Ever wondered about the story behind the ring that circles Berlin? That’s precisely where our story begins. Today we are standing near a section of the Bundesautobahn 10. This is also known as the A 10. More specifically we are looking at A 10 AD Havelland – AD Schwanebeck [positive].
The A 10, or Berliner Ring, is an orbital motorway. It loops around the German capital. Think of it as Berlin’s version of London’s M25. At 196 kilometers it is slightly longer than the M25. It predominantly lies in Brandenburg. Only a small 5-kilometer stretch is actually within Berlin. Don’t confuse it with the inner-city ring, the Berliner Stadtring. That’s the A 100.
Did you know that the A 10 is the longest orbital motorway in continental Europe? Route 1 in Iceland is longer. The A 10 beats the M25 around London by about 8 kilometers.
Let’s trace its path. The highway markers go clockwise. They start from the interchange at Schwanebeck. This used to be the Prenzlau branch-off. Here the A 11 heads to Szczecin in Poland. From there, the ring goes south to the Spreeau interchange. That’s where you’ll find the A 12 to Frankfurt an der Oder and Poland.
At Schönefeld, the A 13 leads to Dresden. The A 113 connects to the Berliner Stadtring and Berlin city center via Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
The Berliner Ring continues west. It reaches Nuthetal. Here, the A 115 links to the Stadtring. The A 9 goes to Munich at the Potsdam interchange. The A 2 heads to the Ruhr area at Werder. From there, the ring goes north to the Havelland interchange. Here, the A 24 runs to Hamburg. Finally, it turns east to Oranienburg and Pankow. The A 111 and A 114 motorways lead to the Berliner Stadtring. The ring circles back to Schwanebeck at kilometer 196.
The official start and end point is the cross Barnim. This was called Dreieck Schwanebeck until 2013. The A 11 from Szczecin joins the A 10 here.
Now for some history. Sections near Werder, Schwanebeck, and Spreeau opened between 1936 and 1939. This was part of the Reichsautobahn program. Construction stopped during World War II. Work resumed in 1972. East German authorities wanted to complete the ring. This was to bypass West Berlin. It provided a route from East Berlin to Potsdam. It also connected to motorways leading to Magdeburg and Leipzig. The final stretch opened in 1979.
Significant improvements followed German reunification. The southern and eastern sections were widened. Major junctions were improved.
Looking ahead, there are plans for further expansion. A section from Kremmen-South on the A 24 to the Barnim cross is set to have six lanes. This aims to ease traffic on the busy northern section.
And that’s the story of the A 10 AD Havelland – AD Schwanebeck. A vital ring connecting Berlin and beyond. A testament to German engineering and planning.