Iron roads, secured mountain trails (via ferrata), which allow even the less experienced to experience what it's like to climb steep mountain cliffs, are increasingly popular in Europe, the region, and in Montenegro, in addition to the existing ones - in Kotor, on Durmitor, on the Salt Lake in Nikšić, Lovćen, Piva, around Kolašin, Pljevlja, new projects are also announced, in Gusinje, and on the territory of the Mojkovac municipality.
The first via ferratas were built in the Austrian Alps, back in the 19th century, to facilitate movement. Such infrastructure was then built for the movement of soldiers, both in the Austrian and in parts of the German Alps. Via ferratas were then also built in Italy, en masse in the Dolomites, where they are estimated to be the largest.
Since the early 1990s, their commercial development has begun. In Montenegro, as is the case in most of the region, via ferratas are relatively new.
What do the regulations say?
According to Montenegrin regulations, the via ferrata is classified as a temporary facility. It is also mentioned in the previous Law on Construction of Facilities, which came into force in March this year. With the adoption of the new law, as the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property told "Vijesti", the status, types and regulation of temporary facilities have changed, but until new regulations are adopted, the previous law applies.
"As well as the Regulation on detailed conditions for the installation or construction of temporary facilities, devices and equipment, which defines the via ferrata as a temporary facility," said the department in charge. Slaven Radunović.
In regulations, a via ferrata is defined as a temporary spatial structure that ensures the safety of users of mountain trails.
"It is a temporary facility intended for sports and recreation, consisting of metal sidewalks, steel cables that extend along a mountain path or trail, iron pegs and/or metal ladders attached to the rock," the Ministry says.
The installation, or rather the construction of temporary structures in the transitional period, including via ferratas, they add, is defined by the provision of Article 117 of the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures.
"The prescribed documentation, which the investor is obliged to obtain, includes technical documentation prepared in accordance with the urban planning conditions from the Temporary Facilities Program and technical conditions obtained from the technical affairs authority," they state.
In the process of setting up or building a via ferrata, depending on the space in which these structures are planned, the participation of the authorities for the protection of cultural heritage is also ensured.
Local and protected area programs
In addition to the umbrella law and regulations governing their installation, or construction, each municipality adopts a local program for temporary facilities, and such programs are also adopted for national and nature parks.
Such programs define the locations where temporary facilities are planned to be installed, as well as the conditions that must be met.
When it comes to protected areas in Montenegro, two via ferratas already exist in two national parks, Durmitor (Uvita greda) and Lovćen (Štirovnik), one has also been set up in the Piva Nature Park, and one is located in Kotor, which is under UNESCO protection.
"The Public Company for National Parks of Montenegro acts in accordance with the programs and amendments to the programs of temporary facilities in the areas of national parks, adopted by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property. The aforementioned programs define the exact locations where temporary facilities are permitted to be erected. The program contains locations and guidelines with urban planning conditions for the erection of temporary facilities (as well as the types, shape and dimensions of temporary facilities)," said the National Parks (NPCG) and added that the current programs for the Durmitor and Lovćen parks do not define locations for via ferratas.
The program for Durmitor National Park is for the period 2024-2028, and for Lovćen National Park for the period 2025-2029.
Based on the Program of Temporary Facilities, in accordance with the guidelines and urban planning conditions, the NPCG, they add, at the request of the party, issues urban planning and technical conditions for the preparation of technical documentation.
To the location via auction
The NPCG said that if the via ferrata is being installed on state-owned land, "the interested party is previously obliged to obtain the location through a public call - auction."
"After which, he concludes a contract with the Public Company to lease state-owned land for the purpose of setting up a temporary facility," they explained.
However, since the via ferrata is not included in the adopted programs for temporary facilities, the urban planning conditions, they add, have not yet been defined.
"We believe that the required documentation for the via ferrata would be project documentation prepared by a certified structural engineer, with all necessary technical calculations, an assembly plan and method of fastening elements, and a geotechnical (geological) study," said the public company that manages the most valuable natural space in Montenegro.
International standards
The construction, NPCG added, must be carried out according to international standards for via ferratas, such as the international standard for mountaineering and via ferrata routes (UIAA Safety Standards) and CEN/EN 16869, which is the European standard for via ferratas, which regulates materials, loads and safety elements.
The CEN/EN 16869 standard, according to data from the website of the Institute for Standardization, has been adopted and is valid in Montenegro.
The NPCG adds that the equipment used for via ferrata must be certified and attested according to the international UIAA standard.
"In order to set up this temporary facility in accordance with the project documentation and the opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency, it would be necessary to obtain a solution for actions, activities and businesses in protected areas or an Environmental Impact Assessment Study. After preparing the technical documentation and obtaining a permit from the Agency, the investor is obliged to submit it to the competent inspection body of the local government (Communal Inspection) within 15 days before the start of the installation or construction of the temporary facility."
Guide from Bosnia and Herzegovina
In neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of USAID, a “Manual for Via Ferrata Construction” was published in 2023, whose authors are Djani Rahimic i Igor MilosevIn the introductory part, they state that the manual was developed based on the European standard EN 16869, which, as is the case in Montenegro, has been adopted in BiH, “and as such is a valid legal regulation”.
The authors have designed several via ferratas in BiH, so they took their experience into account when creating the document.
"The need to create such a manual stems from the fact that the aforementioned standard does not provide precise instructions for the construction of via ferratas, but only general conditions that via ferratas should meet... The manual is becoming a necessity, given the increasing popularity of this type of adventure tourism and the intensified construction/construction of via ferratas in BiH," they state.
Analyzing the regulations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rahimić and Milošev come to the conclusion that in that country a via ferrata is considered a "construction", so, they state, it is necessary to obtain a building permit for its construction, as for any other construction facility. Thus, they cite examples, the Peć Mlini via ferrata in the municipality of Grude and the Vučji zub via ferrata on Mount Orjen, in the territory of Trebinje, received building permits.
They have been built for almost two centuries
The first idea of a via ferrata, according to the International Mountaineering Union (UIAA), appeared in 1843, on Mount Dachstein, in the Austrian Alps, and already in the second half of the 19th century, such trails were laid out on famous peaks, such as the Grossglockner (1869) and the Zugspitze (1873).
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in addition to the Austrian Alps, routes were also created in the German Alps. In the Dolomites, in Italy, in 1903, a road was built to Marmolada, and just before World War I, a trail to Pic Selva was also built.
During World War I, when Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops fought in the Dolomites, via ferrata were built en masse to enable the army to move over extremely difficult terrain. Fixed lines, ladders and belays were installed to help soldiers climb steep cliffs. After the war, and especially after World War II, these routes were renovated with modern steel cables and metal bars. Today they are maintained by the Italian Mountaineering Federation.
From the early 1990s onwards, the development of via ferrata became more commercial: local communities, tourist centres, cable cars and mountaineering clubs built new trails to attract visitors and expand the range of activities on the mountains.
Avoid areas where rock climbing is already taking place
The guide for the development of via ferratas for BiH, among other things, recommends that during their planning, information about the project should be provided to relevant users of the site, such as mountaineering clubs, hunters, and livestock breeders.
For via ferratas planned in an area where climbing is established or exists
potential for rock climbing, the authors state that close contact with the local climbing community is necessary.
“The introduction of via ferrata in an area with established rock climbing is not recommended,” the guide states, explaining that such an intention would certainly provoke vocal opposition from the local climbing community.
The authors state that planning a via ferrata must be done in consultation with the local mountain rescue service...
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