# Bundesstraße 8

The Bundesstraße 8 (abbr. B8) is a German federal highway in southwestern Germany of great historical importance. It has existed since the 9th century, known then as Via Publica, and until recent times was a key trade route linking the towns of Brussels, Duisburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Würzburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg and Passau. Today it has been replaced as a main route by the A3 motorway, which runs parallel to it.

## History

The Via Publica (later known as the Poststraße or Handelsstraße) was first mentioned in 839 in a diploma of Louis the Pious. In the Middle Ages it joined the commercial cities of Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Regensburg. The Steinerne Brücke bridge in Regensburg (1135–46), the Innbrücke bridge in Passau (1143), the Lahnbrücke bridge in Limburg (completed 1341) and the main bridges in Würzburg (1133), Frankfurt (before 1222) and Kitzingen (before 1300) are among the oldest stone bridges in central Europe and testify to the historical importance of this road.
In 1615, the general postmaster Lamoral von Taxis was tasked by emperor Matthias with setting up a postal route between Brussels and Prague, via Frankfurt and Nuremberg. To achieve this the Via Publica was expanded to a Poststraße. The present day Bundesstraße 8 is largely identical to the Via Publica. The medieval trade route largely used dry level roads rather than the valleys, which were swampy and impassible after rain. Part of the Via Publcia was referred to as the Mauspfad.

## Route / Junctions

| | | from Zevenaar |
| | (NL) | border crossing |
| North Rhine-Westphalia |||
| | | Elten |
| | | Emmerich am Rhein B 220 |
| | | Rees B 67 |
| | | Wesel B 473 B 58 B 70 |
| | (1) | Dinslaken-West A 59 |
| replaced by L1 |||
| | | Duisburg-Huckingen B 288 |
| | | Düsseldorf-Wittlaer |
| | | Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth |
| | | Düsseldorf-Lohausen |
| | (30) | Düsseldorf-Stockum A 44 |
| | | Düsseldorf-Derendorf B 1/ B 7 |
| | (23) | Düsseldorf-Bilk B 326 A 46 |
| replaced by A 46 A 59 |||
| | | Düsseldorf-Benrath B 228 |
| | (23) | Düsseldorf-Garath A 59 |
| | | Langenfeld B 229 |
| | (2) | Langenfeld-Reusrath A 542 |
| | | Opladen B 232 |
| | (22) | Opladen A 3 |
| | | Leverkusen-Wiesdorf |
| | | Leverkusen A 1 |
| | | Cologne B 51 B 506 B 55 B 55a |
| | (31) | Gremberghoven A 59 |
| | (36) | Lind A 59 |
| | | Siegburg B 56 |
| replaced by L333 |||
| replaced by A 560 |||
| | (7) | Hennef (Sieg)-Ost A 560 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz |||
| | | Altenkirchen (Westerwald) B 256 B 414 |
| | | Höchstenbach B 413 |
| | | Hahn am See B 255 |
| | | Wallmerod |
| Hesse |||
| | | Limburg an der Lahn B 54/ B 49 B 417 |
| | | Lahn |
| | | Tunnel Schiede Tunnel 240 m |
| | (43) | Limburg-Süd A 3 |
| | | Bad Camberg |
| | | Waldems-Esch B 275 |
| | | Königstein B 455 B 519 |
| Motor road | | Kraftfahrstraße |
| | | Kelkheim B 519 |
| | | Bad Soden |
| | | Sulzbach |
| End of the motor road | | end of motor road |
| | (16) | Frankfurt-Höchst A 66 |
| replaced by A 66 |||
| | (18) | Eschborner 3-way interchange A 648 |
| replaced by A 648 |||
| | (3) | Westkreuz Frankfurt A 5 |
| | (5) | Katharinenkreisel (formerly Opelrondell) B 44 |
| | (-) | Frankfurt-Messe A 648 |
| | (21) | Frankfurt-Miquelallee A 66 |
| | | Frankfurt am Main B 3 |
| | (14) | Frankfurt-Ost A 661 |
| | (33) | Maintal-Bischofsheim A 66 |
| replaced by A 66 |||
| | (36) | Hanau-Nord B 45 A 66 |
| | (37) | Erlensee interchange A 66 |
| | | Hanau-Lamboy |
| | | Hanau B 43 |
| | | Hanau |
| | | Hanau-Wolfgang B 43a |
| Bayern |||
| | | Kahl |
| | | Karlstein |
| | (45b) | Kleinostheim A 45 |
| | | Kleinostheim |
| | (58) | Aschaffenburg-West A 3 |
| | | Mainaschaff |
| Motor road | | Kraftfahrstraße |
| | | Mainaschaff-Ost/Aschaffenburg-Strietwald |
| End of the motor road | | end of motor road |
| | | Aschaffenburg B 26 |
| replaced by A 3 |||
| | (65) | Marktheidenfeld A 3 |
| | | Main |
| | | Marktheidenfeld |
| | (67) | Helmstadt B 468 A 3 |
| | | Würzburg B 27 B 19 B 13 |
| | | Main |
| | | bei Rottendorf 3-way interchange B 22 |
| | (72) | Rottendorf A 3 |
| | | Biebelried-West |
| | (103) | Kitzingen A 7 |
| | | Kitzingen |
| | | Main |
| | | Enzlar B 286 |
| no lorries | | Barred to lorry traffic |
| End of lorry-free section | | Open to lorry traffic |
| Diversion | | Neustadt/Aisch local diversion B 470 |
| Motor road | | Kraftfahrstraße |
| | | Langenzenn/Wilhermsdorf |
| | | Langenzenn-Burggrafenhof |
| | | Langenzenn-Horbach (entry / exit ) |
| | | Seukendorf |
| | | with southwest tangent, 3-way interchange B 8 branches off |
| Diversion | | Fürth–Burgfarrnbach local diversion |
| | | Fürth West |
| End of the motor road | | end of motor road |
| | | Fürth |
| | (38) | Nuremberg/Fürth A 73 |
| | | Maximilianstraße B 4 R |
| replaced by B 4 R |||
| | | Nürnberg B 2 B 4 B 14 |
| | | Münchener Straße B 4 R |
| | (45) | Nuremberg-Zollhaus A 73 |
| replaced by A 73 |||
| | (48) | Nuremberg/Feucht A 73 |
| Diversion | | Feucht local diversion |
| | | Schwarzenbruck |
| | | Pfeifferhütte |
| Diversion | | Oberferrieden local diversion |
| | | Postbauer-Heng |
| Diversion | | Neumarkt-Pölling local diversion |
| Diversion | | Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz local diversion B 299 |
| | | Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz |
| | | Deining |
| Diversion | | Batzhausen local diversion |
| | | Seubersdorf |
| | | Daßwang |
| Diversion | | Hemau local diversion |
| | | Nittendorf |
| | (97) | Nittendorf A 3 |
| | (39) | Regensburg-Pfaffenstein A 93 |
| | | Regensburg B 15 B 16 |
| | | Nibelungen Bridge Regensburg |
| | (103) | Rosenhof A 3 |
| Diversion | | Pfatter local diversion |
| Diversion | | Rain local diversion |
| Diversion | | Straubing local diversion |
| Diversion | | Aiterhofen local diversion B 20 |
| Diversion | | Straßkirchen local diversion |
| | (22) | Plattling-West A 92 |
| no lorries | | Barred to lorry traffic |
| | | Plattling |
| End of lorry-free section | | Open to lorry traffic |
| Diversion | | Osterhofen local diversion |
| | | Vilshofen an der Donau |
| | | Passau B 12 B 85 |
| | (A) | border crossing |
| | | continues towards Linz |