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Autobahn (pronounced OW toh bahn, SAMPA "A to bQn) is the German word for a major high- speed road usually linking one or more cities and towns, similar to motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.
Similar to such freeways in other countries, autobahns have multiple lanes of traffic in each direction, separated by a central barrier with grade-separated junctions and access restricted to certain types of mechanically-propelled vehicles only.
Autobahns were first conceived, planned and built on a limited scale in Germany during the Weimar Republic era in the 1920s, but apart from the AVUS in Berlin, construction was slow, and most projected sections did not progress much beyond the planning stage due to economic problems and a lack of political support. One project was the private initiative HaFraBa which planned a "car only road" (the name Autobahn was created in 1929) crossing Germany from Hamburg in the North via central Frankfurt am Main to BaselBasel ( English traditionally: Basle [ba:l], German: Basel ['ba:z@l], French Bale [ba:l], Italian Basilea [bazi'lE:a]) is Switzerland's third most populous city (188,000 inhabitants in the canton of Basel-City as of 2004; but 690,000 inhabitants in the co in SwitzerlandThe Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in central Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international c.
Just days after the 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu Nazi takeover, HitlerAdolf Hitler ( April 20, 1889 April 30, 1945) was the Fuhrer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. In that capacity he was Chancellor of Germany, head of government, and head of state, ruling as a enthusiastically embraced an ambitious Autobahn construction project and appointed Fritz TodtFritz Todt ( September 4, 1891 February 8, 1942) was an German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He was born in Pforzheim, the son of a small factory owner. He studied engineering in Karlsruhe and the School for Advanced T the Inspector General of German Road Construction. Soon over 100,000 worked at construction sites all over Germany in Organisation Todt. As well as providing employment and improved infrastructure, necessary for economic recovery efforts, the project was also a great success for propaganda purposes. Another aim of the Autobahn project was to strengthen centralized rule and national unity. (see Nazi architecture)
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. This straight section was used for high speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union until the fatal accident of the popular German race driver Bernd Rosemeyer in early 1938.
During World War II autobahns were even used as auxiliary airports, with aircraft either being stashed in numerous tunnels or camouflaged in nearby woods. However, for the most part they were not militarily significant, and most military and economic freight continued to be carried by rail. After the war, numerous sections of the autobahns were in bad shape, severely damaged by heavy allied bombing and military demolition. Furthermore, thousands of kilometers of autobahns remained unfinished, their construction brought to a halt by 1942 due to the increasing demands of the war effort.
In West Germany, most existing autobahns were soon repaired. The finishing of the incomplete sections took longer, with some stretches being opened to traffic only in the 1980s. Some sections cut by the Iron Curtain in 1945 were only completed after German reunification in 1989. Finally, certain sections were never completed, as more advantageous routes were found. Some of these sections stretch across the landscape forming a unique type of modern ruin, often easily visible on satellite photographs.
The autobahns which ended up in East Germany and Poland after 1945 were grossly neglected in comparison to those in West Germany and Western Europe in general. They received minimal maintenance between 1945 and 1989. However, they held up quite well because car ownership, and hence traffic volume, in Communist countries was much lower than in the West.
During the 1950s, the West German government restarted the construction program; it continuously invested in new sections and in improvements to older ones. During the 1980s, a goal was set in West Germany to provide autobahn access within 10 km of every household, but with the German reunification, most of the construction and funds shifted from the west to the neglected east.