A MEETING POINT

Since ancient times, one of the most important roads in Europe has passed by the karst plateau. The modern motorway connects the Slavic East with the Latin West and the Germanic North with the Mediterranean South. The situation was similar in the distant past.

Due to its strategic geographical position, people started building roads in the Karst region as early as the 2nd century BC, when the first major commercial route, called the Amber Road, was built for the transport of amber from the northern and Baltic regions to the Adriatic Sea. Moreover, the myth about the Greek mythological hero Jason strongly suggests that the Karst was crossed by roads connecting the Danube region with the Adriatic Sea already in antiquity. The myth describes the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts as they sail from the Black Sea upstream the Danube River and the Sava River until they reach the spring of the Ljubljanica River. Once there, they put the ship on their shoulders and carried it along the road to the Adriatic Sea.

The Romans built two important roads in the Karst: Via Gemina, which connected Aquileia with Emona (the modern-day Ljubljana), and Via Flavia, which connected the Timavo River with Aquileia, Istria and Dalmatia.

In the early Middle Ages, Alaric with his Gothic horsemen crossed the karst plateau and descended into Italy. In the late Middle Ages, the Turks were searching for the best route to enter and conquer Europe. Yet while they were causing devastation in their raids on the plains of the Friuli region, the Habsburg Monarchy was strengthening its presence on the Adriatic Sea.

It comes as no surprise that one of the first major railway tracks in Europe crossed the Karst as early as 1857. Today the fifth Pan-European transport corridor runs here.

In a nutshell, the Karst region has been crossed by major European roads and rail tracks for a long time.