Alternate Autobahn in an Alternate Germany

JJohnson

Banned
Because the POD is before 1900, I'm putting this here. Let's assume Germany is the following:

European Territory:
-German Empire (1871)
-minus Nordschleswig
-German Austria (including German Bohemia, Sudetenland, the additions to Upper/Lower Austria)
-Burgenland additions (Sopron, Preßburg, St Gotthard, Weiselburg)

Political: Assume this Germany had no WW1 or WW2, and either is currently a constitutional monarchy along the lines of the UK, or a parliamentary republic, and is stable, politically liberal, and has

Where do you think the optimal Autobahn routes would be? Let's assume that the main routes are north/south and east/west and the numbering is systematic. East/West is even numbers, and North/South is odd numbers.
 
For simplicity`s sake, I´ll try to make the numbering as similar as possible to OTL´s federal German numbering.

(Just for curiousity`s sake: Why on Earth without Nordschleswig but with Austria, Bohemia, Sudetenland, Burgenland additions?)

1: Metz - Trier - Köln - Münster - Bremen - Hamburg - Lübeck
2: Eupen - Aachen - Mönchengladbach - Krefeld - Essen - Dortmund - Bielefeld- Hannover - Magdeburg - Berlin - Frankfurt / Oder - Berlin - Stettin - Danzig - Königsberg
3: (NL) - Duisburg - Düsseldorf - Köln - Frankfurt - Würzburg - Nürnberg - Regensburg - Passau - Linz - Wien - Pressburg
4: Köln - Siegen - Gießen - Hersfeld - Erfurt - Jena - Dresden - Aussig - Leitmeritz - Prag - Iglau - Brünn - Pressburg
5: Rostock - Berlin - Halle / Leipzig - Jena - parallel to A4 until Gießen - Frankfurt - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel
6; Metz - Saarbrücken - Kaiserslautern - Mannehim - Heilbronn - Nürnberg - Amberg - Pilsen - Prag - Pardubitz - Olmütz - Kattowitz
7: Cuxhaven - Hamburg - Hannover - Kassel - Fulda - WÜrzburg - Ulm - Lindau - Bregenz - Arlberg - Innsbruck
8: Straßburg - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - München - Salzburg - Linz - Wien - Pressburg
9: Hamburg - Berlin - Cottbus - Liegnitz - Breslau - Beuthen
10: Bozen - Brixen - Brenner - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Budweis - Prag - Jungbunzlau - Reichenberg - Görlitz (link to A 4)

More would come later, for sure, especially something linking Klagenfurt and Graz to Wien, but that would be my guess for a beginning.
 
Btw, in your no Hitler timeline, I wouldn't be so sure as to when and how much the idea of autobahnen would have taken off. Precursors in the us, Italy and Germany were private and very limited. Maybe it would remain a phenomenon of very densely concentrated urban areas... worldwide,imagine that!
 
Why do you need Hitler? The Autobahn was not Hitlers idea. The first one between Cologne and Bonn was completed in 1932. The project was planed during the Weimar Republic. The second route was already under construction.
 

JJohnson

Banned
Interesting start, Salvador.

I've been looking through a map and my version goes through more cities, has a few more Autobahnen, and would involve a few more new roads than exist OTL:


Even: East/West

A 2: Nieuweschans, NL: Bunde, Weener, Leer, WEsterstede, Oldenburg, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde, Stade, Buxtehede, Hamburg, Lübeck, Wismar, Rostock, Ribnitz-Damgarten, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wolgast, Swinemünde (Świnoujście), Wollin (Wolin), Greifenberg (Gryfice), Treptow an der Rega (Trzebiatów), Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), Köslin, Stolpe (Słupsk), Lauenburg in Pommern (Lębork), Gdingen (Gdynia), Danzig (Gdansk), Tiegenhof (Nowy Dwór Gdański), Elbing (Elbląg), Braunsberg (Braniewo), Kopainen (Gogolewo), Königsberg, Taplacken (Talpaki), Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk), Gumbinnen (Gusev), Stallupönen (Nesterov): Kybartai, Lithuania

A 4: (start) Gollnow (Goleniow), Naugard (Nowogard), Plathe (Płoty), Roman (Rymań), Bialogard, Köslin (end)

A 6: (start) Konitz (Chojnice), Czersk/Heiderode (Czersk), Preußisch Stargard (Starogard Gdanski), Marienburg (Malbork), Elbing (Elbląg) (end)

A 8: Stettin, Gollnow (Goleniów), Naugard (Nowogard), Plathe an der Rega (Płoty), Roman (Rymań), Körlin an der Persante (Karlino), Belgard (Białogard), Streckenthin (Strzękecino), Köslin (end)

A 10: Stargard, Dramburg (Drawsko Pomorskie), Tempelburg (Czaplinek), Neustettin, Baldenburg (Biały Bór), Rummelsburg (Miastko), Bütow (Bytow), Berent (Kościerzyna), Karthaus (Kartuzy), Schönberg (Szymbark (Iława)), Danzig (end)

A 12: Stettin, Stargard, Kallies (Kalisz Pomorski), Deutsch Krone (Wałcz), Pila, Nakel (Nakło nad Notecią), Bromberg, Thorn (end)

A 14: Bourtange, NL: Dörpen, Friesoythe, Oldenburg, Bremen, Gyhum, Buchholz in der Nordheide, Lüneburg, Boizenburg, Schwerin, Güstrow, Neubrandenburg, Strasburg, Pasewalk, Stettin, Stargard, Dramburg (Drawsko Pomorski), Neustettin (Szczecinek), Konitz (Chojnice), Schwetz an der Weichsel (Świecie), Graudenz (Grudziądz), Osterode in Ostpreußen (Ostroda), Allenstein (Olsztyn), Sensburg (Mrągowo), Arys (Orzysz), Lyck (Ełk), Kallinowen (Kalinowo): Augustow, PL

A 16: Emmen, NL: Meppen, Haselünne, Löningen, Wildeshausen, Bremen, Achim, VErden, Bomlitz, Soltau, Munster, Uelzen, Salzwedel, Wittenberge, Wusterhausen Neustadt, Eberswalde, Schwedt, Pyritz (Pyrzyce), Arnswalde (Choszczno), Kallies (Kalisz Pomorski), Deutsch Krone (Wałcz), Schneidemühl (Piła), Nakel (Nakło nad Notecią), Bromberg (Bydgoszcz), Thorn (Torun), Mocker: Ljubitsch, PL

A 18: Oldenzaal, NL: Bad Bentheim, Rheine, Ibbenbüren, Osnabrück, Melle, Bünde, Bad Oeynhausen (end)

A 20: Arnhem, NL: Emmerich, Bocholt, Borken, Coesfeld, Münster, Warendorf, Bad Rothenfelde, Herford, Bad Oeynhausen, Hanover, Wolfsburg, GArdelegen, Stendal, Brandenburg, Potsdam, Berlin, Golzow, Sonnenburg (Słońsk), Landsberg an der Warthe (Gorzów Wielkopolski), Schwerin an der Warthe (Skwierzyna), Birnbaum (Międzychód), Samter (Szamotuły), Obornik (Oborniki), Wongrowitz (Wągrowiec), Gnesen (Gniezno), Tremessen (Trzemeszno), Strelno (Strzelno), Jerzyce: Piotrkow Kujowski, PL

A 22: Venlo, NL: Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund, Bergkamen, Hamm, Bielefeld, Hamelin, Hildesheim, Brunswick, Magdeburg, Potsdam, Berlin, Frankfurt an der Oder, Schwiebus (Świebodzin), Posen, Wreschen (Września): Slupca, PL

A 24: Sittard, NL: Heinsberg, Erkelenz, Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Iserlohn, Soest, Paderborn, Beverungen, Uslar, Göttingen, Nordhausen, Harzgerode, Aschersleben, Bernburg, Dessau-Roßlau, Wittenberg, Jüterbog, Baruth/Mark, Beeskow, Eisenhüttenstadt, Schwiebus (Świebodzin) (end)

A 26: Verviers, NL: Eupen, Aachen, Düren, Köln, Bergisch-Gladbach, Gummersbach, Olpe, Schmallenberg, Winterberg, Korbach, Kassel, Witzenhausen, Nordhasuen, Sangerhausen, Halle, Eilenburg, Torgau, Bad Liebenweda, Finsterwalde, Cottbus, Guben, Grünberg in Schlesien (Zielona Góra), Schlawa (Sława), Lissa (Leszno), Jarotschin (Jarocin), Breitenfeld: Chocz, PL

A 28: Spa, NL: Malmedy (Rhineland), Nürburg, Mayen, Koblenz, Limburg, Wetzlar, Giessen, (Marburg), Alsfeld, Bad Hersfeld, Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena, Naumburg, Leipzig, Grimma, Riesa, Hoyerswerda, Bad Muskau, Sorau (Żary), Sagan (Żagań), Glogow, Rawicz, Krotoszyn, Ostrow Wielpolski: Kalisz, PL

A 30: Vianden, LB: Bitburg, Spangdahlem, Bernkastel-Kues, Bing, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Hanau, Gelnhausen, Schlüchtern, Fulda, Bad Brückenau, Bad Kissingen, Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Meiningen, Suhl, Ilmenau, Zwickau, Chemnitz, Dresden, Bautzen, Görlitz, Boleslawiec, Legnica, Lüben (Lubin), Rawitsch (Rawicz), Krotoschin (Krotoszyn), Ostrowo (Ostrów Wielkopolski), Neu Skalmierschütz (Nowe Skalmierzyce): out to Kalisz, PL

A 32: Luxembourg, LB: Trier, Schweich, Kermeskeil, Idar-Oberstein, Bad Kreuznach, Mainz, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Aschaffenburg, Karlstadt am Main, Schweinfurt, Coburg, Kronach, Naila, Hof, Plauen, Zwickau, Chemnitz (end, merge to A 30)

A 34: Luxembourg, LB: Merzig, Saarlouis, Sankt Wendel, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Mosbach, Bad Mergentheim, Würzburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, Marktredwitz, Eger (Cheb), Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Komotau (Chomutov), Brüx (Most), Teplitz (Teplice), Aussig (Usti nad Labem), Tetschen (Decin), Haida (Nový Bor), Reichenberg (Liberec), Gablonz an der Neiße (Jablonec nad Nisou), Hirschberg im Riesengebirge (Jelenia Góra), Breslau, Oels (Oleśnica), Kempen in Posen (Kępno): out to Lodz, Poland

A 36: Trautenau (Trutnov), Waldenburg, Schweidnitz, Strehlen (Strzelin), Brieg (Brzeg), Namslau (Namysłów), Kreuzburg (Kluczbork), Landsberg (Silesia), Zawisna: Praschka, PL

A 38: Nachod, Glatz (Kłodzko), Neiße (Nysa), Oppeln (Opole), Dobrodzien: out to Czestochowa, PL

A 40: Reichenau CZ: Habelschwert, Freiwaldau, Neustadt in Oberschlesien (Prudnik), Oberglogau (Głogówek), Cosel (Koźle), Tarnowitz (Tarnowskie Góry): out to Pyrzowice, PL

A 42: Thionviolle, Saarlouis, Saarbrücken, Zweibrücken, Pirmasens, Landau, Karlsruhe, Bruchsal, Heilbronn, Crailsheim, Ansbach, Schwabach, Nuremberg, Amberg, Roßhaupt (Rozvadov), Mies (Stříbro): out to Pilsen, CZ

A 44: Zwittau (Svitavy), Mährisch Schönberg (Šumperk), Troppau (Opava), Ratibor (Racibórz), Rybnick (Rybnik), Gleiwitz, Beuthen (Bytom), Laurahütte (Siemianowice Śląskie): Dąbrowa Górnicza, PL

A 46: Olmutz, CZ: Sternberg (Šternberk), Bärn (Moravský Beroun), Wagstadt (Bílovec), Mährisch-Ostrau, Teschen, Skotschau (Skoczów), Bielsko-Biala: out to Kęty, PL

A 48: (start) Longwy, Thionville, Saarlouis (end)

A 50: Verdun, FR: Briege (Briey), Metz, Saint-Avold, Hagenau, Baden-Baden, Karlsruhe/Ettlingen, Pforzheim, Stuttgart, Göppingen, Heidenheim, Donauworth, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Cham, Markt Eisenstein (Železná Ruda): out to Klatovy (Klattau)

A 52: Straßburg, Offenburg, Tübingen, Reutlingen, Freudenstadt, Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Munich, Freising, Landshut, Dingolfing, Deggendorf, Regen, Bergreichenstein (Upper Austria): out to Czechia

A 54: Munich, Braunau am Inn, Passau, Krummau an der Moldau / Böhmisch Krummau (Český Krumlov): out to Budweis CZ

A 56: Belfort, Mulhouse, Freiburg, Titisee-Neustadt, Villingen-Schwenningen, Albstadt, Biberach, Memmingen, Landsberg am Lech, Munich, Braunau am Inn, Ried im Innkreis, Wels, Amstetten, St Pölten, Wien, Preßburg: out to Slovakia

A 58: Besancon, FR: Belfort, (Alsace-Lorraine), Altkirch : Basel, SWZ: Rheinfelden, Waldshut-Tiengen: Schaffhausen, SWZ: Singen, Friedrichshafen, Lindau, Kempten, Schwangau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Rosenheim, Bad Reichenhall, Salzburg, Gmunden, Steyr, Amstetten, St Pölten, Wien, Preßburg

A 60: Feldkirch (Vorarlberg), St Anton am Arlberg, Innsbruck, Kitzbuhel, Zell am See, Liezen, Leoben, Kapfenberg, Wiener Neustadt, Ödenburg: out to Hungary

A 62: (start) Klagenfurt, Wolfsberg, Graz, St Gotthard: Hungary

A 64: Bozen, Brixen, Brunech, Lienz, Spittal an der Drau, Villach, Klagenfurt, Marburg an der Drau: out to Slovenia


Odd: North/South

A 1: Luxemburg City: Thionville, Metz: out to Nancy, France

A 3: (start) Koblenz, Mayen, Trier, Saarbrücken, Saargemünd, Saarburg, Saarunion, Hattingen: out to Blamont, FR

A 5: Roermond, NL: Heinsberg, Jülich, Düren, Euskirchen, merge into A-7 to Bonn (end)

A 7: Venlo, NL: Nettetal, Mönchengladbach, Grevenbroich, Bergheim, Erftstadt, Bonn (end)

A 9: Norden, Emden, Leer, Meppen, Lingen, Nordhorn, Bad Bentheim, Ahaus, Reken, Dorsten, Oberhausen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Bonn, Koblenz, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Worms, Mannheim, Haguenau, Straßburg, Colmar, Mülhausen, Belfort

A 11: Wilhelmshaven, Oldenburg, Vechta, Bramsche, Osnabrück, Münster, Dortmund, Siegen, Wetzlar, Butzbach, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Ettingen, Offenburg, Freiburg, Lörrach: Basel, SWZ

A 13: (start) Würzburg, Heilbronn, Stuttgart, Reutlingen, Balingen, Villingen-Schwenningen, Donnaueschingen, Blumberg: Bargen, SWZ

A 15: Cuxhaven (Hamburg), Bremerhaven, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Bremen, Veren, Minden, Bielefeld, Paderborn, Kassel, Fulda, Würzburg, Ulm, Kempten, Innsbruck, Brixen, Bozen, Liefers, Neumarkt: Trento, IT

A 17:Flensburg, Rendsburg, Neumünster, Hamburg, Soltau, Hanover, Hildesheim, Einbeck, Northeim, Göttingen, Eisenach, Suhl, Coburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Ingolstadt, Munich, Rosenheim, Kitzbuhel, Lienz, Mauthen, Salurn: Zambana, IT, Gemona, IT, Udine, IT

A 19: (start) Nuremberg, Regensburg, Passau, Wels (end)

A 21: Lübeck, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Wolfsburg, Brunswick, Salzgitter, Goslar, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Bad Lauterberg, Sömmerda, Weimar, Jena, Neustadt an der Orla, Plauen, Oelsnitz, Klingenthal, Falkenau an der Eger (Sokolov), Karlsbad (German Bohemia), Luditz (Žlutice), Schaub (Pšov): Manětín, CZ

A 23: Budweis, CZ: Kaplitz, Freistadt, Linz, Wels, Liezen, Graz, Marburg an der Drau: out to Slovenia

A 25: Wismar, Bad Kleinen, Schwerin, Ludwigslust, Wittenberge, Osterburg, Stendal, Genthin, Burg bei Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Bernburg, Halle (Saale), Leipzig, Borna, Chemnitz, Annaberg-Buchholz, Preßnitz, Komotau (Chomutov), Saaz, Postelberg (Postoloprty): out to Laun, CZ

A 27: Rostock, Wittstock, Rheinsberg, Neuruppin, ORanienburg, Berlin, Lübbenau, Dresden, Pirna, Aussig (Usti nad Labem), Leitmeritz: out to Terezín (Theresienstadt), CZ

A 29: Stralsund, Neubrandenburg, Prenzlau, Schwedt, Küstrin (Kostrzyn nad Odrą), Frankfurt an der Oder (right bank), Cottbus, Hoyerswerda, Bautzen, Löbau, Zittau, Reichenberg, Hermannsthal (Hodkovice nad Mohelkou): Zdarek, CZ

A 31: Cammin in Pommern (Kamień Pomorski), Gollnow (Goleniów), Stargard in Pommern (Stargard), Dolice, Berlinchen (Barlinek), Landsberg an der Warthe (Gorzów Wielkopolski), Schwerin an der Warthe (Skwierzyna), Meseritz (Międzyrzecz), Schwiebus (Świebodzin), Züllichau (Sulechów), Grünberg in Schlesien (Zielona Góra), Naumburg am Bober (Nowogród Bobrzański),Sagan (Zagan), Klitschdorf (Kliczkow), Bunzlau (Bolesławiec), Hirschberg (Jelenia Góra), Schreiberhau (Poręba), Bad Wurzelsdorf (Kořenov): Starkenbach (Jilemnice), CZ

A 33: Kolobrzeg, Belgard an der Persante (Białogard), Schivelbein (Świdwin), Dramburg (Drawsko Pomorskie), Kallies (Kalisz Pomorski ), Schloppa (Człopa), Kreuz (Ostbahn) (Krzyż Wielkopolski), Birnbaum (Międzychód), Neutomysl/Neutomischel (Nowy Tomyśl), Wollstein (Wolsztyn), Schlawa (Sława), Groß-Glogau (Głogów), Polkwitz (Polkowice), Lübin (Lubin), Liegnitz (Legnica), Jauer (Jawor), Bolkenhain (Bolków), Landeshut in Schlesien (Kamienna Góra), trutnov: out to CZ

A 35: (start) Köslin, Neustettin, Pila, Obornik (Oborniki), Posen, Lissa, Rawitsch (Rawicz), Breslau, Strehlen, Reichenbach im Eulengebirge (Dzierżoniów), Frankenstein (Ząbkowice Śląskie), Glatz, Habelschwert, Grulich, Landskron, Mährisch-Trübau: out to Boskovice, CZ

A 37: Thorn, Jungbreslau/Hohensalza (Inowrocław), Tremessen, Gnesen, Wreschen, Miloslaw, Jarotschin, Pleschen, Ostrowo, Kempen, Kreuzburg (Kluczbork), Oppeln, Krappitz (Krakowice), Kandrzin-Cosel (Kędzierzyn-Koźle), Ostrau (Ostrava), Friedeck-Mistek (Frýdek-Místek), Althammer (Staré Hamry): out to Bílá, CZ

A 39: Danzig, Graudenz, Thorn, Schirpitz, Pollgorz, Otloczyn/Krügershauland (Otłoczyn): Aleksandrów Kujawski, PL

A 41: Elbing (Elbląg), Osterode in Ostpreußen (Ostroda), Hohenstein (Olsztynek), Neidenburg (Nidzica): Przasnysz, PL

A 43: (start) Bartenstein, Heilsberg (Lidzbark Warmiński), Guttstadt (Dobre Miasto), Allenstein (Olsztyn), Dorothowo/Darethen (Dorotowo), Hohenstein (Olsztynek) (end)

A 45: Rosehnen (Priboi), Königsberg, Preußisch Eylau (Bagrationowsk), Bartenstein (Bartoszyce), Bischofsburg (Biskupiec), Ortelsburg (Szczytno), Flammberg (Opaleniec): Chorzele (Chorzellen), PL

A 47: Nimmersatt (Nemirseta), Memel, Preekuln (Priekule), Heydekrug (Šilutė), Kaukehmen (Jasnoje), Neukirch (Timirjasewo), Heinrichswalde (Slavsk), Groß Skaisgirren (Bolshakovo), Wehlau (Znamensk), Allenburg, Gerdauen (Zheleznodorozhny), Rastenburg (Kętrzyn), Sensburg (Mrągowo), Puppen (Spychowo), Friedrichshof (Rozogi): Dąbrowy

A 49: Taurage, Lithuania: Pogegen (Pagėgiai), Tilsit (Sovetsk), Szillen (Schilino), Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk), Woytnicken (Wolodino), Angerburg (Węgorzewo), Lötzen (Giżycko), Arys (Orzysz), Johannisburg (Pisz): Kolno, PL

A 51: Taurage, Lithuania: Willkischken (Vilkyškiai), Budwethen (Malomozhayskoye), Gumbinnen (Gusev), Goldap (Gołdap), Kosaken (Kozaki), Marggrabowa (Olecko), Lyck (Ełk), Prostken (Prostki): Grajewo, Poland)

Loops (3-digit)


A 105: Dortmund, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen







I'm not 100% sure I got all the big cities east/west and north/south, so if someone could map this out for me, I'd appreciate it.

EDIT: I finished the north/south and added a few very small Autobahnen in there.
 
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Why do you need Hitler? The Autobahn was not Hitlers idea. The first one between Cologne and Bonn was completed in 1932. The project was planed during the Weimar Republic. The second route was already under construction.
You "need" Hitler because otherwise it´s never going to be that massive, with all the overland routes across mountainous woodlands, systematic etc.
Yes, there was the AVUS from the 1920s, and there was Cologne-Bonn in the early 1930s, but these were comparably tiny, economically viable even with the traffic of those days (instead of Hitler`s autobahnen which where never meant to be cost-efficient, they were investments in the war, being multi-purpose-designed for tanks to move across them fast), and achievable within the framework of the rule of law.
I find it quite likely that Autobahnen, or "Nur-Autostraßen", as they were called in the Weimar days, would continue to be built in a republican / liberal / non-fascist context, but perhaps not the way I or JJohnson envisioned them in our postings. The Köln-Bonn thing might have been prolonged to include Düsseldorf, and later maybe Duisburg, with another mega-urban one, a "Ruhrschnellweg", connecting to it in Duisburg and running to Dortmund through all the big cities in the Ruhr region.
The Rhein-Main region could have feasibly featured one, too, connecting Wiesbaden/Mainz to Frankfurt, and maybe at some point in time, if economic dynamics are somewhat similar to OTL, Southward to Mannheim/Ludwigshafen and either Karlsruhe or Stuttgart.
But more than that really doesn`t sound realistic - plans were there, of course, but private enterprises only planned those things which were really profitable, which a systematic autobahn grid isn`t, or at least not in the 1930s/1940s. (And without this grid and its promise that cars get you fast across half the continent, there may not even have been so many cars so early in later decades, the railroads may not have lost the race so clearly and so fast, and the building of further autobahnen may have been postponed even longer.) And the Weimar Republic was totally broke, don`t see where it could get as many funds. Hitler did it with forced labour... and of course he ran the state into an even more monstrous mountain of debt.
Now, an alternative TL with an earlier PoD can have no Hitler and at the same time no bankrupt Weimar Republic, either. But I´m still not convinced that a massive Hitler-like autobahn grid is probable in a liberal-constitutional alternative timeline.


That is a lot of work that you`re doing there. Some minor nitpicks, plus a reflection upon my own posting and yours, which features the problems I observed with my own even more:
1) Eisenhüttenstadt was a GDR creation. If you don`t have a GDR, you´re not likely to have that town.
2) Your grid is massive and systematically numbered. That means, it was planned from the start like that. That`s... gigantic, to say the least. It´s even more encompassing than Hitler`s Panzer-friendly Autobahnen. How do you envision it to come about politically in your alternate Germany?
3) Somewhat related to 2: Your grid looks almost geometric. Hitler did some crazy lines through hills and mountains, but you`re making that a general phenomenon. Building motorways through mountainous terrain is so much more expensive; perhaps you should use a topographical map, trying to draw your route more through plains, valleys etc.?
4) On a related note: Unless your autobahn construction programme is some sort of super-Keynesianism bordering on central planning socialism which goes on without democratic interruptions for many decades, you`d want to link the big cities first. The systematic thing worked, as I said, with the Nazi "circumstances", and it later worked in the US with its flatter geography, and then others copied the concept when there were already many more cars. If you want to take this into account, then maybe a less grid-like system and more naturally-grown system might make more sense. As in, have no. 1 be Köln-Bonn, which is later extended to include Düsseldorf, then DUisburg to the North, then decades later maybe linking up with the Netherlands, while in the SOuth it gets connected to the Rhein-Main area much later, where maybe no. 3 was starting to be built.

Also, much later, motorways around huge towns (Umfahrungen), like Köln, Berlin and München have them IOTL, could be a thing once people don`t like that many cars anymore.

The original planing for the Autobahn was done by a private organisation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HaFraBa
Yeah, it was a plan. Linking the most populous regions. Might have taken ages to implement privately, with a few companies going bankrupt along the process, deterring others.
 

JJohnson

Banned
It's systematically numbered, true. It should probably get more explanation in a timeline so that it can grow more organically like real highway systems. Do you know of a map of Großdeutschland on a scale of at least the V-BAM or better, with modern cities marked? That would be a huge help.

Thanks for the notice on Eisenhüttenstadt. I'll make a note for when I get the timeline into the 20th century.
 
It's systematically numbered, true. It should probably get more explanation in a timeline so that it can grow more organically like real highway systems. Do you know of a map of Großdeutschland on a scale of at least the V-BAM or better, with modern cities marked? That would be a huge help.

Thanks for the notice on Eisenhüttenstadt. I'll make a note for when I get the timeline into the 20th century.
No, unfortunately not.
 
Maybe Germany becomes dominated by the Social Democrats for decades, them deciding to implent a massive Autobahn plan to further emancipate the worker, now able to commute to the employer of his choice?
 
Some kind of Autobahn would definitely be built. I'd rather think about the specialties of OTL. The German division directly affected the course of the A7 between Hannover and Würzburg, with parts north of Würzburg redirected to the east in order to improve access to the local parts of no man's land whereas the original "route 46" went straighter. The original "route 85" was supposed to go from Eisenach via Meiningen to Bamberg. The parts between E. and M. became the B 19, then you go from M. to Suhl via A 71 in order to take the A 73 from Suhl to Bamberg.
 
Maybe Germany becomes dominated by the Social Democrats for decades, them deciding to implent a massive Autobahn plan to further emancipate the worker, now able to commute to the employer of his choice?
Long SPD dominance does seem like the next likely option for autobahnen for Keynesianist reasons.
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
Actually OTL Autobahn building between '33 and '39 was mostly a propaganda thing.
Massive, easily implemented (plans where there), labour intensive and became a symbol of the new regime, maybe even till the present day.
In many cases having a nice view was more important than possible military use.
Construction was financed through a private company, owned 100% by the Reichsbahn, state owned railway.
Nuts, forcing the railway to finance the competition if you ask me.

I can't see the Social Democrats being pro Autobahn for a long time, untill cars become affordable for the common worker.
If WWII is butterflied away, this might even be a decade or two late than in OTL.
Without VW on the one hand and the German war industry learning to lower quality to build more.

I have always wondered why Berlin-Hamburg wasn't build in the 1930s, appears so obvious a connection.
If I remember right it was finished in 1987 OTL.
 
Actually OTL Autobahn building between '33 and '39 was mostly a propaganda thing.
Massive, easily implemented (plans where there), labour intensive and became a symbol of the new regime, maybe even till the present day.
In many cases having a nice view was more important than possible military use.
Construction was financed through a private company, owned 100% by the Reichsbahn, state owned railway.
Nuts, forcing the railway to finance the competition if you ask me.

I can't see the Social Democrats being pro Autobahn for a long time, untill cars become affordable for the common worker.
If WWII is butterflied away, this might even be a decade or two late than in OTL.
Without VW on the one hand and the German war industry learning to lower quality to build more.

I have always wondered why Berlin-Hamburg wasn't build in the 1930s, appears so obvious a connection.
If I remember right it was finished in 1987 OTL.
Easily implemented only because the Nazis didn't bother with such petty things like legal issues, or human rights.
Under the Nazis, the Reichsbahn w just a part of the state budget.
You make a valid point about VW, but wouldn't the American model teach them, too?
Social Democrats may not push this in alt-1930s without further divergences, you are right. But what about nationalising some Segment of the car industry? It's not as if VW plans were something only the Nazis could have come up with, and many post-war governments did such things. Then, cheap Käfer-like models are conceivable, too.
Yeah, Berlin-Hamburg was self-evident, but I would disagree with you on military vs. scenery. Except for Hesse, there are few Segments which look specifically geared towards scenery, and even there, one might as well see military industrial locations throughout Hesse as a good reason for leading the A5 and A7 where they do. Many autobahnen serve the function of connecting areas of military-industrial production with Potential front lines. Hamburg-Berlin doesn't so much.
 
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