Nassfeld Pass (, ) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

connecting Hermagor in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

with

Pontebba Pontebba (; ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Geography Pontebba, named after meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluence of the Pontebbana creek and th ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

. It is located in the

Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps (; ; ; ) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli (Province of Udine) and marginally in Veneto. Etymology They are ...

between the

Gail Gail may refer to: People * Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer ...

valley in the north and the Italian Canal Valley (''Valcanale'') in the south. Surrounding peaks include Mt. Gartnerkofel and Mt Trogkofel. On the Austrian side is the

Nassfeld Nassfeld or Naßfeld (, ) is a town and ski resort in the district Hermagor-Pressegger See, Hermagor of the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. It is located below the Nassfeld Pass. Lake Pressegg is nearby, where it is possible to ...

ski resort, the largest in Carinthia. During the Middle Ages, Naßfeld Pass was part of an important trade route between the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. It lost its significance with the extension of mountain roads via neighbouring Tarvis and

Predil Pass The Predil Pass or Predel Pass (; , ) (el. 1156 m) is a high mountain pass on the border between Italy and Slovenia. Geography The pass is located in the Julian Alps, between the peaks of Mount Mangart to the north and Mount Kanin (mount ...

. Several expansion projects were started from the 17th century onwards, however, the present-day highway was not built until 1915 amidst

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

urged for a transport route to the Italian Front. Like at nearby

Plöcken Pass Plöcken Pass (, ) is a high mountain pass in the Carnic Alps mountain range at the border between the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. It links the market town of Kötschach-Mauthen in ...

, Naßfeld saw heavy fighting when Italian

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...

troops tried to push northwards into Carinthia.

External links

Profile on climbbybike.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassfeld Pass Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Carinthia Carnic Alps

See also

External links