It wasn’t just the iconic walls of the Old City of Dubrovnik that were built by hand but also lots of the infrastructure that we take for granted. This photo appeared on the popular Facebook Group page “Jedno drugo vrijeme, Vrijeme dobrih Duhova od Grada, Dubrovcana dobra duha,” or in English “A different time, the Time of Good Spirits of the City, Dubrovnik's good spirit." This page features interesting photos of times gone by in Dubrovnik and is always a source of fascinating information.

The road that cuts through the rock behind the Old City of Dubrovnik and below the city walls is extremely busy throughout the summer months and handles buses, coaches as well as thousands of cars and taxis every day. It makes us wonder how many actually take the time to look out of the window at the steep gorge and imagine how it was built. Well, according to this photo and comments it was constructed by hand in 1896, or 20 years before World War I, the actual comment reads “Breaking the road behind the city 1896.”

Photo - FB 

One thing that really leaped out at us from the photo are the four men standing and sitting rather precariously on what looks like a wooden beam above the manmade gorge, and the fact that nobody on the construction site is wearing any protective clothing. One reader commented “As it was built with great effort, yet with high quality, it was the work of top-notch craftsmen.” And another stated “A beautiful and rare photo, speaks of times gone by. A great endeavour for such a small city even back then, superbly done, how many generations have passed and how many more will come, thank you dear hardworking people who are no longer among us.”

Almost 130 years later and this busy road is still functioning perfectly, a testament to the knowledge of these skilled workers.