Autobahn: The number in the name reveals the location and meaning
Created: 01/10/2023 04:50
By: Simon Mones
The autobahns in Germany are numbered.
The numbers in the name reveal the importance and location of the trunk roads.
The German autobahn is known around the world, after all there is no general speed limit on it to this day - although more and more people are in favor of this.
However, only very few can answer the question of what the number in the name of the highway stands for.
So how did the names come about?
The numbering of the autobahns in Germany goes back to a system that has been in use since 1975, as reported by
t-online
.
It regulates whether an even or odd number is distributed.
It is also determined whether the number on the traffic signs has one or even three digits.
The A8 motorway runs from west to east and is of national importance. © Chromerange/Imago
Autobahn: The number in the name reveals the location and meaning
But as is so often the case here, there are no rules without exceptions.
Basically, however:
If a freeway has an odd number, it usually runs from north to south.
The A1, for example, starts in Heilligenhafen (Schleswig-Holstein) and ends in Saarbrücken (Saarland).
With an even number in the name, the highway usually runs from west to east.
The A2 leads from Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia to Berlin, where it joins the ring road.
Motorway: Single-digit trunk roads of nationwide importance
The highest number in the name bears the middle Munich ring road, which is known as the A 999.
However, there are not that many trunk roads in Germany.
The multi-character names must therefore have a different meaning.
It is not simply counted, but the number is distributed according to the importance of the motorway.
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If the trunk road has a one-digit number, it is of nationwide importance and leads through several federal states.
Autobahns with a two-digit number in their name are of great regional importance.
If a three-digit number is assigned, the regional significance is rather low.
It is often a matter of feeders or bypasses.
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Autobahn: number reveals where it is located
In addition to the meaning, the number also allows conclusions to be drawn as to where the Autobahn is located.
However, this only applies if the number has more than one digit.
The first digit in the name is assigned to a region in Germany:
1: Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
2: Hamburg/Northern Germany
3: Lower Saxony, in northern Westphalia and Thuringia as well as Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony
4: Rhineland, South Westphalia and North Hesse
5: Lower Rhine to Bonn
6: Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland.
Southern Hesse and the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region
7: Franconia, Thuringia and western Saxony
8: Baden-Württemberg
9: Greater Munich area, Lake Constance and the High Rhine