Vršič Pass
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The Vršič Pass (; , , ) is a high
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 ...
across 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 ...
in northwestern
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 ...
. It is the highest pass in Slovenia, with an elevation of , as well as the highest in the Eastern Julian Alps. It connects
Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...
with the Trenta Valley in the Slovene Littoral, and it is considered an excellent starting point for excursions to surrounding peaks.


Name

The Slovene common noun literally means 'little peak', a diminutive form of the word 'peak'. The name originally referred to Mount Vršič (), located about east of the Vršič Pass. The name was not applied to the pass until 1911. The name of the peak was first attested in written sources as ''Werschez'' in 1763–87. Locally, the pass is known as (first attested in 1763–87 as ''Muschizach'' or ''Mushizhach''). The Italian name of the pass was ''Moistrocca''.


History

Vršič had formerly been traversed by a rough trail, used for logging and timber transportation. During WWI, the Austo-Hungarian military upgraded the trail into a modern road; it is now known as the Russian Road (), for the Russian prisoners of war forced to build it between 1915 and 1917. From 1918 to World War II, the Vršič Pass marked the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. After 1945, together with the Upper Isonzo Valley north of Gorizia, both sides of the pass were incorporated into Yugoslavia, and later into Slovenia.


Hiking

The Vršič Pass is considered an excellent starting point for excursions to surrounding peaks, including Mala Mojstrovka (), Velika Mojstrovka (), Planja (), Prisojnik (Prisank) (), Razor (), Šitna Glava (), Slemenova Špica (), Sovna Glava (), and Suhi Vrh (), or shorter hikes in the immediate area. Several mountain lodges are located near the pass: the Erjavec Lodge (; ), the Tičar Lodge (; ), Mike's Lodge (), the Forest Lodge (; ), and the Postman's Lodge (; ).


Road

The road through the pass rises from
Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora (; ) is a town in northwestern Slovenia, on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region, close to the Austrian and Italy, Italian borders. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. The tripoint between Austria, It ...
, traverses the top of the Vršič Pass, and descends into the Soča Valley, via a series of 50 hairpin bends. The upper elevations of the road are rendered impassable by heavy snowfall during much of winter. The road was greatly improved in late 1915 to supply the Isonzo Front of
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 ...
, and it was originally named after Archduke Eugen of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. The current name, Russian Road (), refers to the approximately ten to twelve thousand Russian prisoners of war used as laborers in the 1915 construction.


Monuments

Just off the main road, on the north side of the pass, at an elevation of around , there is a Russian Orthodox chapel, built by the Russian
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
during World War I. On the south side of the pass there is a bronze monument in honor of the mountaineer and writer Julius Kugy, work by the architect Boris Kobe and the sculptor Jakob Savinšek. It was erected in 1953.


Gallery

Image:Prelaz Vršič.JPG, The Vršič Pass Image:View_from_the_Vršič_Pass,_Slovenia.JPG, View from the Vršič Pass File:Road_to_Vršič_pass.jpg, Ascending the road to the Vršič Pass, view of the 23rd switchback at 1,539 m above sea level File:Prelaz Vršič.jpg, The Russian Road; the switchbacks are paved with setts


See also

*
List of highest paved roads in Europe This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are at least long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to th ...
* List of mountain passes


References


External links


Vršič Road at Google Street View
VR panorama by Google.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrsic Pass Mountain passes of Slovenia Mountain passes of the Julian Alps Municipality of Bovec Municipality of Kranjska Gora