French Road, Brela

The French Road was built on the steep, rocky southern side of Biokovo, above the Brela hamlet of Gornji Kričak. It is of interest to hikers and lovers of technical heritage because it climbs the stony slope in serpentines. It belongs to the municipality of Brela in Split-Dalmatia County.

The road climbs from east to west, and begins on the route of a village path connecting the hamlets of Bast and Topići. The terrain there slopes at about 57 per cent, but the serpentines keep the gradient at roughly 6 per cent, which corresponds to today's road-building standards. By construction method it is a macadam road. The retaining walls are dry-stone, which allows water to seep through, and the stone embankment in the substructure serves as drainage. The highest and longest retaining wall, about 100 metres long, is 6.80 metres high and is built in seven steps. Expert analysis indicates that the road was built quickly, on hard-to-reach terrain, and that it is an exceptional construction achievement of the 19th century.

The road is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-7022.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).