title: Autobahn

text: The current autobahn numbering system in use in Germany was introduced in 1974. All autobahns are named by using the capital letter A, which simply stands for "Autobahn" followed by a blank and a number (for example A 8). The main autobahns going all across Germany have a single digit number. Shorter autobahns that are of regional importance (e.g. connecting two major cities or regions within Germany) have a double digit number (e.g. A 24, connecting Berlin and Hamburg). The system is as follows:


title: Autobahn

text: There are also some very short autobahns built just for local traffic (e.g. ring roads or the A 555 from Cologne to Bonn) that usually have three digits for numbering. The first digit used is similar to the system above, depending on the region.


title: Autobahn

text: East–west routes are even-numbered, north–south routes are odd-numbered. The north–south autobahns are generally numbered from west to east; that is to say, the more easterly roads are given higher numbers. Similarly, the east–west routes are numbered from north (lower numbers) to south (higher numbers).


title: Autobahn

text: The idea for the construction of the autobahn was first conceived in the mid-1920s during the days of the Weimar Republic, but the construction was slow, and most projected sections did not progress much beyond the planning stage due to economic problems and a lack of political support. One project was the private initiative "HaFraBa" which planned a "car-only road" crossing Germany from Hamburg in the north via central Frankfurt am Main to Basel in Switzerland. Parts of the "HaFraBa" were completed in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but construction eventually was halted by World War II. The first public road of this kind was completed in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn and opened by Konrad Adenauer (Lord Mayor of Cologne and future Chancellor of West Germany) on 6 August 1932. Today, that road is the Bundesautobahn 555. This road was not yet called "Autobahn" and lacked a centre median like modern motorways, but instead was termed a "Kraftfahrstraße" ("motor vehicle road") with two lanes each direction without intersections, pedestrians, bicycles, or animal-powered transportation.


title: Autobahn

text: Just days after the 1933 Nazi takeover, Adolf Hitler enthusiastically embraced an ambitious autobahn construction project, appointing Fritz Todt, the Inspector General of German Road Construction, to lead it. By 1936, 130,000 workers were directly employed in construction, as well as an additional 270,000 in the supply chain for construction equipment, steel, concrete, signage, maintenance equipment, etc. In rural areas, new camps to house the workers were built near construction sites. The job creation program aspect was not especially important because full employment was almost reached by 1936. However, according to one source autobahn workers were often conscripted through the compulsory Reich Labor Service (and thereby removed from the unemployment registry).


title: Autobahn

text: The autobahns were not primarily intended as major infrastructure improvement of special value to the military as often stated. Their military value was limited as all large-scale military transportation in Germany was done by train to save fuel. The propaganda ministry turned the construction of the autobahns into a major media event that attracted international attention.


title: Autobahn

text: The autobahns formed the first limited-access, high-speed road network in the world, with the first section from Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt opening in 1935. This straight section was used for high-speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union until a fatal accident involving popular German race driver Bernd Rosemeyer in early 1938. The world record of set by Rudolf Caracciola on this stretch just prior to the accident remains one of the highest speeds ever achieved on a public motorway. In the 1930s, a ten-kilometre stretch of what is today Bundesautobahn 9 just south of Dessau—called the "Dessauer Rennstrecke"—had bridges with no piers and was designed for cars like the Mercedes-Benz T80 to attempt to make land speed records. The T80 was to make a record attempt in January 1940, but plans were abandoned after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939.


title: Autobahn

text: During World War II, many of Germany's workers were required for various war production tasks. Construction work on the autobahn system therefore increasingly relied on forced workers and concentration camp inmates, and working conditions were very poor. As of 1942, when the war turned against the Third Reich, only out of a planned of autobahn had been completed.


title: Autobahn

text: Meanwhile, the median strips of some autobahns were paved over to allow their conversion into auxiliary airstrips. Aircraft were either stashed in numerous tunnels or camouflaged in nearby woods. However, for the most part during the war, the autobahns were not militarily significant. Motor vehicles, such as trucks, could not carry goods or troops as quickly or in as much bulk and in the same numbers as trains could, and the autobahns could not be used by tanks as their weight and caterpillar tracks damaged the road surface. The general shortage of petrol in Germany during much of the war, as well as the low number of trucks and motor vehicles needed for direct support of military operations, further decreased the autobahn's significance. As a result, most military and economic freight was carried by rail. After the war, numerous sections of the autobahns were in bad shape, severely damaged by heavy Allied bombing and military demolition. Furthermore, thousands of kilometres of autobahns remained unfinished, their construction brought to a halt by 1943 due to the increasing demands of the war effort.


title: Autobahn

text: In West Germany (FRG), most existing autobahns were repaired soon after the war. During the 1950s, the West German government restarted the construction program. It invested in new sections and in improvements to older ones. Finishing the incomplete sections took longer, with some stretches opened to traffic by the 1980s. Some sections cut by the Iron Curtain in 1945 were only completed after German reunification in 1990. Others were never completed, as more advantageous routes were found. An example is between Bad Brückenau and Gemünden am Main on the Fulda-Würzburg route, which was replaced by the A7.


title: Autobahn

text: The autobahns of East Germany (GDR) were neglected in comparison to those in West Germany after 1945. East German autobahns were used primarily for GDR military traffic and for state-owned farming or manufacturing vehicles. The speed limit on the GDR autobahns was ; however, lower speed limits were frequently encountered due to poor or quickly changing road conditions. The speed limits on the GDR autobahns were rigorously enforced by the Volkspolizei, whose patrol cars were frequently found hiding under camouflage tarpaulins waiting for speeders.


title: Autobahn

text: The last of the remaining original "Reichsautobahn", a section of A 11 northeast of Berlin near Gartz built in 1936—the westernmost remainder of the never-finished Berlinka—are scheduled for replacement around 2015. Roadway condition is described as "deplorable"; the -long concrete slabs, too long for proper expansion, are cracking under the weight of the traffic as well as the weather.


title: Autobahn

text: Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about in 2021), and a density of 36 motorway kilometres per thousand square kilometers (Eurostat) which ranks it among the densest and longest controlled-access systems in the world, and fifth in density within the EU in 2016 (Netherlands 66, Finland 3). Longer similar systems can be found in the United States () and in China (). However both the U.S. and China have an area nearly 30 times bigger than Germany, which demonstrates the high density of Germany's highway system.


title: Autobahn

text: The first autobahn in Austria was the West Autobahn from Wals near Salzburg to Vienna. Building started by command of Adolf Hitler shortly after the "Anschluss" in 1938. It extended the "Reichsautobahn 26" from Munich (the present-day A 8), however only including the branch-off of the planned Tauern Autobahn was opened to the public on 13 September 1941. Construction works discontinued the next year and were not resumed until 1955.


title: Autobahn

text: There are sections of the former German "Reichsautobahn" system in the former eastern territories of Germany, "i.e." East Prussia, Farther Pomerania, and Silesia; these territories became parts of Poland and the Soviet Union with the implementation of the Oder–Neisse line after World War II. Parts of the planned autobahn from Berlin to Königsberg (the "Berlinka") were completed as far as Stettin (Szczecin) on 27 September 1936. After the war, they were incorporated as the A6 autostrada of the Polish motorway network. A single-carriageway section of the "Berlinka" east of the former "Polish Corridor" and the Free City of Danzig opened in 1938; today it forms the Polish S22 expressway from Elbląg (Elbing) to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, where it is continued by the R516 regional road. Also on 27 September 1936, a section from Breslau (Wrocław) to Liegnitz (Legnica) in Silesia was inaugurated, which today is part of the Polish A4 autostrada, followed by the (single vehicle) "Reichsautobahn 9" from Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) to Sagan (Żagań) the next year, today part of the Polish A18 autostrada.


title: Autobahn

text: After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, plans for a motorway connecting Breslau with Vienna via Brno (Brünn) in the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" were carried out from 1939 until construction works discontinued in 1942. A section of the former "Strecke 88" near Brno is today part of the D52 motorway of the Czech Republic. Also, there is the isolated and abandoned twin-carriageway Borovsko Bridge southeast of Prague, on which construction started in July 1939 and halted after the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by former Czechoslovak army soldiers at the end of May 1942.


title: Autobahn

text: , Germany's autobahn network has a total length of about . From 2009 Germany has embarked on a massive widening and rehabilitation project, expanding the lane count of many of its major arterial routes, such as the A 5 in the southwest and A 8 going east–west.


title: Autobahn

text: Most sections of Germany's autobahns have two or three, sometimes four lanes in each direction in addition to an emergency lane (hard shoulder). A few sections have only two lanes in each direction without emergency lanes, and short slip-roads and ramps.


title: Autobahn

text: The motorway density in Germany is 36 kilometers per thousand square kilometer in 2016, close to that of the smaller countries nearby (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovenia).


title: Autobahn

text: About 17,000 emergency telephones are distributed at regular intervals all along the autobahn network, with triangular stickers on the armco barriers pointing the way to the nearest one. Despite the increasing use of mobile phones, there are still about 150 calls made each day on average (after some 700 in 2013). This still equals four calls per kilometre each year. The location of the caller is automatically sent to the operator.


title: Autobahn

text: For breaks during longer journeys, parking sites, rest areas, and truck stops are distributed over the complete Autobahn network. Parking on the autobahn is prohibited in the strictest terms outside these designated areas. There is a distinction between "managed" and "unmanaged" rest areas. (German: "bewirtschaftet" / "unbewirtschaftet").


title: Autobahn

text: A managed rest area (German: "Autobahnraststätte" or "Raststätte" for short) usually also includes a filling station, charging station, lavatories, toilets, and baby changes. Most rest areas also have restaurants, shops, public telephones, Internet access, and a playground. Some have hotels. Mandated every or so, rest areas are usually open all night.


title: Autobahn

text: Both kinds of rest areas are directly on the autobahn, with their own exits, and any service roads connecting them to the rest of the road network are usually closed to general traffic. Apart from rare exceptions, the autobahn must not be left nor entered at rest areas.


title: Autobahn

text: Rest areas and truck stops are marked several times as motorists approach, starting several kilometres in advance, and include large signs that often include icons announcing what kinds of facilities travellers can expect, such as hotels, filling stations, rest areas, etc.


title: Autobahn

text: Germany's autobahns are famous for being among the few public roads in the world without blanket speed limits for cars and motorcycles. As such, they are important German cultural identifiers, "often mentioned in hushed, reverential tones by motoring enthusiasts and looked at with a mix of awe and terror by outsiders." Some speed limits are implemented on different autobahns.


title: Autobahn

text: Additionally, speed limits are posted at most on- and off-ramps and interchanges and other danger points like sections under construction or in need of repair.


title: Autobahn

text: Where no general limit exists, the advisory speed limit is , referred to in German as the "Richtgeschwindigkeit". The advisory speed is not enforceable; however, being involved in an accident driving at higher speeds can lead to the driver being deemed at least partially responsible due to "increased operating danger" ("Erhöhte Betriebsgefahr").


title: Autobahn

text: The Federal Road Research Institute ("Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen") solicited information about speed regulations on autobahns from the sixteen States and reported the following, comparing the years 2006 and 2008:


title: Autobahn

text: Except at construction sites, the general speed limits, where they apply, are usually between and ; construction sites usually have a speed limit of but the limit may be as low as . In rare cases, sections may have limits of , or on one ramp . Certain stretches have lower speed limits during wet weather. Some areas have a speed limit of in order to reduce noise pollution during overnight hours (usually 10 pm – 6 am) or because of increased traffic during daytime (6 am – 8 pm).


title: Autobahn

text: Some limits were imposed to reduce pollution and noise. Limits can also be temporarily put into place through dynamic traffic guidance systems that display the corresponding message. More than half of the total length of the German autobahn network has no speed limit, about one third has a permanent limit, and the remaining parts have a temporary or conditional limit.


title: Autobahn

text: Some cars with very powerful engines can reach speeds of well over . Major German car manufacturers, except Porsche, follow a gentlemen's agreement by electronically limiting the top speeds of their cars—with the exception of some top of the range models or engines—to . These limiters can be deactivated, so speeds up to might arise on the German autobahn, but due to other traffic, such speeds are generally not attainable except during certain times like between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. or on Sundays (when truck drivers have to rest by law). Furthermore, there are certain autobahn sections which are known for having light traffic, making such speeds attainable during most days (especially some of those located in Eastern Germany). Most unlimited sections of the autobahn are located outside densely populated areas.


title: Autobahn

text: Vehicles with a top speed less than (such as quads, low-end microcars, and agricultural/construction equipment) are not allowed to use the autobahn, nor are motorcycles and scooters with low engine capacity regardless of top speed (mainly applicable to mopeds which are typically limited to or anyway). To comply with this limit, heavy-duty trucks in Germany (e.g. mobile cranes, tank transporters etc.) often have a maximum design speed of (usually denoted by a round black-on-white sign with "62" on it), along with flashing orange beacons to warn approaching cars that they are travelling slowly. There is no general minimum speed but drivers are not allowed to drive at an unnecessarily low speed as this would lead to significant traffic disturbance and an increased collision risk.


title: Autobahn

text: German national speed limits have a historical association with war-time restrictions and deprivations, the Nazi era, and the Soviet era in East Germany. "Free driving for free citizens" ("freie Fahrt für freie Bürger"), a slogan promoted by the German Auto Club since the 1970s, is a popular slogan among those opposing autobahn speed restrictions. Tarek Al-Wazir, head of the Green Party in Hesse, and currently the Hessian Transport Minister has stated that "the speed limit in Germany has a similar status as the right to bear arms in the American debate. At some point, a speed limit will become reality here, and soon we will not be able to remember the time before. It's like the smoking ban in restaurants."


title: Autobahn

text: The Weimar Republic had no federally required speed limits. The first crossroads-free road for motorized vehicles only, now A 555 between Bonn and Cologne, had a limit when it opened in 1932. In October 1939, the Nazis instituted the first national maximum speed limit, throttling speeds to in order to conserve gasoline for the war effort. After the war, the four Allied occupation zones established their own speed limits until the divided East German and West German republics were constituted in 1949; initially, the Nazi speed limits were restored in both East and West Germany.


title: Autobahn

text: In December 1952 the West German legislature voted to abolish all national speed limits, seeing them as Nazi relics, reverting to State-level decisions. National limits were reestablished incrementally. The urban limit was enacted in 1956, effective in 1957. The limit on rural roads—except autobahns—became effective in 1972.


title: Autobahn

text: Just prior to the 1973 oil crisis, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria<ref name="ÖAMTC/Sicherheit"></ref> all had no general speed restriction on autobahns. During the crisis, like other nations, Germany imposed temporary speed restrictions; for example, on autobahns effective 13 November 1973. Automakers projected a 20% plunge in sales, which they attributed in part to the lowered speed limits. The 100 km/h limit championed by Transportation Minister Lauritz Lauritzen lasted 111 days. Adjacent nations with unlimited speed autobahns, Austria and Switzerland, imposed permanent limits after the crisis.


title: Autobahn

text: However, after the crisis eased in 1974, the upper house of the German parliament, which was controlled by conservative parties, successfully resisted the imposition of a permanent mandatory limit supported by Chancellor Brandt. The upper house insisted on a recommended limit until a thorough study of the effects of a mandatory limit could be conducted. Accordingly, the Federal Highway Research Institute conducted a multiple-year experiment, switching between mandatory and recommended limits on two test stretches of autobahn. In the final report issued in 1977, the Institute stated the mandatory speed limit could reduce the autobahn death toll but there would be economic impacts, so a political decision had to be made due to the trade-offs involved. At that time, the federal government declined to impose a mandatory limit. The fatality rate trend on the German autobahn mirrored those of other nations' motorways that imposed a general speed limit.


title: Autobahn

text: In the mid-1980s, acid rain and sudden forest destruction renewed debate on whether or not a general speed limit should be imposed on autobahns. A car's fuel consumption increases with high speed, and fuel conservation is a key factor in reducing air pollution. Environmentalists argued that enforcing limits of limit on autobahns and on other rural roads would save lives as well as the forest, reducing the annual death toll by 30% (250 lives) on autobahns and 15% (1,000 lives) on rural roads; the German motor vehicle death toll was about 10,000 at the time.<ref name="http://www.bast.de 2014"></ref> The federal government sponsored a large-scale experiment with a speed limit in order to measure the impact of reduced speeds on emissions and compliance. Afterward, again, the federal government declined to impose a mandatory limit, deciding the modest measured emission reduction would have no meaningful effect on forest loss. By 1987, all restrictions on test sections had been removed, even in Hesse where the state government was controlled by a "red-green" coalition.


title: Autobahn

text: Prior to German reunification in 1990, eastern German states focused on restrictive traffic regulation such as a autobahn speed limit and of on other rural roads. Within two years after the opening, availability of high-powered vehicles and a 54% increase in motorized traffic led to a doubling of annual traffic deaths, despite "interim arrangements [which] involved the continuation of the speed limit of on autobahns and of outside cities". An extensive program of the four "E"s (enforcement, education, engineering, and emergency response) brought the number of traffic deaths back to pre-unification levels after a decade of effort while traffic regulations were conformed to western standards (e.g., freeway advisory limit, on other rural roads, and ).


title: Autobahn

text: In 1993, the Social Democratic-Green Party coalition controlling the State of Hesse experimented with a limit on autobahns and on other rural roads. These limits were attempts to reduce ozone pollution.


title: Autobahn

text: During his term of office (1998 to 2005) as Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder opposed an autobahn speed limit, famously referring to Germany as an "Autofahrernation" (a "nation of drivers").


title: Autobahn

text: In October 2007, at a party congress held by the Social Democratic Party of Germany, delegates narrowly approved a proposal to introduce a blanket speed limit of on all German autobahns. While this initiative is primarily a part of the SPD's general strategic outline for the future and, according to practices, not necessarily meant to affect immediate government policy, the proposal had stirred up a debate once again; Germany's chancellor since 2005, Angela Merkel, and leading cabinet members expressed outspoken disapproval of such a measure.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2008, the Social Democratic-Green Party coalition controlling Germany's smallest state, the paired City-State of Bremen and Bremerhaven, imposed a 120-kilometre-per-hour (75 mph) limit on its last of speed-unlimited autobahn in hopes of leading other States to do likewise.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2011, the first-ever Green minister-president of any German state, Winfried Kretschmann of Baden-Württemberg initially argued for a similar, state-level limit. However, Baden-Württemberg is an important location for the German motor industry, including the headquarters of Daimler AG and Porsche; the ruling coalition ultimately decided a state-level limit on its of speed-unlimited roads—arguing for nationwide speed limit instead.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2014, the conservative-liberal ruling coalition of Saxony confirmed its rejection of a general speed limit on autobahns, instead advocating dynamic traffic controls where appropriate. Between 2010 and 2014 in the State of Hesse, transportation ministers Dieter Posch and his successor Florian Rentsch, both members of the Free Democratic Party, removed or raised speed limits on several sections of autobahn following regular 5-year reviews of speed limit effectiveness; some sections just prior to the installation of Tarek Al-Wazir (Green Party) as Transportation Minister in January 2014 as part of an uneasy CDU-green coalition government. In 2015, the left-green coalition government of Thuringia declared that a general autobahn limit was a federal matter; Thuringia would not unilaterally impose a general statewide limit, although the Thuringian environmental minister had recommended a limit.


title: Autobahn

text: In late 2015, Winfried Hermann, Baden-Württemberg's Green minister of transportation, promised to impose a trial speed limit of on about 10% of the state's autobahns beginning in May 2016. However, the ruling Green-Social Democratic coalition lost its majority in the March 2016 elections; while Mr Hermann retained his post in the new Green-Christian Democratic government, he put aside preparations for a speed limit due to opposition from his new coalition partners.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2019, the Green Party introduced a motion to introduce a hard 130 km/h speed limit on the autobahn, but it was defeated in the Bundestag. A second attempt to reopen debate on the issue was made by the Left Party in 2022, rejected by the majority of CDU/CSU, Alternative for Germany and the Free Democratic Party. However, Alliance 90/The Greens and the SPD were obliged by the coalition agreement of the traffic light coalition to reject the proposal.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2014, autobahns carried 31% of motorized road traffic while accounting for 11% of Germany's traffic deaths. The autobahn fatality rate of 1.6 deaths per billion travel-kilometres compared favorably with the 4.6 rate on urban streets and 6.5 rate on rural roads. However, the reason for this is quite obvious and these types of roads are not comparable according to German traffic researcher Bernhard Schlag: "You don't have some of the problems that are accident-prone there at all. No cyclists, no pedestrians, no crossing traffic, hardly any direct oncoming traffic. In that sense, it's not surprising that autobahns are relatively safe roads [compared to other road types]."


title: Autobahn

text: According to official statistics from 2018, unlimited highways in Germany claimed about 71% of fatalities on highways. However, autobahns without speed limits also account for 70% of the entire autobahn network, which puts the high proportion of collision fatalities on stretches without speed limits into perspective. However, the often resulting thinking that speed limits would not make roads significantly safer is a fallacy, since it is precisely those roads that have a high volume of traffic and thus a high risk of collisions that are given speed limits.


title: Autobahn

text: According to Schlag, unsafe and older drivers, in particular, would avoid the autobahn because they perceive the high-speed differentials and very fast drivers as scary, and instead congregate on rural roads where the risk of collisions is higher anyway.


title: Autobahn

text: In contrast to other road types, where the number of collisions has continuously decreased, the number of collisions on autobahns has remained relatively stable or even increased for several years since 2009.


title: Autobahn

text: According to a report by the Federal Statistical Office, fast driving is the main cause of collisions on autobahns.


title: Autobahn

text: According to the 2018 edition of the European Road Safety Observatory's "Traffic Safety Basic Facts" report, an above-average number of accidents end in fatalities on a 1000-kilometer stretch of highway in Germany compared to other EU countries.


title: Autobahn

text: Although Germany has a very low total traffic-related death rate, if only the mortality rate on highways is considered, Germany is in the rear midfield in a Europe-wide comparison of the number of traffic fatalities per thousand kilometers driven on highways in 2016.


title: Autobahn

text: An evaluation by the shows that in 2016 statistically 26% fewer people died on autobahns with a speed limit per kilometer than on autobahns without. A similar trend could be observed in the number of serious injuries.


title: Autobahn

text: Between 1970 and 2010, overall German road fatalities decreased by almost 80% from 19,193 to 3,648; over the same time period, autobahn deaths halved from 945 to 430 deaths. Statistics for 2013 show total German traffic deaths had declined to the lowest count ever recorded: 3,340 (428 on autobahns); a representative of the Federal Statistical Office attributed the general decline to harsh winter weather that delayed the start of the motorcycle-riding season. In 2014, there was a total of 3,377 road fatalities, while autobahn deaths dropped to 375.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2012, the leading cause of autobahn accidents was "excessive speed (for conditions)": 6,587 so-called "speed related" crashes claimed the lives of 179 people, which represents almost half (46.3%) of 387 autobahn fatalities that year. However, "excessive speed" does not mean that a speed limit has been exceeded, but that police determined at least one party travelled too fast for existing road or weather conditions. On autobahns 22 people died per 1,000 injury crashes, a lower rate than the 29 deaths per 1,000 injury accidents on conventional rural roads, which in turn is five times higher than the risk on urban roads—speeds are higher on rural roads and autobahns than urban roads, increasing the severity potential of a crash.


title: Autobahn

text: A few countries publish the safety record of their motorways; the Federal Highway Research Institute<ref name="http://www.bast.de IRTAD"></ref> provided IRTAD statistics for the year 2012:


title: Autobahn

text: For example, a person yearly traversing on regular roads and on motorways has an approximately chance of dying in a car accident on a German road in any particular year ( on an autobahn), compared to in Czech Republic, in Denmark, or in the United States.


title: Autobahn

text: However, there are many differences between countries in their geography, economy, traffic growth, highway system size, degree of urbanization and motorization, and so on.


title: Autobahn

text: The federal government does not regularly measure or estimate travel speeds. One study reported in a transportation engineering journal offered historical perspective on the increase in travel speeds over a decade:


title: Autobahn

text: "Source": Kellermann, G: Geschwindigkeitsverhalten im Autobahnnetz 1992. Straße+Autobahn, Issue 5/1995.


title: Autobahn

text: The Federal Environmental Office reported that, on a free-flowing section in 1992, the recorded average speed was with 51% of drivers exceeding the recommended speed.


title: Autobahn

text: In 2006, speeds were recorded using automated detection loops in the State of Brandenburg at two points: on a six-lane section of A 9 near Niemegk with a advisory speed limit; and on a four-lane section of A 10 bypassing Berlin near Groß Kreutz with a mandatory limit. The results were:


title: Autobahn

text: At peak times on the "free-flowing" section of A 9, over 60% of road users exceeded the recommended maximum speed, more than 30% of motorists exceeded , and more than 15% exceeded —in other words the so-called "85th-percentile speed" was in excess of 170 km/h.


title: Autobahn

text: On 1 January 2005, a new system came into effect for mandatory tolls "(Mautpflicht)" on heavy trucks (those weighing more than 12 t) while using the German autobahn system ("LKW-Maut"). The German government contracted with a private company, Toll Collect GmbH, to operate the toll collection system, which has involved the use of vehicle-mounted transponders and roadway-mounted sensors installed throughout Germany. The toll is calculated depending on the toll route, as well as based on the pollution class of the vehicle, its weight and the number of axles on the vehicles. Certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles and buses, are exempt from the toll. An average user is charged €0.15 per kilometre, or about $0.31 per mile (Toll Collect, 2007).


title: Autobahn

text: Driving in Germany is regulated by the Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung ("road traffic regulations", abbreviated StVO). Enforcement on the federal Autobahnen is handled by each state's highway patrol ("Autobahnpolizei"), often using unmarked police cars and motorcycles and usually equipped with video cameras, thus allowing easier enforcement of laws such as tailgating. Notable laws include the following.


title: Autobahn

text: "", "", and "Burnout Dominator" use autobahn as one of their tracks. "Euro Truck Simulator", "German Truck Simulator", and "Euro Truck Simulator 2" feature the Autobahn in their open world maps. "Burnout 3: Takedown" named them as Alpine while "Burnout Dominator" divided them into two (Autobahn and Autobahn Loop).


title: Autobahn

text: "" also had a track that had the player drive across different sections of the autobahn. The entire game world of "" is set on the autobahn.


title: Autobahn

text: In "Gran Turismo 5," "Gran Turismo 6 and Gran Turismo 7", a trophy is awarded to those who have driven the same distance as the autobahn total length. In December 2010 video game developer Synetic GmbH and Conspiracy Entertainment released the title "Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei" featuring real world racing and mission-based gameplay. It is taken from the popular German television series about a two-man team of "Autobahnpolizei" first set in Berlin then later in North Rhine-Westphalia.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The games are primarily action role-playing games. The player takes the role of a Hunter, slaying or trapping large monsters across various landscapes as part of quests given to them by locals, with some quests involving the gathering of a certain item or items, which may put the Hunter at risk of facing various monsters. As part of its core gameplay loop, players use loot gained from slaying monsters, gathering resources, and quest rewards to craft improved weapons, armor, and other items that allow them to face more powerful monsters. All main series titles feature multiplayer (usually up to four players cooperatively), but can also be played single player.


title: Monster Hunter

text: As of September 30, 2022, the game series has sold 88 million units worldwide, and is Capcom's second best-selling series following "Resident Evil". The early games in the series principally sold well in Japan and other Asian countries, popularized by the series' use of ad hoc multiplayer features on portable consoles. "Monster Hunter" has been critically well-received in Western markets, but had generally languished in sales, in part due to the game's steep learning curve. However, with "" (2018), Capcom aimed to attract a global audience using the power of advanced home gaming consoles and computers and released the title simultaneously worldwide. "World" became the best-selling "Monster Hunter" game within three days of its release, and became Capcom's single best-selling video game of all time with 21 million sales as of July 5, 2022, including more than 70% outside of Japan.


title: Monster Hunter

text: In addition to games, the franchise has an "ries", a manga "Monster Hunter Orage", and a book "Monster Hunter Episode". A feature film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson was released on December 3, 2020.


title: Monster Hunter

text: "Monster Hunter" takes place in a shared low fantasy setting, where the human-like species have a pre-industrial level of technology such as steam power, but continue to study the ruins of a long-past advanced civilization. In the setting's less populated regions, monsters roam the landscape and threaten small villages or research bases that have been established to study the ruins and these monsters. Players take the role of a Hunter that serves to help protect the villages and bases from these monsters, typically aiding in researching these.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The core feature of "Monster Hunter" is its compulsion loop. Unlike traditional computer role-playing games, a player's Hunter does not grow and has no intrinsic statistics or attributes whatsoever. Rather, the Hunter's abilities are instead defined by the specific weapons and armor selected. The player can equip weapons, armor, and items most beneficial towards completing a given mission, and if successful, the Hunter is awarded in both in-game money ("zenny") and loot representing parts from the monster. These parts, along with other resources collected while on missions or through mission rewards, can be used to forge or upgrade new weapons and armor which then can be used in against more powerful monsters and tackle more difficult missions, completing the compulsion loop. Harder missions are typically restricted by a hunter's rank, which cumulatively increases as the player completes specific missions designated by the quest giver. Mission rewards are often generated randomly, often requiring the player to grind the same monster repeatedly to get the right parts. Weapons and armor have intrinsic bonuses or penalties towards certain types of elemental or physical damages, and may provide special skills which can be fine-tuned through the mix-and-matching of equipment pieces.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The games feature a variety of different weapon classes, ranging from swords, hammers, and bows, with the most recent titles ("Generations", "World", and "Rise") having a total of fourteen classes. Each weapon class has a unique set of combat maneuvers and reflect a number of different play styles based on speed of attack, damage strength, range and the application of buffs and debuffs to monsters and allies. "Monster Hunter" games use an "animation priority" combat, committing the player to a move until the animation is completed and leaving them potentially vulnerable to a monster's attack. Further, players are encouraged to watch their Hunter's health and stamina. Losing all health will force a retreat to a base camp, and after three such retreats, the mission is deemed a failure. Performing most combat actions consumes stamina, which recovers in a short amount of time; once exhausted of stamina, the Hunter becomes vulnerable as they pause to catch their breath. Monsters and other environmental hazards can also inflict blights and other negative status effects that impair combat abilities. Combat is centered around watching for a monster's tells prior to an attack to be able to dodge it and/or make a counterattack, and looking for openings to unleash strings of attack combos, depending on the Hunter's current weapon. Unlike most other action games, "Monster Hunter" fights have been compared to a series of boss fights.


title: Monster Hunter

text: Nearly all "Monster Hunter" games have a single-player mode; in these, the Hunter is often accompanied by a Felyne or Palico, a sentient cat-like creature that provides support and limited offensive abilities in combat. Most "Monster Hunter" games released with support for four-player cooperative online modes, allowing the group to hunt down stronger versions of monsters, though this support has since been disabled in older games. The games typically have a main quest line, frequently called "Low Rank" or "Village Quests", which can take up to fifty hours to complete. Once completed, the game opens up with new "High Rank" or "Gathering Hall" quests, featuring stronger versions of monsters they have previously faced, as well as new monsters are yet seen and unique variants of these foes, all of which provide better components for more powerful weapons and armor sets, providing hundreds of hours of potential gameplay following the main quest. Most, if not all titles have a third rank of difficulty ("G Rank" or "Master Rank"), released after the base game. These add more monsters, locations, weapons and armour sets to the game.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The first "Monster Hunter" game was one of three titles Capcom had developed to take advantage of the processing power and online capabilities of the PlayStation 2, which according to Ryozo Tsujimoto, who has been the series' producer since "Monster Hunter Freedom 2", had begun to match arcade games in capabilities; the other two such titles were "Auto Modellista" and "Resident Evil Outbreak". Tsujimoto considered "Monster Hunter" to be the culmination of the work of these other two titles once it was released. He also felt that the game was intended for such cooperative play so that players of any skill level, working with others, could feel accomplished in taking down giant creatures. "Monster Hunter" proved a success, selling over 1 million copies, principally in Japan. Enhanced versions of the early games, adding more difficult monsters and end-game quests, were released with a "G" affixed to the end (such as "Monster Hunter G" for the first such game); for those titles that were released in Western regions, these were often, though not always, affixed with the "Ultimate" moniker. A second team worked to develop a series for the PlayStation Portable. These games often had a more lighthearted tone and expanded upon the palicoe system. In Japan, these games were released under the "Portable" title, while in the west they were released under the "Freedom" title. Even after these naming conventions were abandoned, this established the general tradition of one team releasing games for home consoles and a separate team releasing a portable game a few years later.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The series took off explosively in Japan with "Monster Hunter G" and "Monster Hunter Portable/Freedom" on the PlayStation Portable and even more so once its sequels "Monster Hunter Dos", "Monster Hunter Portable 2nd/Freedom 2" and "Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G/Freedom Unite" were released which supported up to four players. Handheld systems are generally more popular in Japan and due to the country's high population density, it was easy to find players to hunt cooperatively with, making it a phenomenon there. James Miekle, writing for "PC Gamer", had worked for Q Entertainment and lived in Japan during the release of "Monster Hunter Portable 3rd", which was the best selling PlayStation Portable game of all time and described how even during work, impromptu "Monster Hunter" sessions would break out between employees and there was extensive marketing of "Monster Hunter" branded consumer goods.


title: Monster Hunter

text: While "Monster Hunter" had been successful in Japan, its popularity in Western markets (primarily North America and Europe) languished. In contrast to the Japanese culture, Western markets favored home consoles and computers during the mid-2000s and because of a thinner population density, most players relied on Internet-based gaming rather than local ad hoc networking. The series also struggled with a difficult learning curve that had made the games off-putting in Western markets.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The series had little popularity in the West until the release of "Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate" on the Nintendo 3DS, a console that had gained a sizable foothold in Western markets. While "Monster Hunter"s popularity in the West was still to a niche group, Capcom saw the potential for more growth there and took steps to better localize the next few titles to make the series more attractive; "Monster Hunter 4" was the first game in the series to break one million sales in Western markets. Capcom recognized there was still room for further growth of the series there; in an October 2016 interview, Capcom chairman Kenzo Tsujimoto said they were looking towards increasing the popularity of the games in the Western markets, recognizing that gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have dominance in these regions over handhelds. "Monster Hunter: World", the series's first major entry targeting home consoles and computers, was developed to be more alluring for Western markets without trying to make the game simpler. A number of changes in gameplay were made that took advantage of the consoles' new technology; notably, while the prior games had split each hunting area into different zones as necessitated by limits of the console hardware, "World"s used seamless zones and several changes to gameplay were made to account for this. "World" became the series' best selling game, achieving more than 21 million units sold by 2022 and making the "Monster Hunter" series Capcom's best-selling series following "Resident Evil".


title: Monster Hunter

text: With the success of the changes to the formula defined by "World", Capcom decided to continue this approach with the series' next major title, "Monster Hunter Rise" for the Nintendo Switch.


title: Monster Hunter

text: Below is a list of games in the "Monster Hunter" main series. Each generation has a number of entries that are derivative of the original release. While the first four main titles were numbered, the subsequent installments, starting with "World", use a keyword instead of a number to reflect a central concept for that game.


title: Monster Hunter

text: Since the series debuted, "Monster Hunter" has sold 88 million units across all titles by September 30, 2022. It is Capcom's second highest-selling series, following "Resident Evil".


title: Monster Hunter

text: Total worldwide sales for "Monster Hunter" games exceeding 1 million units, through September 30, 2022. are listed below:


title: Monster Hunter

text: A female Monster Hunter appeared as a playable character via downloadable content in "". The game also features a stage called "Valkanda", which combines Val Habar from the fourth installment with Wakanda from the Marvel universe. Rathalos and Tigrex, two of the series' flagship monsters, make a cameo appearance in "" on hunting missions. Rathalos appeared as a special event monster to fight in "Final Fantasy XIV" as part of a cross-promotional event with "Monster Hunter: World", with the Behemoth appearing in "World" in return. In 2018, Rathalos also appeared as a boss character and a summonable Assist Trophy in the crossover fighting game, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", while several Mii Fighter costumes based on "Monster Hunter" were added post-launch in March 2021 a few weeks ahead of "Rise" release. In 2020, Rathalos made a limited appearance in Cygames' mobile title "Dragalia Lost" as part of an in-game event.


title: Monster Hunter

text: The "Monster Hunter" games themselves have offered crossover events with other Capcom and third-party properties, allowing users during the event to earn armor and weapons inspired by the other property. For example, "Monster Hunter World" has had promotional events that include "Resident Evil", "Mega Man", "Assassin's Creed", and "The Witcher" series.


title: Monster Hunter

text: A series of anime shorts titled "MonHun Nikki Girigiri Airū-mura Airū Kiki Ippatsu" () was broadcast beginning August 10, 2010. A sequel, "MonHun Nikki Girigiri Airū-mura G", was produced. An anime series based on the franchise premiered on October 2, 2016.


title: Monster Hunter

text: A manga titled "Monster Hunter Orage" was published jointly by Kodansha and Capcom in April 2008. The author of the manga is Hiro Mashima. There are four volumes total with the last volume published on May 4, 2009. An English release of "Monster Hunter Orage" first took place on June 28, 2011. Elements from "Monster Hunter" were later included in the "Worlds Unite" comic crossover from Archie Comics, which featured several other Capcom and Sega franchises making guest appearances in the previously running "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Mega Man" comic lines.


title: Monster Hunter

text: A trading card game titled "Monster Hunter Hunting Card" was released in October 2008 with periodic updates planned.


title: Monster Hunter

text: A film based on the series has been in conception since 2012 by director Paul W. S. Anderson. The film was formally announced by Capcom in October 2018, with production starting that month with Impact Pictures and Constantin Film and was released in the United Kingdom and China on December 4, 2020. The film is based on a United Nations task force falling into an alternate dimension where Hunters fight off monsters and the force joins the Hunters to prevent monsters from returning through the portal to Earth. The film starred Milla Jovovich, Ron Perlman, T.I. Harris, Diego Boneta and Tony Jaa.


title: Monster Hunter

text: In 2018, Capcom and Pure Imagination Studios announced that they are working on a 3D animated film "Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild". The special was written by Joshua Fine, and features a fledgling hunter taking down an Elder Dragon. Originally slated for a 2019 release, the film was released on August 12, 2021, on Netflix.


title: Bonn

text: The federal city of Bonn ( ) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area, with over 11 million inhabitants. It is a university city and the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven.


title: Bonn

text: Founded in the 1st century BC as a Roman settlement in the province Germania Inferior, Bonn is one of Germany's oldest cities. It was the capital city of the Electorate of Cologne from 1597 to 1794, and residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne. From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the capital of West Germany, and Germany's present constitution, the Basic Law, was declared in the city in 1949. The era when Bonn served as the capital of West Germany is referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic. From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government – but no longer capital – of reunited Germany.


title: Bonn

text: Due to a political compromise (Berlin-Bonn Act) following the reunification, the German federal government maintains a substantial presence in Bonn. Roughly a third of all ministerial jobs are located in Bonn , and the city is considered a second, unofficial, capital of the country. Bonn is the secondary seat of the President, the Chancellor, and the Bundesrat, and the primary seat of six federal government ministries and twenty federal authorities. The title of Federal City () reflects its important political status within Germany.


title: Bonn

text: The headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL and Deutsche Telekom, both DAX-listed corporations, are in Bonn. The city is home to the University of Bonn and a total of 20 United Nations institutions, the highest number in all of Germany. These institutions include the headquarters for Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the UN Volunteers programme.


title: Bonn

text: Situated in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants, Bonn lies within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the border with Rhineland-Palatinate. Spanning an area of more on both sides of the river Rhine, almost three-quarters of the city lies on the river's left bank.


title: Bonn

text: To the south and to the west, Bonn borders the Eifel region which encompasses the Rhineland Nature Park. To the north, Bonn borders the Cologne Lowland. Natural borders are constituted by the river Sieg to the north-east and by the Siebengebirge (also known as the Seven Hills) to the east. The largest extension of the city in north–south dimensions is and in west–east dimensions. The city borders have a total length of . The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz "(Chancellor Square)" in Bonn-Gronau.


title: Bonn

text: The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is divided into five governmental districts (), and Bonn is part of the governmental district of Cologne (). Within this governmental district, the city of Bonn is an urban district in its own right. The urban district of Bonn is then again divided into four administrative municipal districts (). These are Bonn, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Bonn-Beuel and Bonn-Hardtberg.


title: Bonn

text: In 1969, the independent towns of Bad Godesberg and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before.


title: Bonn

text: Bonn has an oceanic climate ("Cfb"). In the south of the Cologne lowland in the Rhine valley, Bonn is in one of Germany's warmest regions.


title: Bonn

text: The history of the city dates back to Roman times. In about 12 BC, the Roman army appears to have stationed a small unit in what is presently the historical centre of the city. Even earlier, the army had resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome, the Ubii, in Bonn. The Latin name for that settlement, "Bonna", may stem from the original population of this and many other settlements in the area, the Eburoni. The Eburoni were members of a large tribal coalition effectively wiped out during the final phase of Caesar's War in Gaul. After several decades, the army gave up the small camp linked to the Ubii-settlement. During the 1st century AD, the army then chose a site to the north of the emerging town in what is now the section of Bonn-Castell to build a large military installation dubbed Castra Bonnensis, i.e., literally, "Fort Bonn". Initially built from wood, the fort was eventually rebuilt in stone. With additions, changes and new construction, the fort remained in use by the army into the waning days of the Western Roman Empire, possibly the mid-5th century. The structures themselves remained standing well into the Middle Ages, when they were called the Bonnburg. They were used by Frankish kings until they fell into disuse. Eventually, much of the building materials seem to have been re-used in the construction of Bonn's 13th-century city wall. The ("star gate") in the city center is a reconstruction using the last remnants of the medieval city wall.


title: Bonn

text: To date, Bonn's Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the ancient world, i.e. a fort built to accommodate a full-strength Imperial Legion and its auxiliaries. The fort covered an area of approximately . Between its walls it contained a dense grid of streets and a multitude of buildings, ranging from spacious headquarters and large officers' quarters to barracks, stables and a military jail. Among the legions stationed in Bonn, the "1st", i.e. the Prima Legio Minervia, seems to have served here the longest. Units of the Bonn legion were deployed to theatres of war ranging from modern-day Algeria to what is now the Russian republic of Chechnya.


title: Bonn

text: The chief Roman road linking the provincial capitals of Cologne and Mainz cut right through the fort where it joined the fort's main road (now, Römerstraße). Once past the South Gate, the Cologne–Mainz road continued along what are now streets named Belderberg, Adenauerallee et al. On both sides of the road, the local settlement, "Bonna", grew into a sizeable Roman town. Bonn is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map.


title: Bonn

text: In late antiquity, much of the town seems to have been destroyed by marauding invaders. The remaining civilian population then took refuge inside the fort along with the remnants of the troops stationed here. During the final decades of Imperial rule, the troops were supplied by Franci chieftains employed by the Roman administration. When the end came, these troops simply shifted their allegiances to the new barbarian rulers, the Kingdom of the Franks. From the fort, the Bonnburg, as well as from a new medieval settlement to the South centered around what later became the minster, grew the medieval city of Bonn. Local legends arose from this period that the name of the village came from Saint Boniface via Vulgar Latin "*Bonnifatia", but this proved to be a myth.


title: Bonn

text: Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Romanesque style Bonn Minster was built, and in 1597 Bonn became the seat of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The city gained more influence and grew considerably. The city was subject to a major bombardment during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. Bonn was then returned to Cologne where it remained the capital at the Peace of Ryswick. The elector Clemens August (ruled 1723–1761) ordered the construction of a series of Baroque buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was Max Franz (ruled 1784–1794), who founded the university and the spa quarter of Bad Godesberg. In addition he was a patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn in 1770; the elector financed the composer's first journey to Vienna.


title: Bonn

text: In 1794, the city was seized by French troops, becoming a part of the First French Empire. In 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars, Bonn became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Administered within the Prussian Rhine Province, the city became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. Bonn was of little relevance in these years.


title: Bonn

text: During the Second World War, Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine, which formed a natural barrier to easy penetration into the German heartland from the west. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Bonn on 7 March 1945, and the US 1st Infantry Division captured the city during the battle of 8–9 March 1945.


title: Bonn

text: After the Second World War, Bonn was in the British zone of occupation. Following the advocacy of West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, a former Cologne Mayor and a native of that area, Bonn became the "de facto" capital, officially designated the "temporary seat of the Federal institutions," of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. However, the Bundestag, seated in Bonn's Bundeshaus, affirmed Berlin's status as the German capital. Bonn was chosen as the provisional capital and seat of government despite the fact that Frankfurt already had most of the required facilities and using Bonn was estimated to be 95 million DM more expensive than using Frankfurt. Bonn was chosen because Adenauer and other prominent politicians intended to make Berlin the capital of the reunified Germany, and they felt that locating the capital in a major city like Frankfurt or Hamburg would imply a permanent capital and even weaken support in West Germany for reunification.


title: Bonn

text: In 1949, the Parliamentary Council in Bonn drafted and adopted the current German constitution, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. As the political centre of West Germany, Bonn saw six Chancellors and six Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany. Bonn's time as the capital of West Germany is commonly referred to as the Bonn Republic, in contrast to the Berlin Republic which followed reunification in 1990.


title: Bonn

text: German reunification in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision, however, did not mandate that the republic's political institutions would also move. While some argued for the seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn – a situation roughly analogous to that of the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is the capital but The Hague is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and more ominously with Nazi Germany. It was felt that a new peacefully united Germany should not be governed from a city connected to such overtones of war. Additionally, Bonn was closer to Brussels, headquarters of the European Economic Community. Former West German chancellor and mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt caused considerable offence to the Western Allies during the debate by stating that France would not have kept the seat of government at Vichy after Liberation.


title: Bonn

text: The heated debate that resulted was settled by the "Bundestag" (Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338–320, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along regional lines, with legislators from the south and west favouring Bonn and legislators from the north and east voting for Berlin. It also broke along generational lines as well; older legislators with memories of Berlin's past glory favoured Berlin, while younger legislators favoured Bonn. Ultimately, the votes of the eastern German legislators tipped the balance in favour of Berlin.


title: Bonn

text: From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government of reunited Germany. In recognition of its former status as German capital, it holds the name of Federal City (). Bonn currently shares the status of Germany's seat of government with Berlin, with the President, the Chancellor and many government ministries (such as Food & Agriculture and Defence) maintaining large presences in Bonn. Over 8,000 of the 18,000 federal officials remain in Bonn. A total of 19 United Nations (UN) institutions operate from Bonn today.


title: Bonn

text: The current Mayor of Bonn is Katja Dörner of Alliance 90/The Greens since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan in the most recent mayoral election, which was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September. The results were as follows:


title: Bonn

text: The Bonn city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. It used to be based in the Rococo-style ' (old city hall), built in 1737, located adjacent to Bonn's central market square. However, due to the enlargement of Bonn in 1969 through the incorporation of Beuel and Bad Godesberg, it moved into the larger Stadthaus facilities further north. This was necessary for the city council to accommodate an increased number of representatives. The mayor of Bonn still sits in the ', which is also used for representative and official purposes.


title: Bonn

text: The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:


title: Bonn

text: Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The last election took place in May 2017. The current delegates are Guido Déus (CDU), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp (FDP) and Franziska Müller-Rech (FDP).


title: Bonn

text: Bonn's constituency is called "" (096). In the German federal election 2017, Ulrich Kelber (SPD) was elected a member of German Federal parliament, the Bundestag by direct mandate. It is his fifth term. Katja Dörner representing Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff for FDP were elected as well. Kelber resigned in 2019 because he was appointed Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. As Dörner was elected Lord Mayor of Bonn in September 2020, she resigned as a member of parliament after her entry into office.


title: Bonn

text: Beethoven's birthplace is located in Bonngasse near the market place. Next to the market place is the Old City Hall, built in 1737 in Rococo style, under the rule of Clemens August of Bavaria. It is used for receptions of guests of the city, and as an office for the mayor. Nearby is the "Kurfürstliches Schloss", built as a residence for the prince-elector and now the main building of the University of Bonn.


title: Bonn

text: The "Poppelsdorfer Allee" is an avenue flanked by Chestnut trees which had the first horsecar of the city. It connects the "Kurfürstliches Schloss" with the "Poppelsdorfer Schloss", a palace that was built as a resort for the prince-electors in the first half of the 18th century, and whose grounds are now a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Bonn). This axis is interrupted by a railway line and Bonn Hauptbahnhof, a building erected in 1883/84.


title: Bonn

text: The Beethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by the Bonn Minster, one of Germany's oldest churches.


title: Bonn

text: The three highest structures in the city are the WDR radio mast in Bonn-Venusberg (), the headquarters of the Deutsche Post called "Post Tower" () and the former building for the German members of parliament "Langer Eugen" () now the location of the UN Campus.


title: Bonn

text: Just as Bonn's other four major museums, the "Haus der Geschichte" or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located on the so-called "Museumsmeile" ("Museum Mile")"." The Haus der Geschichte is one of the foremost German museums of contemporary German history, with branches in Berlin and Leipzig. In its permanent exhibition, the Haus der Geschichte presents German history from 1945 until the present, also shedding light on Bonn's own role as former capital of West Germany. Numerous temporary exhibitions emphasize different features, such as Nazism or important personalities in German history.


title: Bonn

text: The "Kunstmuseum Bonn" or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection. The latter is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art. German artists on display include Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Hanne Darboven, Anselm Kiefer, Blinky Palermo and Wolf Vostell. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter August Macke. His work is also on display in the August-Macke-Haus, located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914.


title: Bonn

text: The "Bundeskunsthalle" (full name: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), focuses on the crossroads of culture, arts, and science. To date, it attracted more than 17 million visitors. One of its main objectives is to show the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe. Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures.


title: Bonn

text: The "Museum Koenig" is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with the University of Bonn, it is also a zoological research institution housing the "Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere". Politically interesting, it is on the premises of the Museum Koenig where the Parlamentarischer Rat first met. The "Deutsches Museum Bonn", affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions. Other museums include the Beethoven House, birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn), the Bonn Women's Museum, the Rheinisches Malermuseum and the Arithmeum.


title: Bonn

text: There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The "" is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to what Central Park is for New York City. It lies on the banks of the Rhine and is the city's biggest park intra muros. The Rhine promenade and the "Alter Zoll" (Old Toll Station) are in direct neighbourhood of the city centre and are popular amongst both residents and visitors. The "Arboretum Park Härle" is an arboretum with specimens dating to back to 1870. The "Botanischer Garten" (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university and it is here where Titan arum set a world record. The natural reserve of "Kottenforst" is a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre. It is about in area and part of the Rhineland Nature Park ().


title: Bonn

text: In the very south of the city, on the border with Wachtberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, there is an extinct volcano, the Rodderberg, featuring a popular area for hikes. Also south of the city, there is the Siebengebirge which is part of the lower half of the Middle Rhine region. The nearby upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and important German vineyards.


title: Bonn

text: Named after Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany, Cologne Bonn Airport is situated north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is the seventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany. As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries. The airport is one of Germany's few 24-hour airports, and is a hub for Eurowings and cargo operators FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.


title: Bonn

text: The federal motorway ("Autobahn") A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop at Cologne/Bonn Airport station. Another major airport within a one-hour drive by car is Düsseldorf International Airport.


title: Bonn

text: Bonn's central railway station, Bonn Hauptbahnhof is the city's main public transportation hub. It lies just outside the old town and near the central university buildings. It is served by regional (S-Bahn and Regionalbahn) and long-distance (IC and ICE) trains. Daily, more than 67,000 people travel via Bonn Hauptbahnhof. In late 2016, around 80 long distance and more than 165 regional trains departed to or from Bonn every day. Another long-distance station, (Siegburg/Bonn), is located in the nearby town of Siegburg and serves as Bonn's station on the high-speed rail line between Cologne and Frankfurt, offering faster connections to Southern Germany. It can be reached by Stadtbahn line 66 (approx. 25 minutes from central Bonn).


title: Bonn

text: Bonn has a Stadtbahn light rail and a tram system. The Bonn Stadtbahn has 4 regular lines that connect the main north–south axis (centre to Bad Godesberg) and quarters east of the Rhine (Beuel and Oberkassel), as well as many nearby towns like Brühl, Wesseling, Sankt Augustin, Siegburg, Königswinter, and Bad Honnef. All lines serve the Central Station and two lines continue to Cologne, where they connect to the Cologne Stadtbahn. The Bonn tram system consists of two lines that connect closer quarters in the south, north and east of Bonn to the Central Station. While the Stadtbahn mostly has its own right-of-way, the tram often operates on general road lanes. A few sections of track are used by both systems. These urban rail lines are supplemented by a bus system of roughly 30 regular lines, especially since some parts of the city like Hardtberg and most of Bad Godesberg completely lack a Stadtbahn/Tram connection. Several lines offer night services, especially during the weekends. Bonn is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg ("Rhine-Sieg Transport Association") which is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region.


title: Bonn

text: Four Autobahns run through or are adjacent to Bonn: the A59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Düsseldorf and Duisburg), the A555 (left bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Cologne), the A562 (connecting the right with the left bank of the Rhine south of Bonn), and the A565 (connecting the A59 and the A555 with the A61 to the southwest). Three Bundesstraßen, which have a general speed limit in contrast to the Autobahn, connect Bonn to its immediate surroundings (Bundesstraßen B9, B42 and B56).


title: Bonn

text: With Bonn being divided into two parts by the Rhine, three bridges are crucial for inner-city road traffic: the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke (A562) in the South, the Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke (A565) in the North, and the Kennedybrücke (B56) in the Centre. In addition, regular ferries operate between Bonn-Mehlem and Königswinter, Bonn-Bad Godesberg and Königswinter-Niederdollendorf, and Bonn-Graurheindorf and Niederkassel-Mondorf.


title: Bonn

text: Located in the northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, the inland harbour of Bonn is used for container traffic as well as oversea transport. The annual turnover amounts to around . Regular passenger transport occurs to Cologne and Düsseldorf.


title: Bonn

text: The head offices of Deutsche Telekom, its subsidiary T-Mobile, Deutsche Post, German Academic Exchange Service, and SolarWorld are in Bonn.


title: Bonn

text: The third largest employer in the city of Bonn is the University of Bonn (including the university clinics) and Stadtwerke Bonn also follows as a major employer.


title: Bonn

text: On the other hand, there are several traditional, nationally known private companies in Bonn such as luxury food producers Verpoorten and Kessko, the Klais organ manufacture and the Bonn flag factory.


title: Bonn

text: The largest confectionery manufacturer in Europe, Haribo, has its founding headquarters (founded in 1922) and a production site in Bonn. Today the company is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality of Grafschaft.


title: Bonn

text: Other companies of supraregional importance are Weck Glaswerke (production site), Fairtrade, Eaton Industries (formerly Klöckner & Moeller), IVG Immobilien, Kautex Textron, SolarWorld, Vapiano and the SER Group.


title: Bonn

text: The Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn (University of Bonn) is one of the largest universities in Germany. It is also the location of the German research institute Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) offices and of the German Academic Exchange Service ("Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst" – DAAD).


title: Bonn

text: , Bonn had a population of 327,913. About 70% of the population was entirely of German origin, while about 100,000 people, equating to roughly 30%, were at least partly of non-German origin. The city is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Germany and the 18th most populous city in the country. Bonn's population is predicted to surpass the populations of Wuppertal and Bochum before the year 2030.


title: Bonn

text: The following list shows the largest groups of origin of minorites with "migration background" in Bonn .


title: Bonn

text: Bonn is home of the Telekom Baskets Bonn, the only basketball club in Germany that owns its arena, the Telekom Dome. The club is a regular participant at international competitions such as the Basketball Champions League.


title: Bonn

text: The city also has a semi-professional football team Bonner SC which was formed in 1965 through the merger of "Bonner FV" and "Tura Bonn". The Bonn Gamecocks American football team play at the 12,000-capacity Stadion Pennenfeld.


title: Bonn

text: Since 1983, the City of Bonn has established friendship relations with the City of Tel Aviv, Israel, and since 1988 Bonn, in former times the residence of the Princes Electors of Cologne, and Potsdam, Germany, the formerly most important residential city of the Prussian rulers, have established a city-to-city partnership.


title: Bonn

text: Central Bonn is surrounded by a number of traditional towns and villages which were independent up to several decades ago. As many of those communities had already established their own contacts and partnerships before the regional and local reorganisation in 1969, the Federal City of Bonn now has a dense network of city district partnerships with European partner towns.


title: Bonn

text: The city district of Bonn is a partner of the English university city of Oxford, England, UK (since 1947), of Budafok, District XXII of Budapest, Hungary (since 1991) and of Opole, Poland (officially since 1997; contacts were established 1954).


title: Bonn

text: The district of Bad Godesberg has established partnerships with Saint-Cloud in France, Frascati in Italy, Windsor and Maidenhead in England, UK and Kortrijk in Belgium; a friendship agreement has been signed with the town of Yalova, Turkey.


title: Bonn

text: The district of Beuel on the right bank of the Rhine and the city district of Hardtberg foster partnerships with towns in France: Mirecourt and Villemomble.


title: Bonn

text: Moreover, the city of Bonn has developed a concept of international co-operation and maintains sustainability oriented project partnerships in addition to traditional city twinning, among others with Minsk in Belarus, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Bukhara in Uzbekistan, Chengdu in China and La Paz in Bolivia.


title: British Shorthair

text: The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, dense coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, orange eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colourpoint.


title: British Shorthair

text: It is one of the most ancient cat breeds known. In modern times, it remains the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country, as registered by the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF). A quarter of all kittens registered with the GCCF each year are British Shorthairs, making the British the most popular pedigree cat in the UK.


title: British Shorthair

text: The breed's good-natured appearance and relatively calm temperament make it a frequent media star, notably as the inspiration for John Tenniel's famous illustration of the Cheshire Cat from "Alice in Wonderland". The Cat Fanciers' Association profile reads: "When gracelessness is observed, the British Shorthair is duly embarrassed, quickly recovering with a 'Cheshire cat smile'."


title: British Shorthair

text: The origins of the British Shorthair most likely date back to the first century AD, making it one of the most ancient identifiable cat breeds in the world. These cats were imported by the Romans who kept them to keep the camps clear of snakes, mice and insects.


title: British Shorthair

text: These cats then interbred with the local European wildcat population. Over the centuries, their naturally isolated descendants developed into distinctively large, robust cats with a short but very thick coat, to better withstand conditions on their native islands. Based on artists' representations, the modern British Shorthair is unchanged from this initial type.


title: British Shorthair

text: Selective breeding of the best examples of the type began in the nineteenth century, with emphasis on developing the unusual blue-grey variant called the "British Blue" or "English type" (to distinguish it from the more fine-boned "Russian type"). Some sources directly credit UK artist, and pioneering cat fancier, Harrison Weir with the initial concept of standardising the breed. Others suggest a group of breeders may have been involved. The new British Shorthair was featured at the first-ever cat show, organised by Weir and held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, and enjoyed great initial popularity.


title: British Shorthair

text: By the 1900s with the advent of the newly imported Persian and other long-haired breeds, the British Shorthair had fallen out of favour, and breeding stock had become critically rare by World War I. At least partially to alleviate this, British Shorthair breeders mixed Persians into their bloodlines. The genes thus introduced would eventually become the basis for the British Longhair. At the time, any long-haired cats produced were placed into the Persian breeding program. As all cats with the blue colouration were then judged together as variants on a "de facto" single breed. The Blue Shorthair, outcrossings of the British with the Russian Blue were also common.


title: British Shorthair

text: After the war, in an attempt to maintain the breed standard, the GCCF decided to accept only third-generation Persian/British Shorthair crosses. This contributed to another shortage of pure breeding stock by World War II, at which point the Persian and Russian Blue were reintroduced into the mix. British Shorthair breeders also worked with the French Chartreux, another ancient breed, which although genetically unrelated to the British Blue, is a very similar cat in appearance. Breeders worked to re-establish the true British type, and by the late 1970s, the distinctive British Shorthair had achieved formal recognition from both the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA). According to the GCCF's 2013 registry data, it is once again the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country.


title: British Shorthair

text: The British Shorthair is a relatively powerful-looking large cat, having a broad chest, strong thick-set legs with rounded paws and a medium-length, blunt-tipped tail. The head is relatively large and rounded, with a short muzzle, broad cheeks (most noticeable in mature males, who tend to develop prominent jowls) and large round eyes that are deep coppery orange in the British Blue and otherwise vary in colour depending on the coat. Their large ears are broad and widely set.


title: British Shorthair

text: The British Blue variant can often be confused with the grey Scottish Fold, a breed closely related to the British Shorthair. However, the Shorthair can be characterised by having its pointy triangle ears, whereas the Fold has softer, folded ears.


title: British Shorthair

text: They are slow to mature in comparison with most cat breeds, reaching full physical development at approximately three years of age. Unusually among domestic cats they are a noticeably sexually dimorphic breed, with males averaging and females .


title: British Shorthair

text: The British Shorthair's coat is one of the breed's defining features. It is very dense but does not have an undercoat; thus, the texture is plush rather than woolly or fluffy, with a firm, "crisp" pile that breaks noticeably over the cat's body as it moves.


title: British Shorthair

text: Although the British Blue remains the most familiar variant, British Shorthairs have been developed in many other colours and patterns. Black, blue, white, red, cream, silver, golden and—most recently—cinnamon and fawn are accepted by all official standards, either solid or in colourpoint, tabby, shaded and bicolour patterns; the GCCF, FIFe and TICA also accept chocolate and its dilute lilac, disallowed in the CFA standard. All colours and patterns also have tortoiseshell variants.


title: British Shorthair

text: The Tabby patterns include: Classic Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, Spotted & Ticked Tabby. The non-tabby patterns include: Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Van patterns Bi-Colour & White, Smoke, Tipped & Colourpointed.


title: British Shorthair

text: British Shorthair's nose color: black, cherry red, brick red; a circle of black nasal line on the periphery.


title: British Shorthair

text: British Shorthairs are an easygoing and dignified breed, not as active and playful as many, but sweet-natured and devoted to their owners, making them a favorite of animal trainers. They tend to be safe around other pets and children since they will tolerate a fair amount of physical interaction, but as a rule do not like to be picked up or carried. They require only minimal grooming and take well to being kept as indoor-only cats; however, they can be prone to obesity unless care is taken with their diet. They are quiet and vigilant, but if they trust their owners, they will silently follow the owners’ activities and stay with them. British Shorthair cats are not lap cats. They are more accustomed to staying beside people than squatting on people’s laps. Similarly, they prefer the feeling of having their feet on the ground. They have low voice and a moderate activity level. When there is no one at home, they will stay at home quietly and wait for their owners to come back.


title: British Shorthair

text: The UK breed committee considers the British Shorthair a long-lived cat, with a life expectancy of 14–20 years. Vet clinic data from England shows a median lifespan of 11.8 years. Swedish insurance data puts the median lifespan of the breed at > 12.5 years. 82% of British Shorthairs lived to 10 years or more and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more.


title: British Shorthair

text: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. A Danish prevalence study with more than 329 cats showed that 20.4% of males and 2.1% of the females had HCM. On top of this 6.4% of males and 3.5% of females were judged to be equivocal.<ref name="doi10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0751.x"></ref> HCM testing of males used for breeding is now mandatory for breeders organised under the Danish Fife member, Felis Danica.


title: British Shorthair

text: The breed is thought to be at high risk of polycystic kidney disease (PKD). A DNA test lab has noted a significant decrease of the PKD mutations in tested populations. Carrier frequency is now at 1%.


title: British Shorthair

text: This disease forms a cyst in the cat's kidney, causing organ failure. Polycystic kidney disease can be detected through genetic testing or ultrasound. There is no cure for polycystic kidney disease but there are drugs that can alleviate the effects and its advancement.


title: British Shorthair

text: The heart muscle thickens which limits the amount of blood that is pumped, leading to blood clots and health failure. Cardiomyopathy can be detected through ultrasound, ECG, and x-ray. Drugs can alleviate and slow down the advancement of the disease.


title: British Shorthair

text: Some British Shorthairs have hyperthyroidism, which is caused by excessive thyroid hormone production, affecting metabolism. It brings serious problems to cats because thyroid hormone affects nearly all of cats' organs, especially their hearts. Older cats, in general, are more susceptible to it. Some of the signs are weight loss, panting, sickness, and greasy coat. Cats with hyperthyroidism need surgery and medication as treatment.


title: British Shorthair

text: Cystitis affects cats' urinary tracts and leads to inflammation in their urinary bladders. Cystitis is hard to cure. Stress, bacterial infection, and bladder stones usually cause cystitis. Some of the symptoms are frequent urination and having blood in cats' urine. Cats with cystitis need plenty of water and special medical diet. The treatments include anti-inflammatory medication and antibiotics.


title: British Shorthair

text: In 2022, the British Shorthair was one of eight cats featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.


title: Electropop

text: Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a revival of popularity and influence in the late 2000s.


title: Electropop

text: During the early 1980s, British artists such as Gary Numan, the Human League, Soft Cell, John Foxx and Visage helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers.


title: Electropop

text: Britney Spears' influential fifth studio album "Blackout" (2007) incorporated elements of the genre, catapulting electropop to mainstream significance. The media in 2009 ran articles proclaiming a new era of different electropop stars, and indeed the times saw a rise in popularity of several electropop artists. In the Sound of 2009 poll of 130 music experts conducted for the BBC, ten of the top fifteen artists named were of the electropop genre. Lady Gaga had major commercial success from 2008 with her debut album "The Fame". Music writer Simon Reynolds noted that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s". The Korean pop music scene has also become dominated and influenced by electropop, particularly with boy bands and girl groups such as Super Junior, SHINee, f(x) and Girls' Generation.


title: Electropop

text: Singer Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit said in a 2009 interview that while playing electropop was not his intention, the limitations of dorm life made the genre more accessible.


title: Electropop

text: In 2009, "The Guardian" quoted James Oldham—head of artists and repertoire at A&M Records—as saying "All A&R departments have been saying to managers and lawyers: 'Don't give us any more bands because we're not going to sign them and they're not going to sell records.' So everything we've been put on to is electronic in nature."


title: Electropop

text: In 2019, Kenneth Womack wrote that singer and songwriter Billie Eilish had "staked her claim as the reigning queen of electropop" with her critical and commercial hit album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?".


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Lee Hye-ri (; born June 9, 1994), better known mononymously as Hyeri, is a South Korean actress, singer, and television personality. She rose to fame as the youngest member of girl group Girl's Day, and was named as the "Nation's Little Sister" by the South Korean media due to her immense popularity after appearing as a fixed cast member on "Real Men" (2014).


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: She later became known for her award-winning performance as the female lead in "Reply 1988" (2015), which was the highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history at the time. After back-to-back success in variety and the small screen, Hyeri ranked third in "Forbes" Korea Power Celebrity list in 2016 and became one of the highest-paid commercial models in South Korea.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Hyeri was a regular cast member on "Amazing Saturday" (2018–2020). After leaving the show to focus on her acting career, Hyeri starred in the popular iQiyi series "My Roommate Is a Gumiho" (2021)"."


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Hyeri was born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea. She has a sister, Hye-rim, who is two years younger. Hyeri grew up in poverty, staying with her grandmother in the countryside while her mother was working in a factory.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: When she was in middle school, Hyeri was scouted by Dream T Entertainment at a talent show and consequently joined Girl's Day with little prior training. She later attended Seoul School of Performing Arts, and then majored in Film at Konkuk University.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In September 2010, Hyeri was announced as a new member of Girl's Day alongside Yura when Jiin and Jisun left the group, just two months after the group debuted. The revamped group released a single titled "Nothing Lasts Forever", and went on to become one of the most popular and commercially successful musical quartets of its era.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In January 2014, Hyeri fainted on stage during a Girl's Day live performance and had to be carried off-stage by M Countdown staff. She was later diagnosed with swine flu.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: After her exclusive contract with Dream T Entertainment ended in 2019, Hyeri joined a newly set-up agency Creative Group ING. Although all four members joined separate agencies, they have stated that the group has not disbanded.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2012, Hyeri made her acting debut in the SBS weekend drama "Tasty Life", where she played the youngest in a family of four daughters.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: After her 4-day long appearance on "Real Men" in August 2014, a brief clip of her showing aegyo at her instructor went viral in South Korea, reaching one million views in a day, an unprecedented feat at the time. She consequently shot to stardom overnight, and later won Best Female Newcomer award at the MBC Entertainment Awards for her "Real Men" appearance.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In November 2014, Hyeri was cast as one of the main characters in teen drama "Schoolgirl Detectives", which began airing on cable channel JTBC in December. In late 2014, she was also cast in the mystery rom-com drama "Hyde, Jekyll, Me", which began airing on SBS in January 2015.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2015, Hyeri was cast as the lead of the tvN drama "Reply 1988". The drama premiered in November and went on to become a commercial success with audience ratings peaking at 18.8%, making it one of the highest rated dramas in Korean cable television history. Hyeri received critical and audience acclaim for her award-winning portrayal of the female protagonist. In the show, Hyeri's character was the Madagascar picket girl at the 1988 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony. Due to the series' status as a cultural phenomenon, the actress was chosen by the Madagascar delegation to become its official flag bearer at the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. However, due to her busy schedule, Hyeri declined the offer.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2016, Hyeri was cast as the lead in the SBS drama "Entertainer" along with actor Ji Sung and CNBLUE member Kang Min-hyuk, which began airing on April 20 and for which she won "New Star Award" at 2016 SBS Drama Awards. In 2017, she also starred in the police comedy drama "Two Cops" alongside Jo Jung-suk and Kim Seon-ho.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2017, it was announced that Hyeri would be making her big screen debut as the female lead in "Monstrum"; filming began in April. "Monstrum" premiered in September, 2018. In 2018, Hyeri was cast in "My Punch-Drunk Boxer", a boxing comedy drama film. The film premiered at 20th Jeonju International Film Festival in September, 2019; its general release followed in October, 2019. In 2019, Hyeri also starred in tvN's office comedy drama "Miss Lee".


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Besides acting, Hyeri frequently guests on variety shows. She has been described as a "blue chip" in the entertainment industry due to her "frank and easy-going charms, bright energy and flexible chemistry with other cast members". Since 2018, Hyeri had been a regular cast member of "DoReMi Market", a weekly television program airing on tvN. In late 2020, she left the show to focus on her acting career.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2021, Hyeri starred in tvN's fantasy-romance drama "My Roommate Is a Gumiho" alongside Jang Ki-yong, produced by iQIYI. The series was a commercial success, amassing more than 100 million views on the online video platform and becoming its most-watched original drama series of the year. Later that year, Hyeri starred in KBS2's historical drama "Moonshine" alongside Yoo Seung-ho.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Hyeri was appointed as the ambassador for 'Free Semester Program' by the Ministry of Education in September 2016. In February 2017, Hyeri was appointed as one of the ambassadors for the Count Every Child birth registration campaign as part of her NGO partnership with Plan Korea. In 2018, Hyeri participated in a Plan Korea fundraiser for children born without birth registration and wrote a letter to fans asking for potential donors.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: At 25 years old, Hyeri became the youngest member of UNICEF's Honors Club, having donated more than ₩100 million "to run educational programs for underprivileged children and AIDS-prevention campaigns in underdeveloped nations in Asia". A membership ceremony took place on July 26, 2019.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Throughout her career, Hyeri has donated to a wide variety of causes, ranging from public health to disaster management. On the Lunar New Year of 2016, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to Community Chest of Korea towards improving elderly welfare. Later that year, she donated ₩50 million to Korea Disaster Relief Organisation for the victims of the Seomun Market fire. In February 2020, Hyeri donated ₩100 million to Save the Children to help those affected by COVID-19.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In 2022, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk and has spread to Samcheok, Gangwon. That same year, Hyeri donated ₩50 million to the Save the Children emergency relief in order to help Ukrainian victims during the Russian invasion, stating that she "wants to give a little help to the suffering children who are powerless in times of war" and that she hopes "a world without war and fear will come one day".


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: The success of "Reply 1988" combined with Hyeri's status as an icon of aegyo led to her becoming one of the most in-demand advertising models in South Korea. By the start of 2016, she had shot over 30 advertisements for brands such as Puma, Lotte Confectionery's Ghana, Bohae, Amore Pacific's Happy Bath, and was consequently given the title of "₩10 billion girl (: 100억 소녀)" by the South Korean media.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Following her appointment as the model for Albamon (: 알바몬), a part-time job recruiting site, Hyeri was awarded with the plaque of appreciation by the Ministry of Employment and Labour for "promoting minimum wage awareness and compliance" in March 2015. In January 2017, Albamon received "Consumer Choice Best Brand Award" for "its efforts to improve the rights of the public by providing high quality part-time job announcements" after an ad featuring Hyeri and Im Chang-jung reached over 10 million views in just a month after its release.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: The sales of products such as 7-Eleven lunch boxes and Nongshim ramen increased by 78% and 50% respectively after Hyeri's endorsement. Similarly, the page views of Dabang ( 다방), a real estate mobile app that Hyeri has endorsed since 2015, grew from 5 million to 15 million, and weekly active users increased from 600,000 to 1.5 million after a new ad featuring Hyeri as Harley Quinn was released in 2017. In July 2017, she received the Female Commercial Film Star Award at MTN Broadcast Advertising Awards Festival.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In July 2019, Hyeri unveiled her personal YouTube channel, where she began posting vlogs, mukbangs, and behind the scenes footage from filming sets. A month later, she received The Silver Creator Award for surpassing 100,000 subscribers. In 2020, she was awarded the "Celebrity YouTuber of the Year" prize at the Brand of the Year Awards.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In March 2020, Hyeri criticised Nth room-related cybersex trafficking on her Instagram account and urged her followers to sign a petition to reveal the identities of the perpetrators, stating that she hopes that "they face harsher punishment for what they did".


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: Hyeri is in a relationship with actor and former co-star Ryu Jun-yeol. The two met on the set of "Reply 1988", where they played each other's love interest, and began dating in late 2016.


title: Lee Hye-ri

text: In March 2016, Hyeri was hospitalised after being diagnosed with meningitis due to busy schedules and lack of rest.