The “French Road” on Mount Biokovo above Brela

Abstract

This article discusses the “French Road” (1811) starting at the village of Gornji Kričak in Brela, winding up in bends, crossing Mount Biokovo by the shortest route and continuing towards Zadvarje. It was never finished, and thus it is possible to reconstruct various stages of its construction – from setting up an operative ramp to access the site to the underpinning and sloping of the road by means of drywalls, construction of the banks on one or both sides of the road, and further to stratification, with a layer of large rocks and a double layer of gravel in various degrees of fineness. It is the best example among the preserved French roads in Dalmatia for understanding the engineering technology, alignment method, and the stages of construction. It was designed by Frane Zavoreo, an ingénieur de grand mérite who skilfully traced the route and organized the construction works according to the best standards of modern road engineering. This article also discusses the organization of workforce for such enterprises, with the participation of the army and mobilized civilians.