In early 1915, the small town of Kranjska Gora suddenly became strategically important due to its proximity to the Isonzo Front. To facilitate access from the town to the front, the Austro-Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič, a 1,611 m pass between the Sava and Soča valleys, to be built by Russian POWs. The site was renovated in 2005, at a cost of €90,000, and serves as both a war memorial and a symbolic link between Slovenia and Russia. The pass road was renamed Ruska cesta ('Russian Road') in July 2006.