Autobahn-Tempolimit
Unrestricted country roads – where the open road isn't only the Autobahn
Open road isn't limited to the Autobahn. A handful of German Bundesstraßen are built like a motorway and carry no speed limit for long stretches – and hardly anyone knows about them. Here is the ranking, with the legal rules, the routes and coordinates.
Contents
Country road, express road, Bundesstraße – where the difference lies
“Unrestricted country road” is colloquial – what people almost always mean are Bundesstraßen (federal highways) that are built like a motorway. On an ordinary rural country road, cars have a standard limit of 100 kph. Flat out is not allowed there, whether or not a blue sign stands at the on-ramp.
Off the Autobahn, there is no fixed limit only where the road has structurally separated directional carriageways – oncoming traffic divided by a central reservation or barrier, grade-separated, with on- and off-ramps instead of traffic lights. It is precisely for such roads that the advisory speed recommends not exceeding 130 kph “even in favourable conditions” – the same rule as on the Autobahn. A limit then applies only where it is signposted.
Such stretches are usually marked as a Kraftfahrstraße (blue sign with a white car, sign 331.1) and are colloquially called a “yellow Autobahn” or motorway-like Bundesstraße. Important: the blue sign alone does not remove the limit. What matters is the separated carriageways and the absence of any speed signage. The two together exist only on a few, often short sections – which is why the list below is so short.
The longest unrestricted Bundesstraßen
For this analysis we searched OpenStreetMap specifically for Bundes- and
Kraftfahrstraßen tagged maxspeed=none and added up the continuous
unrestricted stretches:
| Road | free in one stretch | Section | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| B 15 | 34.6 km | Landshut interchange – Saalhaupt junction | Lower Bavaria |
| B 9 | 22.3 km | Wörth – Germersheim | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| B 3 | 18.3 km | Gießen – Marburg | Hesse |
| B 45 | 14.7 km | Ober-Roden – Hainstadt | Hesse |
| B 17 | 13.0 km | Landsberg am Lech – Augsburg | Bavaria |
| B 33 | 12.8 km | Hegau interchange – Radolfzell | Baden-Württemberg |
| B 2 | 10.1 km | Roth (near Nuremberg) | Bavaria |
| B 12 | 8.8 km | Waltenhofen – Weitnau | Bavaria (Allgäu) |
The best-known example – the B17 near Augsburg – only comes fifth. The actual number one is in Lower Bavaria and more than twice as long.
The map colours Autobahns and motorway-like roads by speed limit – so you can see in advance where the road is open along the way.
The routes in detail
Because these roads – unlike the Autobahn – do have real on- and off-ramps in between, here is where each free stretch starts and ends, and in which direction it counts.
B 15 – Landshut interchange → Saalhaupt junction (Lower Bavaria)
Built as a Kraftfahrstraße, the B15 between the Landshut interchange (A92) and the Saalhaupt junction (A93) is, at a good 34 km, the longest continuously unrestricted Bundesstraße in Germany. Heading towards Regensburg (northbound) you join the B15 at the Landshut interchange and have open road all the way to Saalhaupt; in the opposite direction towards Landshut the same applies between Saalhaupt junction and the Landshut interchange. In between sit several junctions such as Ergoldsbach or Neufahrn, where you merge and exit without a traffic light.
B 9 – Wörth → Germersheim (Rhineland-Palatinate)
On the left bank of the Rhine the B9 runs unrestricted for about 22 km. The free stretch starts at Wörth am Rhein and ends at the Germersheim-Mitte junction. Northbound (towards Germersheim/Speyer) you join at Wörth; southbound (towards Karlsruhe/Wörth) you leave the free stretch at Germersheim. North of Germersheim a limit takes over again.
B 3 – Gießen north interchange → Marburg-Süd (Hesse)
Between Gießen and Marburg the B3 is built to motorway standard. The continuously free stretch runs from the Gießen north interchange (A480/A485) to the Marburg-Süd junction. Northbound (towards Marburg) you merge at the north interchange; southbound (towards Gießen) the open road ends at the Marburg-Süd on-ramp.
B 45 – Ober-Roden → Hainstadt (Hesse)
South-east of Frankfurt the B45 carries no limit for almost 15 km, from Rödermark-Ober-Roden to Hainstadt near Hanau. Northbound (towards Hanau) the free stretch starts at Ober-Roden; southbound (towards Dieburg) it ends there. At the northern end near Hainstadt it merges into the Hanau/Seligenstadt area.
B 17 – Landsberg am Lech → Augsburg (Bavaria)
The best-known one: the B17 between Landsberg-West and Klosterlechfeld on the approach to Augsburg, about 13 km free. Northbound (towards Augsburg) you join at Landsberg-West; southbound (towards Landsberg) you leave the free stretch at Klosterlechfeld. Further north, in the Augsburg urban area, a limit applies again.
B 33 – Hegau interchange → Radolfzell (Baden-Württemberg)
On the western shore of Lake Constance the B33 is free for almost 13 km, from the Hegau interchange (A81) to Radolfzell. Eastbound (towards Radolfzell/Konstanz) the stretch begins at the motorway interchange; westbound (towards Singen) it ends there and feeds into the A81.
B 2 – Roth area (Bavaria)
South of Nuremberg the B2 stays unrestricted around Roth for a good 10 km, between the Roth and Roth-Ost junctions. Northbound (towards Nuremberg) you join at Roth-Ost; southbound (towards Weißenburg) you leave the free stretch at Roth.
B 12 – Waltenhofen → Weitnau (Allgäu)
West of Kempten the B12 is free as a Kraftfahrstraße for almost 9 km, from Waltenhofen to Hellengerst towards Weitnau. Westbound (towards Weitnau/Isny) the stretch begins at Waltenhofen; eastbound (towards Kempten) it ends there again.
Start coordinates to look up (latitude, longitude): B15 48.60689, 12.23012 · B9 49.04438, 8.27759 · B3 50.63156, 8.71573 · B45 49.95830, 8.84610 · B17 48.04960, 10.83661 · B33 47.80195, 8.86176 · B2 49.33188, 11.06378 · B12 47.66696, 10.19218.
No limit is not a green light
Unlike on the Autobahn, these Bundesstraßen have on- and off-ramps more often, the build is frequently narrower, and oncoming traffic is sometimes separated only by a barrier. The advisory speed of 130 kph applies here too as a benchmark – anyone driving much faster and involved in a crash risks partial liability, even where no sign sets a limit. Watch out for wildlife crossings, and note that a free stretch often ends abruptly where the road reverts to an ordinary single-carriageway.
How the numbers are made
The basis is our own analysis of the freely available OpenStreetMap data. An
Overpass query finds Bundes- and Kraftfahrstraßen tagged maxspeed=none;
connected pieces are then stitched together via shared nodes and the longest
continuous sub-stretch is determined per road. Because separated carriageways appear
as two lines in the data, each direction counts on its own. This is a data-based
analysis, not an official survey; in individual cases signage or roadworks may
differ.
Frequently asked questions
Which Bundesstraße is unrestricted for the longest distance?
According to the map data, the B15 in Lower Bavaria with around 34 km continuously free, between the Landshut interchange and the Saalhaupt junction. Behind it the B9 in Rhineland-Palatinate (a good 22 km) and the B3 in Hesse (a good 18 km).
Can you drive fast on any country road without a sign?
No. On an ordinary rural country road cars have a 100 kph limit, even without a sign. There is no fixed limit only on motorway-like roads with structurally separated carriageways – usually marked as a Kraftfahrstraße.
What does the blue Kraftfahrstraße sign mean?
It marks a road reserved for motor vehicles with a certain design speed. On its own it does not lift any speed limit – that also needs separated carriageways and no speed signage.
Does the 130 advisory speed apply there too?
Yes. The 130 kph recommendation applies not only on Autobahns but on all roads with structurally separated directional carriageways – so on these unrestricted Bundesstraßen as well.
Data source: our own analysis of the OpenStreetMap data via an Overpass query, as of August 2026. Longest continuously unrestricted sub-stretch per Bundesstraße. Not an official survey.