The Predil Pass or Predel Pass (; , ) (el. 1156 m) is a high mountain pass on the border between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Geography

Cave del predil Log-pod Mangartom tunnel map

The pass is located in the

Julian Alps The Julian Alps (, , , , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large part of the Julian Alps is inclu ...

, between the peaks of Mount

Mangart Mangart or Mangrt is a mountain in the Julian Alps, located on the border between Italy and Slovenia. With an elevation of , it is the List of mountains in Slovenia, fourth-highest peak in Slovenia, after Triglav, Škrlatica and Mali Triglav. It ...

to the north and Mount Kanin to the south. It connects

Cave del Predil Cave del Predil (, ) is a ''frazione'' subdivision of the ''comune'' of Tarvisio in the Province of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy. Geography The hamlet is located about 15 km (9 mi) south of the Tarvis ...

, part of the Italian municipality of

Tarvisio Tarvisio ( German and ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional Decentralization Entity of Udine, in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Ka ...

in the northwest, with the Municipality of Bovec in the Upper

Soča Soča (, in Slovene) or Isonzo (, in Italian; other names: ; ; or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps ...

(Isonzo) Valley in Slovenia. On the Italian side,

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

no. 54 (''del Friuli'') leads from Tarvisio and the Canal Valley along Slizza Creek to Lake Predil, where the route to the Sella Nevea Pass in the south branches off, and uphill to the Predil crest. On the Slovenian side, road no. 203 runs downhill to Log pod Mangartom and continues to Bovec. The village of

Strmec na Predelu Strmec na Predelu (; ) is a settlement in the Municipality of Bovec in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It lies on the road to the Predel Pass. Another road, distinguished by being the road built at the highest elevation The elevation of a ...

lies just below the border crossing.

History

The road was built from 1319 onwards by the citizens of

Cividale Cividale del Friuli (, locally ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity of Udine, part of the Northern Italy, North-Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The town lies above sea-level in th ...

in the

Patriarchate of Aquileia The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see and ecclesiastical province in northeastern Italy, originally centered in the ancient city of Aquileia, situated near the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It emerged in the 4th century as a m ...

with the consent of the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg, then the possessors of the Carinthian lands in the north. However, the importance of the trade route diminished after the Aquileia territory in the south was incorporated into the ''

Domini di Terraferma The () or () was the hinterland territories of 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 ...

'' by 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 ...

in 1420. Since 1754 the Predil Pass marked the border between the Duchy of Carinthia with the lands of the Princely County of

Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (; ; ), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled "Goritz", was a crown land of the Habsburg dynasty within the Austrian Littoral on the Adriatic Sea, in what is now a multilingual border area of ...

(part of the

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...

from 1849) in the southeast, both part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. During the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

, an Austrian contingent under Captain Johann Hermann von Hermannsdorf on 18 May 1809 fought against the French forces moving from the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

upon the Battle of Tarvis. Hermannsdorf was killed in battle, in 1851 a memorial was erected in his honour. In 1903 a long tunnel (''Štoln'') was built beneath the pass, serving miners from Log pod Mangartom on their way to the lead mines in Cave del Predil. In

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 ...

the

mine railway A mine railway (or mine railroad, U.S.), sometimes pit railway, is a railway constructed to carry materials and workers in and out of a mine. Materials transported typically include ore, coal and overburden (also called variously spoils, waste, s ...

was used to supply 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), ...

in the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

against the

Gallery

File:Predil Pass - view west.JPG, West view from the pass, showing Lake Predil File:Predil Pass - Italian fort.JPG, Fortification on the Italian side of the pass File:Predil Pass - Austrian fort.JPG, Austrian fort on the Slovenian side of the pass File:Predil Pass - Austrian monument.JPG, Monument to troops killed at the pass in 1809 File:Predil Pass - Austrian grave.JPG, Grave of Austrian troops killed at the pass in 1809 File:Log pod Magartom-Stoln.jpg, Tunnel entrance in Log pod Mangartom

External links

*{{commonscat-inline, Predil Pass Predil Predil Italy–Slovenia border crossings Mountain passes of the Julian Alps

Geography

History

Gallery

See also

External links