is an

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

in northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

that connects the large metropolitan regions of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It was one of the three transit access roads to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. On that road, there is a 150 km (93 mi) long section that has no speed limit at all (only a recommended speed of 130 km/h), which means that about 65% of that Autobahn can be driven at very high speed.

History

Planning for the autobahn began as far back as the 1930s; before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

numerous bridges and sections of roadside shoulder were built between Hamburg and Berlin. The German divide, however, put a hold on further work and it was not until 1978 that construction was resumed, carried out by a GDR work force and paid for by

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1982 the A 24 could finally be opened. Most pre-war bridges could not be used, however, and were replaced by new structures.

Exit list

Pictures

image:Autobahn 24 Dreieck Schwerin.jpg, Autobahn 24 near junction Schwerin image:Autobahnbruecke_RAB 44 (A24).jpg, unused bridge near

Hagenow Hagenow () is a German town in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim, 30 kilometers south of Schwerin. Its population is approximately 11,300 inhabitants (2013). Hagenow is part of the Hamburg Met ...

on the former planned route of the 1930s image:Autobahnleitplanke nach LKW Unfall.jpg, Truck destroyed the central barrier on the A24 (Feb. 2009)

External links

24 A024 A024 A024 A024 Buildings and structures in Oberhavel {{Germany-road-stub