The German Bundesstraße 81 (abbreviated to: B81) acts as a main road link between

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

and

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

Course

It begins in the city of Magdeburg in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

at the

Bundesstraße 71 The Bundesstraße 71 (abbr: B 71) is one of the longer German federal roads, numbered in the 60s and 70s series. It begins at the B 6 in Bremerhaven by the Unterweser and ends in Könnern near Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt. At its st ...

(Magdeburg Ring). Just before the southern end of Magdeburg is the junction with the A 14 motorway. This is followed by the Langenweddingen ring road. This section was upgraded in the wake of the Langenweddingen train crash, in which 94 people were killed on 6 July 1967. South of Langenweddingen the B 81 crosses the B 246a, which runs from

Wanzleben Wanzleben is a town and a former municipality in the Börde district, in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Between 2004 and 2010 it was the seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Börde Wanzleben. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Wanzleben-Bör ...

(West) to

Schönebeck (Elbe) Schönebeck (), officially Schönebeck (Elbe), is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. southeast of Magdeburg. For much of the twentieth century it was noted ...

(Ost). In the area of the Egeln ring road the B 180 from Wanzleben joins B 81. As the ring road continues it crosses the

River Bode The Bode () is a river in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, a left tributary of the Saale. It rises in the Harz mountains and drains them in a northerly direction. After it discharges into the Saale at Nienburg. The river is named after a leg ...

. Following that the B 180 joins from Aschersleben. The B 81 continues along the

Kroppenstedt Kroppenstedt is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, formerly known as Croppenstedt in the Kingdom of Prussia. It is situated southwest of Magdeburg and is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Westliche ...

ring road, built in 2007/2008, and crosses the Bode again as it bypasses the village of

Gröningen Gröningen () is a town in the Börde (district), Börde Districts of Germany, district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies approx. 40 km south-west of Magdeburg, and 10 km east of Halberstadt. It has 3.621 inhabitants (December 2015). G ...

. Shortly before Halberstadt it is crossed by the B 245 from

Schwanebeck Schwanebeck () is a small town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Vorharz. The municipal area is situated northeast of Halberstadt, on the ''Bund ...

and

Eilsleben Eilsleben is a municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In January 2010 it absorbed the former municipality Wormsdorf and in September 2010 the former municipalities Drackenstedt, Druxberge and Ovelgünne.B 79. The B-81 continues, linking the town of

with the North Harz motorway, the B 6n, to the west. As a result, a similar autobahn-like expansion of this road section is one of the broader requirements listed in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'', BVWP). The B 81 crosses the

B 6n B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It represent ...

at the Blankenburg-Zentrum junction. In Blankenburg it meets the B 27. The B 81 continues through the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

. About 6 km beyond Blankenburg it passes through the small hamlet of

Wendefurth Wendefurth is a hamlet in central Germany that, since 1 July 2009, has been part of the borough of Thale district of Landkreis Harz, Harz. Previously it belonged to the municipality of Altenbrak which was incorporated into Thale. Geographical loc ...

. Below the

Wendefurth Reservoir Wendefurth is a hamlet in central Germany that, since 1 July 2009, has been part of the borough of Thale district of Harz. Previously it belonged to the municipality of Altenbrak which was incorporated into Thale. Geographical location The hamle ...

the B 81 crosses the Bode and continues on the ''Wendefurther Steige'' to the upper basin of the

Wendefurth Power Station Wendefurth Power Station () is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station on the reservoir of the Wendefurth Dam near Wendefurth in the Harz mountains of central Germany. The power station has an upper reservoir on the mountain top which stores ...

. After a further 7 km the road reaches the climatic spa of Hasselfelde, where it forms a junction with the B 242. Finally the B 81 crosses the state border between Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia reaching Netzkater in the borough of

Ilfeld Ilfeld is a village and a former municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode. Since 1 ...

, where it ends at a crossroads with the B 4.

Current situation

From its start in Magdeburg to the junction with the B 180 from Aschersleben the B 81 has been widened to four-lanes. Only a roughly 5.5 kilometre long section to Egeln is still two lanes. Currently this section is being widened to four. In the remaining stretch, the ring roads around

and

have two lanes. The bypasses around

and Blankenburg are a high priority in the current Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. Currently it is in the planning phase. The ring road around

Hasselfelde Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010 it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. Its population is 1,941 ( ...

is a further requirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundesstrasse 081 Transport in the Harz

Course

Current situation

See also

References