The Bundesstraße 5 (abbr. B5) is a German federal highway running in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction from the Danish border near Niebüll to

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

. It provides a direct route for motorists traveling between

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In Berlin B5 forms among others the following squares and streets Heerstraße, Theodor-Heuss-Platz, Kaiserdamm, Straße des 17. Juni, Großer Stern,

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the Tilia, linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Berlin Palace to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the Tilia, linden trees (known ...

, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße,

Alexanderplatz (, ''Alexander Square'') is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the north-ea ...

, Karl-Marx-Allee, Frankfurter Tor, and Frankfurter Allee. The section north of Hamburg is partially paralleled by Bundesautobahn 23.

History

The numbering of ''Bundesstraße 5'' follows the numbering of highways, then called in (literally in ), in the Weimar Republic, issued on 17 January 1932. The ''Fernverkehrsstraße 5'', or simply ''5'', however, continued from Frankfurt upon Oder (today as Polish DK29) via Crossen upon Oder, (today as Polish DK32) via Grünberg in Silesia, (today as Polish S3) via Lüben, (today as Polish DK36) via Parchwitz, (today as Polish DK94) via Breslau, Ohlau, Brieg, Oppeln in Silesia, Peiskretscham, (today as Polish DW901) via Gleiwitz (today as Polish DK88) to Beuthen in Upper Silesia. The route between Berlin and Frankfurt upon Oder was already completed in 1803. The route from there to Breslau was built between 1817 and 1819. In 1824 the route was extended from Breslau until Gleiwitz. The section between Berlin and Hamburg was upgraded to a highway between 1827 and 1830, with its section crossing the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

representing the first structurally designed road there. The routes Northwest of Hamburg were built in the 1850s. The section from

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...

until Bredstedt was finished in 1858. In 1934 the ''Fernverkehrsstraßen'' were renamed into ''Reichsstraßen'' (literally in ), but the numbering remained ''Reichsstraße 5'' or ''R 5''. By the Agreement of Potsdam in August 1945 the section East of the Oder-Neiße Line came under Polish authority and was subsequently renumbered within the Polish system of long-distance routes. After the foundation of the two new German republics in 1949 the section of ''R 5'' within the West German

Federal Republic of 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 constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

and in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

became ''Bundesstraße 5'' (literally in ) or ''B 5''. The section in the East

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(GDR) and

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

was given back its former name ''Fernverkehrsstraße 5'' or ''F 5''. During the division of Germany the ''F 5'' played a crucial role as ''transit route'' () between West Berlin and West German

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

. Transit passengers were not allowed to deviate from the route. In East Berlin ''F 5'' passed the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate ( ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was erected on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin t ...

, which became an East Berlin checkpoint within the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

on August 13, 1961, but was closed the very next day until December 22, 1989. ''F 5'' gradually lost its function as ''transit route'' to new built

autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

s (today's A 19 and A 24) until it was rededicated for intra-GDR traffic only on 21 December 1987. After the unification of East Berlin, the GDR and West Berlin with the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990, the ''F 5'' was named into ''Bundesstraße 5'' or ''B 5''.

Bypasses and upgrades

Müncheberg Herzfelde Dahlwitz Freidrichsfelde

(

) Wustermark (Nauen - Staaken Expressway)

Nauen Nauen is a small town in the Havelland (district), Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for Nauen Transmitter Station, the world's oldest preserved radio transmitting installation. Geography Nauen is situated within t ...

Friesack Friesack (; also Friesack/Mark) is a town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany. It is situated northeast of Rathenow, and southwest of Neuruppin. It is known for its Mesolithic archaeological site. History Durin ...

Wusterhausen ( Dosse) Kyritz

Perleberg Perleberg (; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg. The town received German town law, city rights in 1239 and as of ...

Karstädt Grabow (L072) Grabow ( A14) Boizenburg (

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

) Bergedorf Bergedorf - Hamm Expressway

Stellingen - Pinneberg Pinneberg -

Elmshorn Elmshorn (; ) is a town in the district of Pinneberg in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. It is 30 km north of Hamburg on the small river Krückau, a tributary of the Elbe, and with about 50,000 inhabitants is the sixth-largest town in the sta ...

(A23) Elmshorn (K23) Elmshorn -

( A23) Itzehoe ( Bekmunde) - Wilster - Brunsbüttel Diekshörn - Kattrepel Marne Helde - Freidrichstadt (through Tönning and B202) Husum Bredstedt

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundesstrasse 5 B005 B005 B005 B005 B 005 005