The term ''Reichsstraße'' ("imperial road") was introduced in 1934 into
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in place of the hitherto existing class of ''Fernverkehrsstraße'' ("trunk road") or FVS.
Law on the provisional new regulations for roads and road management
dated 26 March 1934. RGBl 1934, Part 1, p.243ff, of 27 March 1943
Accompanying executive order
dated 7 December 1934, RGBl 1934, Part 1, p.1237ff, dated 15 December 1934. On 17 January 1932, to improve road navigation in the Third Reich, the most important long distance routes (''Fernverkehrsstraßen'') were numbered. From 1934, when the so-called FVS were renamed as '' Reichsstraßen'', they were marked with yellow signs bearing their respective number in black. After the imperial motorways (''Reichsautobahn
The system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traf ...
en'') the ''Reichsstraßen'' were the most important class of road within the jurisdiction of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
.
The ''Reichsstraße'' routes and numbering systems were largely adopted for the ''Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
n'' ("federal roads") in the 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 the ''Fernverkehrsstraßen'' ("trunk roads") in the GDR
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
.
System
→ ''See: Bundesstraße#Classification and history in Germany''
Abroad
In several other countries, such as France, the equivalent roads are called national roads. In the Kingdom of Netherlands, Sweden and Norway the term ''Reichsweg'' ("imperial way") is used.
See also
* ''Reichsautobahn
The system was the beginning of the German autobahns under Nazi Germany. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traf ...
''
* ''Berlinka (autobahn)
Berlinka () is the informal Polish and Russian name given to sections of the unfinished Reichsautobahn Berlin-Königsberg, which was a pre-World War II German Reichsautobahn project to connect Berlin with Königsberg in East Prussia. In the ...
''
* '' Riksväg''
References
External links
Detailed route description for all the ''Reichsstraßen''
Roads in Germany
Former roads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichsstrasse (Deutsches Reich)