Autobahn
Autobahn is the
German word for high-
speed road, similar to
motorway or
freeway in English-speaking countries. (pronunciation:
OUT oh bahn) Autobahns were first built in
Germany, where
Hitler appointed
Fritz Todt to oversee their construction. The autobahns formed the first limited access high-speed road network in the world, with the first section from
Frankfurt am Main to
Darmstadt opening in
1935. Today, they have a total length of 11,400 km.
The German autobahns are famous as the only important public roads remaining without blanket speed limits, though traffic on them is usually heavy enough to restrict speeds to little above typical motorway speeds in any case. However, speed limits do apply at junctions and other danger points.
Autobahns in Austria and Switzerland have normal speed limits.
Compare Interstate highway, Road transport, Toll road, Parkway
Autobahn is also the name of an album by
Kraftwerk. See
Autobahn (album).