In addition to urban development in Dalmatian cities and the construction of numerous fortresses and forts throughout Dalmatia, during the French administration (1806 - 1813) a whole series of cart roads from Knin to Dubrovnik were built. Before the arrival of the French in Dalmatia, there were almost no roads. Recent research, based on memoirs and official correspondence of the time, indicates that General (later Marshal) Auguste Marmont, as the supreme military commander of the French army in Dalmatia, started building roads as soon as the opportunity arose. It was necessary to lay out good roadways that would enable the rapid movement of troops, especially artillery and chambers. In addition to French engineering experts, local people also worked on the design and supervision of the works. Among the difficult sections, the ones in Zabiokovlje were also mentioned, where the road passes through the side of the hill, and high retaining walls had to be built. Some sections (such as the one from Cetina to Aržan) were built exclusively by peasants.
Marmont notes that the road along the coast on the route Split - Omiš - Makarska could not be built because it was within the range of cannons from enemy ships. That's why he decided to go inland, from the bridge near Trilje, through Zabiokovlje and the Turia pass to Vrgorac and on to the Neretva. The road that the French built in a very short time along the entire length of Dalmatia - from Obrovac to Boka Kotor - is known as Napoleon's Road or the French Road. Part of that Napoleon's road, as the locals still call it, was conceived on the territory of today's Brela municipality. In that part, namely, the road was supposed to connect the Makarska coast with the French road that passed through Zabiokovlje, via the Nevista and Poletnica passes (Brela Gornja), along the Grabovac - Zagvozd - Župa - Rašćani route. Napoleon's road on the mentioned route was built in 1808. It was known what that road meant, therefore all people capable of working were listed and could only be freed from that work if they sent a replacement. They worked mostly for free, for food and drink. A. Ujević wrote about this: "This work on the construction of the road through the Imotski Krajina was difficult and painful, especially the one between Zagvozd and Župa, through the desolate and rocky Turia, exposed to wind and snow, heat and drought, wolf and hajduka. However, the French did not give up. They built a road through that waterless and inaccessible desert. For an eternal memory, a large commemorative plaque was carved into the stone cliff at the top of Turia." However, the inscription on that commemorative plaque, as well as on all the others except for one that referred to the construction of the Šibenik - Trogir section, was stamped by the Austrians after 1815, after Dalmatia became an Austrian province. With the withdrawal of the French army, part of the road in the area of today's Brela municipality was not completed, but we can see the valuable remains of the dry stone walls of that road under Nevisto and under Poletnica. Today they are a valuable topic for mountaineers and alpinists.
Translated by Google •
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