The West Autobahn (A1) was the first

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

(''

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

'') to be built in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, originating from plans drawn up for the so-called ''

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 ...

'' system. Completed in 1967, today it runs from the outskirts of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

via

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, where it joins the German

Bundesautobahn 8 is an autobahn in southern Germany that runs 497 km (309 mi) from the Luxembourg A13 motorway at Schengen via Neunkirchen, Pirmasens, Karlsruhe, Pforzheim, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg and Munich to the Austrian West Autobahn near S ...

at the Walserberg border crossing. The A1 is Austria's main east–west thoroughfare and part of the major European routes E55 and E60.

History

The construction of the first two sections near Salzburg started a few weeks after the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' annexation of Austria in 1938, as the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities had a long time before made plans for an eastern continuation of the ''Reichsautobahn 26'' from

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to Salzburg (the present-day Bundesautobahn 8) towards Linz and Vienna in what was to become the German '' Ostmark''. However, only two sections around Salzburg with a total length of were opened to traffic when works discontinued in 1942 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, the interrupted construction works on the third section to

Eugendorf Eugendorf is a market town of 6,439 inhabitants in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. History The town was first documented in the year 736. Geography Eugendorf is located about 10 kilometres to the northeast ...

were finished, nevertheless, the further continuation could not be resumed under Allied occupation. Between 1947 and 1965 the completed sections northwest of Salzburg were used as a racing track, known as "Little

AVUS The ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS (), is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern part of the Bundesautobahn 115. C ...

", the site of an annual

motorcycle race The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

, later called ''Grand Prix of Austria'', with racer Helmut Krackowizer among the first winners. AustriaA1

The construction of the A1 continued upon the signing of the

Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty ( ) or Austrian Independence Treaty established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the Uni ...

in 1955. The first post-war section up to Mondsee in

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

was opened in 1958, the route from Salzburg to Vienna was completed with the opening of the last segment at Amstetten. Finishing works near Strengberg on the border between Upper and

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

and of parts between Lambach and

Vöcklabruck Vöcklabruck () is the administrative center of the Vöcklabruck District, Vöcklabruck district, Austria. It is located in the western part of Upper Austria, close to the A1 Autobahn as well as the B1 highway. Vöcklabruck's name derives from th ...

in Upper Austria ended in the 1970s. In Vienna, the West Autobahn intersects with the B1 ''Wiener Straße'' highway in the

Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna (). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains large areas of the Vi ...

district at kilometre 9; former plans for a continuation to the city

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

were never carried out. Traffic significantly increased after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the

2004 enlargement of the European Union The largest enlargement of the European Union (EU), in terms of number of states and population, took place on 1 May 2004. The simultaneous accessions concerned the following countries (sometimes referred to as the "A10" countries): Cyprus, ...

. Now that it represents such an important connection between East and West, portions of the A1 between the junction of Steinhäusl west of Vienna and the ''Voralpenkreuz'' interchange with Innkreis Autobahn (A8) and Pyhrn Autobahn (A9) at

Sattledt Sattledt is a municipality in the district of Wels-Land in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Repu ...

are gradually being expanded by the publicly owned ASFiNAG corporation to three lanes in each direction.

History

Junctions

See also

References

External links