German Avenue Road
Deutsche AlleenstraßeAlleys are not only artistically designed streets that connect two places, but also a unique natural and cultural asset. For more than 30 years it has been the goal of Deutsche Alleenstrasse e.V. to experience Germany's avenues, protect them and create new avenues. And this on a large scale. After German reunification, the Avenue Road was continuously extended and now connects the north with the south, the east with the west of Germany for over 2,900 kilometers.
The initiative for the German Avenue Road came into being in 1990 when, after the fall of the Wall, numerous citizens expressed their concern that unique avenues should be sacrificed for road construction projects. The "Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald", the ADAC and other associations started the project "Save the Avenues", the basis for today's German Avenue Road (Deutsche Alleenstrasse).
The German Avenue Road makes it possible to experience:
- ... to travel through German landscapes on a tranquil avenue without hectic;
- ... off the track, from northeast to southwest, to track down well-known sights and small places worth seeing;
- ... and to experience the compatibility of nature, mobility, culture and tourism.
Type of route: holiday route
Theme: nature, culture
Start / finish: Ruegen / Reichenau Island
Length: 2,900 km
Federal States: Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg
Holiday regions: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Thuringia, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg
Through the most beautiful regions of Germany under the canopy of leaves
At over 2,900 kilometers, the German Avenue Road is the longest holiday route in Germany. It leads through ten Federal States from the Baltic Sea to Lake Constance and offers a unique experience of nature and landscape along beautiful avenues. The origin of avenues lies in the horticultural art of the Renaissance. They were first documented in the 17th century, mostly with a structural reference point such as a castle or mansion. It was not until the 18th century that avenues were increasingly planted alongside the road in order to improve orientation in the landscape and so as not to be exposed to direct sunshine along the way. So used z. B. Napoleon shady avenues often used as marching routes for his armies. The aim of the German Avenue Road is to preserve, maintain and use the avenues as an indispensable part of an intact, attractive landscape. Only those who know the beauty of their own country can appreciate what is special.
Unique natural wonders and cities rich in culture
The German Avenue Road leads from Dessau through the Harz Mountains to Duderstadt. A region with a mining tradition and interesting half-timbered towns. The route leads through the federal state of Saxony from Wittenberg via Dresden to Plauen. Culturally rich cities with old alleys, castles and palaces are well worth a visit. Thuringia, the "green heart of Germany", is crossed on the way from Plauen or Duderstadt to Fulda. With places steeped in history such as the Wartburg and unique natural wonders such as the fairy grottoes in Saalfeld. Through Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, the route from Fulda to Bad Kreuznach not only offers the impressive volcanic landscape of the Vogelsberg but also the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Romans.
From Bad Kreuznach to Freudenstadt, the German Avenue Road connects the Upper Rhine Plain with the heights of the Black Forest. In Baden-Württemberg, the route leads from Freudenstadt to the island of Reichenau and offers many opportunities to travel back in time to bygone eras.
Since 2009, the German Avenue Road has also crossed North Rhine-Westphalia: from Höxter to Dortmund, first through the Teutoburg Forest, then through the Münsterland, to finally reach the Ruhr area near Dortmund. The route leads south across the Bergisches Land to Bad Honnef.
Also discover by bike
10 stages - numerous sights
Today, the German Avenue Road crosses Germany in ten stages and links numerous sights to the left and right of the route.
The starting point is on Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The route to the south leads through the land of a thousand lakes via numerous old towns that have been restored true to the original with a deliberate brick charm. The route section Rheinsberg - Dessau - Wittenberg impresses with lakes and contrasts: splendid buildings next to a natural idyll.
Rügen - Rheinsberg
The island of Rügen has always been a popular holiday destination. With breathtaking natural spectacles such as the chalk cliffs to popular excursion destinations such as the Mönchguter Open Air Museum or the "Rasender Roland", there is a lot to discover on Germany's largest island. You then cross the Rügen Bridge to the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, the "Venice of the North". Here the Avenue Road makes its way through the northern flat country, which can impress with green, rambling meadows. Through Steinhagen, Grimmen and Griebenow to the Hanseatic city of Demmin, Teterow and Neu Strelitz, this stage is all about small towns, protected forests and rambling avenues.
Rheinsberg - Dessau/Wittenberg
Contemplative lake landscapes, wonderful old towns and nice people characterize this section of the Deutsche Alleenstraße. The Havelland and the Fläming offer splendid avenues. Together with interesting excursion destinations, it never gets boring here. The Rheinsberg Castle, which can be admired on foot or by boat, is particularly recommended. In Neuruppin you can see a monument in honor of Theodore Fontane. In Dessau / Roßlau, at the end of this stage, three UNESCO World Heritage sites await interested visitors: the Bauhaus, the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom and the "Middle Elbe" biosphere reserve.
Fulda - Bad Kreuznach
On this stage in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, visitors are shown first-hand what wonders nature can perform. The avenues lead through landscapes created by volcanoes, past picturesque cities such as Fulda, Lauterbach and Bad Nauheim. In the Kubach crystal cave, which was only discovered in 1974, stalactites can be viewed that have formed over millions of years. The Deutsches Eck in Koblenz then offers spectacular views of the meeting of the Rhine and Moselle and the imposing equestrian monument of the first German Emperor Wilhelm I.
Freudenstadt - Reichenau
What better way to end such a long journey than on the island of Reichenau in the picturesque Lake Constance? On the last stage, in addition to the usual splendid avenues, there are many opportunities to travel back in time. Whether in the Romanesque monastery church in Alpirsbach, the open-air museum Villa Rustica in Hechingen / Stein or at the Celtic prince seat in Hundersingen, visitors learn many interesting things from the Stone Age, antiquity or the Middle Ages. It will be a bit more modern in the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, where e.g. a reconstruction of the airship "Hindenburg" can be viewed.
Photo journey of the German Avenue Road
Gallery
Route guidance with parking space information
This information is a service offer from ALPINE in cooperation with FERIENSTRASSEN.INFO 
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsche Alleenstraße e.V.
c/o Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald - Bundesverband
Dechenstrasse 8
D - 53115 Bonn
GERMAN AVENUE ROAD
