NASTANAK I RAZVOJ ŽELEZNICE U FRANCUSKOJ

Abstract

The author gives an overview of the origin and development of railways in France. Created first for the needs of the mining industry, the railway quickly found its way into all branches of industry. Not only did the railway help the development of industry, but some economic branches, such as tourism, would not even exist in the form we know today without the railway. The development of railways and economy went hand in hand. By analyzing legal texts and decrees, as well as scientific papers from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, the author gives a picture of the place of the railway in the economic and personal life of France and the French. The state of France changed several different regimes during the 19th century, but the railway network, as a strategic asset, was continuously expanded over the decades. Unlike other liberal countries of the 19th century, such as Great Britain and the United States of America, in France the state apparatus had an active role in planning and regulating the railways.