Tounj

Tounj sits beside the Tounjčica gorge, where the historic Josephina road crossed the river on its way from inland Croatia to the coast. Its defining landmark is the Josephina, or Tounj, Bridge: Vincenzo Giorgio Struppi oversaw its lower level in 1775, while Kajetan Knežić added the upper level during the 1836 road reconstruction. The two-tier stone structure, with its arches, plaques and restored Roman legionary figures, is an exceptional monument of Croatian bridge building. Below it runs the Tounjčica, while the local riverside walk continues towards the restored 15th-century wooden Frankopan Bridge. This is not simply a stop on an old road: Tounj brings together the Josephina route, a river gorge and Frankopan heritage within a compact visit. Nearby railway bridges and viaducts add another layer to a landscape connected with the Zagreb–Rijeka route since the 19th century.

Tounj is a compact municipal centre shaped by three local forces: the underground karst, the Tounjčica River and the old Josephina road. Its Frankopan past survives in the ruins of a fortified town later adapted for the Military Frontier during the 16th century. The village’s dominant structure, however, is the two-storey bridge created in separate building campaigns in 1775 and 1836. The surrounding karst is more than scenery: Tounjčica Cave connects with passages beneath the quarry, where the endemic Ogulin cave sponge has been recorded. Rising above the road, the Church of St John the Baptist completes the village profile with its neo-Gothic form rebuilt in 1897.