European route E 59 is a north-south Class-A intermediate

European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Centr ...

. It begins in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, passes through

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, ending near

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The total length of the route is . The E59 largely consists of

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

s but some sections are developed either as

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

s or two-

lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

roads with

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

s. The motorway sections are generally tolled through varying systems and rates. Individual segments of the E59 route are shared with several other European routes. Originally, the route extended through

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

, Croatia.

Route description

Route of the E59 starts in

, and proceeds southeast along the D1 motorway towards

Jihlava Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava i ...

, where it leaves the motorway and turns south along the route 38, a regular road comprising

s. The route passes near

Moravské Budějovice Moravské Budějovice (; german: Mährisch Budwitz) is a town in Třebíč District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monum ...

and

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

. It crosses from the Czech Republic to

between Chvalovice and Haugsdorf as it switches to Austrian B303 state road, representing another two-lane road with at-grade intersections. North of

Guntersdorf Guntersdorf is a market town in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is ...

, the E59 transfers to the S3 expressway until it reaches

Stockerau Stockerau () is a town in the district of Korneuburg in Lower Austria, Austria. Stockerau has 15,921 inhabitants, which makes it the largest town in the Weinviertel.https://statistik.at/wcm/idc/idcplg?IdcService=GET_PDF_FILE&RevisionSelectionMetho ...

and the A22 which carries the E59 east to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Within the city, the E59 turns south once again in

Donaustadt Donaustadt (; literally, Danube City; Central Bavarian: ''Donaustod'') is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria (german: 22. Bezirk, Donaustadt). Donaustadt is the eastern district of Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpage statistik.at-23450. ...

, transferring to the A23 taking it to the southern outskirts of the city. There it proceeds further south along the A2 motorway taking the route past

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

to the city of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. Graz itself is bypassed by the motorway and the E59 switches there to the A9 motorway marking the final southbound leg of the E59 through Austria until it reaches

Spielfeld Spielfeld ( Slovene: ''Špilje'') is a former municipality in the district of Leibnitz in Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Straß in Steiermark. It was an Austria-Sloveni ...

/ Šentilj border crossing to

. South of the border crossing the E59 route follows the Slovenian

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

to the south of

where the E59 leaves the A1 route and joins the A4 taking it to Gruškovje/

Macelj Macelj (; ) is the name of a village and a forest in northern Croatia bordering on Slovenia. There is an official border crossing in Macelj, and the end of the A2 highway. The villages are administratively divided into Gornji Macelj (''Upper''), p ...

border crossing to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. South of the border, the E59 follows Croatian A2 motorway running past

Krapina Krapina (; hu, Korpona) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region ...

. The E59 terminates at Jankomir interchange of the

Zagreb bypass Zagreb bypass ( hr, Zagrebačka obilaznica) is a U-shaped motorway partially encircling Zagreb, Croatia. The largest part by far, between Jankomir and Ivanja Reka interchanges, was built between 1977 and 1979, while the Ivanja Reka – Sveta Helen ...

, where southbound E59 traffic defaults to the eastbound A3 motorway. Originally the E59 extended further south past Zagreb, to

and

at the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

coast, however, that segment of the route was subsequently transferred to the

European route E71 European route E 71 is a north-south Class-A intermediate European road route. It begins in Košice, Slovakia, passes through Budapest in Hungary, Zagreb in Croatia, and ends at Split in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea coast. The total len ...

. Nonetheless, the E59 shares segments of the route with a number of other

s. A part of the E59 spanning Prague and Vienna corresponds to the

Pan-European Corridor IV The Corridor IV is one of the Pan-European transport corridors. It runs between Dresden/Nuremberg in Germany and Thessaloniki (Greece) / Constanța (Romania) / Istanbul (Turkey). The corridor follows the route: Dresden / Nuremberg – Prag ...

, and the segment spanning Graz and Zagreb corresponds to the Pan-European Corridor Xa.

Toll

Various sections of the E59 are tolled, using a range of toll collection systems. In Czech Republic, vehicles exceeding using the D1 motorway are charged toll using an electronic toll collection (ETC) system, while other vehicles are required to have a

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

displayed. The same applies to Austrian motorways. Slovenia has a similar system in place, although vehicles exceeding the weight limit are provided with a number of payment options. The Croatian A2 is also a tolled motorway, using a

ticket system A ticket system, also known as a closed toll collection system, is a system used on some toll roads in which a user pays a toll rate based on the distance traveled from their originating entrance to their destination exit. The correct toll is de ...

. As of August 2011, the toll charged along the A2 route between various toll plazas at each motorway exit and two mainline toll plazas, varies depending on the length of route travelled and the

vehicle classification in Croatia There are two forms of Vehicle size class, vehicle classification in Croatia. Vehicles are classified by categories in the driving license and by categories for toll highways. Driving license classification As an Eu member, EU member, Croatia has ...

. The toll is payable in either Croatian kuna or euros and by major credit and debit cards. A prepaid toll collection system is also used.

History

UNECE was formed in 1947, and their first major act to improve transportation was a joint UN declaration no. 1264, the Declaration on the Construction of Main International Traffic Arteries, signed in Geneva on September 16, 1950, which defined the first E-road network. This declaration was amended several times before November 15, 1975, when it was replaced by the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries or "AGR", which set up a route numbering system and improved standards for roads in the list. The AGR went through several changes, with the last one, as of 2011, in 2008. Reorganization of the E-roads network of 1975 and 1983 redefined the E71 designation previously associated with

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

–

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

–

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

road and assigned it to Košice–Budapest–Zagreb route. The same documents assigned the Zagreb–Bihać–Split section to the E59, as the E71 terminated in Zagreb at the time, however, the most recent revision of the E-network truncated the E59 in Zagreb, and transferred its former southern leg to the E71, shortening the E59 considerably.

Concurrencies

{, class="wikitable" , - , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , Country , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , km , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , Route , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , Control
cities , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , Connecting
routes , align=center bgcolor=#f2f2f2 , Notes , - , rowspan=2 ,

, 0-114 , style="align=center , D1 ,

, R1
19
34 , Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment defaults to Brněnská Street in Prague. Southbound E59 traffic leaves the D1 motorway at exit 112A. This segment is

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with the E50 and the E65 routes.
The northernmost segment of the route. , - , nowrap=yes, 114-209 , style="align=center , 38 , Jihlava

, 23
53 , Regular road with

s. , - , rowspan=6 ,

, 209-234 , style="align=center , B303 , Haugsdorf

, B45 , Regular road with at-grade intersections. , - , 234-255 , style="align=center , S3 , Guntersdorf

, B4
B40 , Expressway , - , 255-285 , style="align=center , A22 , Stockerau

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, S1
B8 , Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches from the A22 to the A23 at Kaisermühlen interchange
This segment is concurrent with the E49. , - , 285-296 , style="align=center , A23 , Vienna , A4 , Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches to the A22 at Kaisermühlen interchange.
Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment switches to the A2 at Inzersdorf interchange. , - , 296-481 , style="align=center , A2 , Vienna

, A3
A21
S4
S6 , Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment transfers to the A9 at Graz-West interchange.
Northbound E59 traffic leaving the segment transfers to the A23 at Inzersdorf interchange.
A part of this segment, between

Fürstenfeld Fürstenfeld (; hu, Fölöstöm) is a town and a district in southeastern Austria. It is situated within the Austrian federal state of Styria, near the border of Hungary. According to the 2005 census, Fürstenfeld has 5,986 citizens within its c ...

and Graz is concurrent with the E66. , - , 481-522 , style="align=center , A9 , Graz

, B70 , Northbound E59 traffic leaves the A9 at Graz-West interchange.
This segment is concurrent with the E57. , - , rowspan=2 ,

, 522-548 , style="align=center , A1 , Šentilj

, A5 , Southbound E59 leaves the A1 at Maribor jug interchange.
This segment is concurrent with the E57. , - , 548-583 , style="align=center , A4 , Maribor
Gruškovje , 2 , - ,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, 583-644 , style="align=center , A2 ,

, A3
D205
D307 , Southbound E59 traffic leaving the segment defaults to eastbound A3 ( E70) at Jankomir interchange of the

.
The southernmost segment of the route.

References

External links

UN Economic Commission for Europe: Overall Map of E-road Network (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:European Route E59 59 E059 E059 E059 E059

Route description

Toll

History

Concurrencies

See also

References

External links