The Bundesstraße 257 is a federal highway in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

which leads from the connection to the A 565 near the Kreuz Meckenheim in a south-westerly direction through the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

to the border with

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Echternacherbrück Echternacherbrück is a German municipality located on the Sauer river opposite the Luxembourgish town of Echternach. It is part of the district Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of ...

Course

Shortly after the Autobahnkreuz Meckenheim, the A 565 changes to the Bundesstraße 257 after the Gelsdorf junction (formerly AS Grafschaft). After a few kilometers over the foothills of the Ahreifel, it winds down into the

Ahr Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses f ...

valley. In the area of the

Altenahr Altenahr () is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative centre for the eponymous collective municipality, to which it belongs. Altenahr is a state-recognised tourist resort and is ra ...

bypass, the B 267 branches off to

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German States of Germany, Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the Capital (political), capital of the Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler district. The Bundesautobahn 61, A61 motorway conn ...

. Soon after the junction, the B 257 is led through three tunnels before it crosses the Ahr and the Lower

Ahr Valley Railway The Ahr Valley Railway (), Remagen–Ahrbrück, is currently a 29 km-long, partly single-track and non-electrified branch line, which runs through the Ahr valley from Remagen station, Remagen via Ahrweiler and Dernau to Ahrbrück in the Ger ...

shortly before Ahrbrück. It runs parallel to these two as far as

Dümpelfeld Dümpelfeld is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nort ...

, although the railway was completely shut down and dismantled from Ahrbrück. From Dümpelfeld, the B 257 follows a side valley of the Ahr to

Adenau Adenau () is a town in the High Eifel in Germany. It is known as the ''Johanniterstadt'' because the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), Order of Saint John was based there in the Middle Ages. The town's coat of arms combines the black ...

Behind the Adenau quarter of Breidscheid, the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring crosses the B 257, so that it runs within the Green Hell until the second overpass behind Quiddelbach. Shortly afterwards the B 258 crosses west of the Grand Prix track of the Nürburgring. Now it goes downhill again, through the local community of

Müllenbach Müllenbach is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nor ...

Kelberg Kelberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palat ...

, where the B 257 meets the B 410. In Ulmen, the B 259 branches off to the southeast to the junction of the A 48 and on towards Cochem. The B 257 has been replaced by the federal motorway from here to the

Daun Daun () is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geog ...

junction of the A 1. It is continued in Daun. Now it goes on in a south-westerly direction, whereby the

Volcanic Eifel The Volcanic Eifel or Vulkan Eifel () consists of three areas of volcanic activity, known as the West Eifel, High Eifel, and East Eifel volcanic fields. Volcanic Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany that is defined to a large e ...

merges into the softer landscape of the Bitburger Gutland. At

Bitburg Bitburg (; ; ) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg (city), Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem Air Base i ...

, the B 257 runs for a few kilometers together with the B 51 in the direction of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and then branches off again to the southwest. In

Wolsfeld Wolsfeld is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is around 7 km south-west of Bitburg Bitburg (; ; ) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25&nbs ...

, which is known nationally for its hill climb, residents have been demanding a bypass for years because of the heavy traffic. This was included as an urgent requirement in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan and implemented within the framework of the 2 billion euro program to improve the transport infrastructure in the years 2005–2008. The bypass road was opened for traffic on 13 December 2008 by the Rhineland-Palatinate Transport Minister Hendrik Hering and Parliamentary State Secretary Karl Diller from the Federal Ministry of Finance. Past Irrel, the B 257 now leads to

, where it meets the B 418. This runs from here to

Wasserbilligerbrück Langsur is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mesenich Mesenich is a small Germany, German village belonging to the ''Verbandsgemeinde, Ortsgemeinde'' of Langsur. It is located on the north of the ...

along the banks of the

Sauer The Sauer ( German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre ( French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer f ...

, which here forms the border between Germany and

. Across the Sauer lies

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

, which is widely known for its dancing procession.

References

257 __NOTOC__ Year 257 (Roman numerals, CCLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1010 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...

Roads in North Rhine-Westphalia Roads in Rhineland-Palatinate {{Germany-road-stub