

Łupków Łupków Лупків (Stary Łupków) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approxim ...

in Poland and east of

Medzilaborce Medzilaborce ( rue, Міджілабірцї, ''Midzhilabirtsyi''; uk, Міжлабірці, ''Mizhlabirtsi''; hu, Mezőlaborc) is a town in northeastern Slovakia close to the border with Poland, located near the towns of Sanok and Bukowsko (in ...

in Slovakia. Underneath the pass runs a railway tunnel 642 m long, straddling the border between Poland and Slovakia. The Łupków Pass separates the Low Beskids from the Bieszczady Mountains. The tunnel and the associated railway line were finished in 1874, to link

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

with the rest of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

across the Carpathian mountains. Given that it was such a vital communications link, the pass had considerable strategic importance. Łupków Pass was one of the strategically important Carpathian passes bitterly contested in battles on the Eastern Front of World War I during the winter of 1914/1915. An attempt to stand on the line of the Wisłok river and the Łupków Pass failed before renewed Austro-German attacks on 8 May 1915."''The Pursuit and Battles at Sanok and Rzeszów (6 May).''—After his severe defeat, Radko Dimitriev's plan was to hold the Łupków Pass with his left wing, and, supported upon this, to bring the pursuit to a stand on the line Nowotaniec– Besko-right bank of the Wisłok, where there were positions favoured by the lay of the ground, and then, between the Vistula and the Wisłok, on the line Wielopole- Rzeszów– Mielec. Here he proposed to reconstitute his units, which had fallen into great disorder, and to strengthen them by bringing up reserves. Troops were sent to him from other fronts, and by the 8th he could again dispose of 18 inf. divs., 5 cav. divs. and 5 Reichswehr bdes. The orders were that the offensive was to be continued with all possible vigour. Mackensen's army was to push forward over the stretch of the Wisłok between Besko and

Frysztak Frysztak ( yi, פֿריסטיק Fristik; german: Freistadt) is a village in the Gmina Frysztak, Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, from Krosno. Frysztak lies in historic Lesser Poland. It is located on a hillock near the river ...

Mrzygłód Mrzygłód is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sanok, within Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the ...

and Tyczyn, and the Archduke Joseph Ferdinand on Rzeszów, while Boroevic was to roll up Brussilov's VIII. Russian Army in the direction of Sanok. Bohm's II. Austrian Army was to join up corps by corps from the left wing in proportion to the progress of the attack." The railway tunnel was demolished and rebuilt multiple times during both World Wars. It was rebuilt again in 1946 but saw little use afterwards. Only in 1999 was regular passenger rail service reestablished through the pass.

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See also