The Bundesstraße 96 (B 96) is a federal highway in Germany. It begins in

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, close to the border triangle between Germany, Poland, and the

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

, heads north through

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 ends in Sassnitz on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Some sections of B 96 form a part of the

European route E22 European route E22 is one of the longest European routes. It has a length of about . Many of the E-roads have been extended into Asia since the year 2000; the E22 was extended on 24 June 2002. Route United Kingdom Port of Holyhead () * ...

History

Before the formation of

East Germany 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 ...

the highway was known as ''Reichsstraße 96''. The former F (''Fernverkehrsstraße'') 96 was the longest road in the GDR and a major route in north-south direction. When 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 ...

was built in 1961 the route of the F 96 was altered so that it went through Mahlow just south

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 ...

and Birkenwerder just north of East Berlin. This section is now called B 96a. South of Berlin was the B 96 different from today's route at Klausdorf Mellensee (both now at the municipality Am Mellensee) because of a diversion around Wünsdorf and Zossen the site of the headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In the 1960s and 1970s additions were made to the route between

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

and

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

to bypass narrow cobblestone village streets and a new parallel route to the west was built to transport tourists to the island of

. Due to historic and cultural similarities it became referred to as '' ostdeutsche " Route 66"'' by locals. In 2015 the German rock band Silbermond dedicated a song to the roadArchived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
which passes through their hometown of

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

Route

Starting from its southern end in

, the road passes through Ebersbach,

, Hoyerswerda, Senftenberg, Großräschen, Finsterwalde, Luckau, Zossen, and enters Berlin's Lichtenrade quarter. In Berlin, the road runs in the north-south direction through the German capital, among others as Lichtenrader Damm, Mariendorfer Damm, Tempelhofer Damm, Mehringdamm, Hallesches Ufer, Tempelhofer Ufer, Heidestraße, Fennstraße, Reinickendorfer Straße, Markstraße, Residenzstraße, Roedernallee, Oranienburger Straße. On 26 March 2006 part of the route was redirected with the opening of the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen, connecting Reichpietschufer with Minna-Cauer-Straße passing under the central quarters of

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building, Reichstag (Bundestag, German Parliament Building), and ...

and the government district. North of Berlin, the road passes through Glienicke/Nordbahn, Oranienburg,

Fürstenberg/Havel Fürstenberg () is a town in the Oberhavel district, Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Fürstenberg is situated on the Havel, River Havel, south of Neustrelitz, and north of Berlin. The town lies at the southern edge of the Mecklenburg Lake Di ...

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; ) is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital o ...

and

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

. Between Neubrandenburg-east and Süderholz, the B96 is replaced by the Bundesautobahn 20. From there, it continues through

, where it crosses over the Rügenbrücke to the island

. It passes through Samtens and Bergen auf Rügen, and ends in Sassnitz. Although it is now also partly rebuilt as the A20 Highway with interchange north of Greifswald it is still one of the major highways in Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundesstrasse 96 096 Roads in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Roads in Brandenburg Roads in Berlin Roads in Saxony Buildings and structures in Oberhavel

History

Route

See also

References