In the past, the path over the Vrsic pass was used by the people of Trenta when they wanted to do some shopping in Kranjska Gora or Villach or go to a fair or even see a doctor, and the farmers from the Upper Sava Valley (Zgornjesavska dolina) who used the road to get to their pastures on the Trenta side of the pass. The pass was known as Kranjski vrh to the people of Trenta, but officially it was called Mojstrovka. Mojstrovka was the name used for the pass in the First World War.
In order for the path to meet the needs of timber skidding and transport, it was first widened in 1909. When Italy entered the war and the Soca (Isonzo) Front opened, the construction of the road was in full swing. Over 10.000 Russian prisoners of war were engaged in construction of the road. Aware of the avalanche threat, the prisoners worked under special anti-avalanche fences but unfortunately these were unable to withstand two severe avalanches in the spring of 1916. According to military archives data, the avalanche buried over 300 Russian prisoners and several Austrian guards. The construction of the road was completed in 1917.
In 1916 the prisoners built a wooden chapel on the Kranjska Gora side of the road in memory of their suffering and the comrades who were buried by the avalanche. The chapel was completely restored in the years 2005 – 2006. In June 2006, in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the construction of the chapel, Slovenian government renamed the section of the road between Kranjska Gora (Hotel Erika) and Vrsic the Russian Road.
The mountain road from Kranjska Gora (810 m) across Vrsic (1611 m) to Log in Trenta (620 m) spans 24 kilometres of 50 hairpin bends, 24 on the Kranjska Gora side and 26 on the Trenta side of the pass. The road is open an average of seven months per year. In winter, it is normally closed to all traffic.
Photos
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Vrsic - Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Vrsic - Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road)]()
Vrsic - Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road)
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic - The Russian Road - Information board Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic - The Russian Road - Information board]()
Road to Vrsic - The Russian Road - Information board
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic - Map Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic - Map]()
Road to Vrsic - Map
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Rainbow above the road Kranjska Gora - Vrsic in Kranjska Gora Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Rainbow above the road Kranjska Gora - Vrsic in Kranjska Gora]()
Rainbow above the road Kranjska Gora - Vrsic in Kranjska Gora
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Start of the road to Vrsic at Kranjska Gora Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Start of the road to Vrsic at Kranjska Gora]()
Start of the road to Vrsic at Kranjska Gora
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road from Kranjska Gora to Lake Jasna Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road from Kranjska Gora to Lake Jasna]()
Road from Kranjska Gora to Lake Jasna
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Bridge over Pisnica Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Bridge over Pisnica]()
Bridge over Pisnica
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the Lake Jasna Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the Lake Jasna]()
Road by the Lake Jasna
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Turning to Krnica at Russian Cross Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Turning to Krnica at Russian Cross]()
Turning to Krnica at Russian Cross
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 3rd hairpin bend (1041 m) Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 3rd hairpin bend (1041 m)]()
3rd hairpin bend (1041 m)
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic]()
Road to Vrsic
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 4th hairpin bend (1047 m) Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 4th hairpin bend (1047 m)]()
4th hairpin bend (1047 m)
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the 4th hairpin bend Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the 4th hairpin bend]()
Road by the 4th hairpin bend
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 5th hairpin bend (1102 m) Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 5th hairpin bend (1102 m)]()
5th hairpin bend (1102 m)
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - The Russian road Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - The Russian road]()
The Russian road
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 8th hairpin bend (1129 m) Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - 8th hairpin bend (1129 m)]()
8th hairpin bend (1129 m)
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the Russian Chapel Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road by the Russian Chapel]()
Road by the Russian Chapel
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic at the end of the winter Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road to Vrsic at the end of the winter]()
Road to Vrsic at the end of the winter
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Spik mountain group
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Summits above Vrsic Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Summits above Vrsic]()
Summits above Vrsic
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Vrsic mountain pass in snow Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Vrsic mountain pass in snow]()
Vrsic mountain pass in snow
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road covered with snow over Vrsic Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Road covered with snow over Vrsic]()
Road covered with snow over Vrsic
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - View back on the Vrsic mountain pass from the road to Trenta Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - View back on the Vrsic mountain pass from the road to Trenta]()
View back on the Vrsic mountain pass from the road to Trenta
![Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Jalovec from the road to Vrsic Road to Vrsic (The Russian Road) - Jalovec from the road to Vrsic]()
Jalovec from the road to Vrsic