Loibl Pass
Encyclopedia
The Loibl Pass or Ljubelj Pass is a high mountain pass
in the Karavanke chain of the Southern Limestone Alps
, linking Austria
with Slovenia
. The century-old pass near the Stol summit is the shortest connection between the Carinthian
town of Ferlach
and Tržič
in Upper Carniola
.
Different trails were used since ancient
times, connecting Virunum
in the Roman province of Noricum
with Emona
(at present-day Ljubljana
). The strategically importance of the Loibl increased again after the establishment of the Imperial March of Carniola
in the 11th century, the ruling Patriarchs of Aquileia entrusted the maintenance to the monks of Viktring Abbey
, who rivaled with claims raised by the local Lords of Hollenburg
(Humberk) Castle.
From about 1560 the estates
of the Carinthian duchy
had the road extended. A 150 m (500 ft) long tunnel was built underneath the Karavanke chine, an early example of modern engineering that later had to be abandoned due to lack of safety. Another attempt was planned in the 17th century, as the road across the Loibl had become an important trade route between the Carinthian capital of Klagenfurt
and the seaport of Trieste
. However, when in 1728 Emperor Charles VI
toured the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy
he still had to travel over the summit, stopping by the Deutscher Peter tavern and ordering some road work.
During World War II
, a 1570 m (5,150.9 ft) meter long tunnel was built at 1068 m (3,503.9 ft) above sea level by the command of Nazi Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer
, carried out by 660 civil workers, several posted by the French Service du travail obligatoire
, and 1652 prisoners of two minor sub-camps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
on both sides under the notorious SS
commandant Julius Ludolf
. Construction started in 1943; to keep the work force effective, injured or sick prisoners were sent back to the main camp, or executed by camp physician Sigbert Ramsauer by the injection of petrol if not able to be transported. As the surviving 950 prisoners could free themselves on 7 May 1945, these were the only sub-camps of Mauthausen-Gusen not to be either evacuated or liberated until the end of the war. Today a memorial marks the site of the southern Loibl camp.
The first army vehicles passed the very tight tunnel on 4 December 1944. Military traffic, Wehrmacht
soldiers retreating from the Yugoslav Front and refugees used the tunnel until it was closed in 1947. Then a border crossing between Austria and the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
, it was reopened in 1950 and expanded to two lanes in 1966, while the old road over the mountain pass itself has been closed for traffic since 1967.
The importance of the Loibl Pass has diminuished since 1991, when the 7864 m (25,800.5 ft) long Karawanken Motorway Tunnel
, which connects the Austrian Karawanken Autobahn
(A 11) from Villach
with the Slovenian A2 motorway
to Ljubljana. Border controls have been abolished with Slovenia joining the Schengen Area
effective from 21 December 2007.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in the Karavanke chain of the Southern Limestone Alps
Southern Limestone Alps
The Southern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent lands of Austria and Slovenia. The distinction from the Central Alps, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological...
, linking Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
with Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. The century-old pass near the Stol summit is the shortest connection between the Carinthian
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
town of Ferlach
Ferlach
Ferlach is the southernmost town in Austria, about 17 km south of the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt. It is situated in the Rosental/Rož Valley of the Drava River, at the northern slope of the Karawanken mountain range...
and Tržič
Tržic
Tržič is a town and municipality in northern Slovenia near the Austrian border . The first settlement was founded near the road that connected Roman city of Emona with Virunum in present-day Carinthia...
in Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
.
Different trails were used since ancient
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, connecting Virunum
Virunum
Claudium Virunum was a Roman city in the province of Noricum, on today's Zollfeld in the Austrian State of Carinthia. Virunum may also have been the name of the older Celtic-Roman settlement on the hilltop of Magdalensberg nearby....
in the Roman province of Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
with Emona
Emona
Emona or Aemona, short for Colonia Iulia emona, was a Roman castrum founded in 14-15 AD, possibly by the Legio XV Apollinaris , on a territory already populated by ancient settlers of uncertain origin...
(at present-day Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
). The strategically importance of the Loibl increased again after the establishment of the Imperial March of Carniola
March of Carniola
The March of Carniola was a southeastern state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the central Carniolan region of present-day Slovenia...
in the 11th century, the ruling Patriarchs of Aquileia entrusted the maintenance to the monks of Viktring Abbey
Viktring Abbey
Viktring Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Stift Viktring is now the name of the Roman Catholic parish in Viktring, since 1973 a district of the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt.-History:...
, who rivaled with claims raised by the local Lords of Hollenburg
Köttmannsdorf
Köttmannsdorf is a town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria.According to the 2001 census 6.4% of the population are Carinthian Slovenes.-References:...
(Humberk) Castle.
From about 1560 the estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
of the Carinthian duchy
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, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
had the road extended. A 150 m (500 ft) long tunnel was built underneath the Karavanke chine, an early example of modern engineering that later had to be abandoned due to lack of safety. Another attempt was planned in the 17th century, as the road across the Loibl had become an important trade route between the Carinthian capital of Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
and the seaport of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. However, when in 1728 Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
toured the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
he still had to travel over the summit, stopping by the Deutscher Peter tavern and ordering some road work.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a 1570 m (5,150.9 ft) meter long tunnel was built at 1068 m (3,503.9 ft) above sea level by the command of Nazi Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer
Friedrich Rainer
Friedrich W. Rainer was a leader in the Nazi Party, as well as an Austrian State governor of Salzburg and Carinthia. He is the only Austrian governor who has ever held the same office in two separate states...
, carried out by 660 civil workers, several posted by the French Service du travail obligatoire
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
, and 1652 prisoners of two minor sub-camps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
on both sides under the notorious SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
commandant Julius Ludolf
Julius Ludolf
Julius Ludolf was an SS-Obersturmführer, a member of the Waffen-SS and commander of various satellite camps of Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Upper Austria.-Concentration camp career:...
. Construction started in 1943; to keep the work force effective, injured or sick prisoners were sent back to the main camp, or executed by camp physician Sigbert Ramsauer by the injection of petrol if not able to be transported. As the surviving 950 prisoners could free themselves on 7 May 1945, these were the only sub-camps of Mauthausen-Gusen not to be either evacuated or liberated until the end of the war. Today a memorial marks the site of the southern Loibl camp.
The first army vehicles passed the very tight tunnel on 4 December 1944. Military traffic, Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
soldiers retreating from the Yugoslav Front and refugees used the tunnel until it was closed in 1947. Then a border crossing between Austria and the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, it was reopened in 1950 and expanded to two lanes in 1966, while the old road over the mountain pass itself has been closed for traffic since 1967.
The importance of the Loibl Pass has diminuished since 1991, when the 7864 m (25,800.5 ft) long Karawanken Motorway Tunnel
Karawanken Tunnel (motorway)
The Karawanken Tunnel is a motorway tunnel crossing the Alpine Karavanke mountain range between Austria and Slovenia, with a total length of , enclosure between the portals.Its construction began in 1986 and it opened on June 1, 1991...
, which connects the Austrian Karawanken Autobahn
Karawanken Autobahn
The Karawanken Autobahn is an autobahn in Austria. It runs about from the Villach junction with the Süd Autobahn and the Tauern Autobahn southwards to the Slovenian border where it connects the A2 motorway leading to Ljubljana...
(A 11) from Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
with the Slovenian A2 motorway
A2 motorway (Slovenia)
The A2 motorway is a motorway in Slovenia, around 175 km long, connecting Karavanke Tunnel via the capital city Ljubljana to Obrežje . It connects several larger Slovenian cities, including Kranj, Ljubljana and Novo Mesto, and is part of the Pan-European corridor X.The motorway was completed...
to Ljubljana. Border controls have been abolished with Slovenia joining the Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
effective from 21 December 2007.
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes