A few years ago cyclists in Germany could only look enviously at cities like Amsterdam or Copenhagen, where bicycles have long been an integral part of everyday life.
But now, from narrow city streets to wide country roads, bicycles are everywhere in Germany. The number has increased dramatically in recent years and in some urban areas bikes are even beginning to be the dominant mode of transport.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Elbe River Cycle Path
Hop on your bike ― even if a multi-day tour is currently difficult, with overnight accommodations still closed. You can either go on a one-day tour or get some ideas here for post-pandemic trips. According to the ADFC (German Bicycle Association), the most popular bike path in Germany is the Elbe River Cycle Path, which runs from the Krkonose Mountains via Dresden (pictured) to Cuxhaven.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Weser River Cycle Route
The Weser Cycle Route ranks second among the most popular cycle paths in the ADFC’s 2021 bike tour analysis. It runs about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Weser Uplands hills to the North Sea, passing through six regions along the way including Bremen, Bremerhaven and Cuxland. The long-distance cycle path is well signposted and stretches to the right and left of the River Weser.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Baltic Coast Cycle Route
Following the scent of the sea and the sound of the waves, the Baltic Coast Cycle Route runs more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Flensburg in the north to Usedom on the Polish border in the east. Cities and towns well worth seeing alternate with secluded stretches of coastline and bustling resorts. One highlight lies at the beginning of the route: the moated castle of Glücksburg (photo).
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
River Main Cycle Route
The cycle path begins at the origins of the Main River in Upper Franconia and runs 600 kilometers to Mainz, where the river flows into the Rhine. It passes notable cities such as the old episcopal town of Würzburg and the beer city of Bamberg, with small villages and varied nature in between. The banking metropolis of Frankfurt with its skyscrapers is also passed along the way (photo).
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Danube Cycle Route
The Danube Cycle Route is 2,840 kilometers long from the source of the German Danube to its delta in Tulcea, Romania. The Austrian capital, Vienna, is also on the route, which includes a total of eight countries. It is relatively flat and passes through the German cities of Ulm and Passau (pictured), idyllic countryside, vineyards and castles.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Moselle Cycle Route
The Moselle Cycle Path begins in the French city of Metz and ends in Koblenz in Rhineland Palatinate. Between them, the bike path winds its way along the Moselle River for around 310 kilometers. Castles, ruins, vineyards and idyllic winegrowing villages line the way. A picnic with a glass of wine overlooking the river and vineyards is not to be missed.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Lake Constance Cycle Path
In southern Germany lies Lake Constance, whose shores are shared by Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A 260-kilometer bike path leads around the lake past vineyards, idyllic towns and harbors. In the city of Konstanz, you can make a stop and stroll through the old town.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Lake Constance-Königssee Cycle Path
Lake Constance is not only a center for bicycle tours but also a starting point to cycle all the way to Berchtesgadener Land. Starting in Lindau, the Lake Constance-Königssee Cycle Path crosses 453 kilometers along the Bavarian Alps all the way to Lake Königssee in the Berchtesgaden National Park. Quiet and emerald green, it is nestled between towering rock faces ― well worth visiting.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Altmühl River Cycle Path
The Altmühl Cycle Path starts in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a small Bavarian town with medieval flair. Not far away is the source of the Altmühl River, whose course the bike path follows along numerous bends and twists. It passes largely natural, wide meadows, juniper heaths, wooded hills and bizarre rocks. Picturesque towns and castles make the idyll perfect.
Germany’s most popular cycling routes
Rhine Cycle Route
From the source of the Rhine in Switzerland to its estuary in the North Sea near Rotterdam in the Netherlands: Over 1,230 kilometers, the EuroVelo 15 runs alongside one of the busiest waterways in the world ― here at the Rheinau harbor in Cologne. When the pandemic travel restrictions have been lifted, the Rhine Cycle Route can once again be enjoyed from start to finish.
Author: Kerstin Schmidt, Elisabeth Yorck von Wartenburg
Boost from the pandemic
The pandemic has given bicycles a further boost. In 2020, around one million more bikes were sold than the year before, an increase of around 35%, according to the German Bicycle Industry Association.
On average, people spent almost €1,000 ($1,217) on a new bicycle, more than twice as much as in 2010 (€460). This increase can partly be explained by the increased number of more expensive e-bikes.
During the restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, many people switched to bicycles, especially to avoid public transport. And while gyms, theaters, and restaurants were closed and group sports were banned, a bike ride was always possible.
Transport Minister backs bikes
Ahead of World Bicycle Day on June 3, German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer presented his “Cycling Plan 3.0.”
“We want to make Germany a cycling country,” he said in April. “Coronavirus does not have many positives, but we do see one positive: A boom in cycling.”
Scheuer now plans to provide tax incentives for the purchase of expensive bikes or e-bikes, just like train tickets. The minister from the Bavarian center-right CSU party has been criticized during his tenure for promoting more car traffic — but now he wants to double the number of cyclists in Germany by 2030. That would mean people cycling an average of around three kilometers a day, compared with one and a half at the moment. The government plans to invest €1.46 billion in cycling infrastructure by 2023.
Conflicts between cars, pedestrians, and cyclists
This can inevitably lead to problems if cars are forced to share the roads with even more bicycles. Pedestrians also often suffer when more cyclists use the sidewalks.
Many cities and municipalities are planning separate but expensive bike lanes, with large bike parking garages at stations, as already exists in the city of Münster.
In addition, many bicycle bridges are planned to go over busy roads. And there are even bicycle highways in the works, such as in the western Ruhr region. Ultimately this bicycle highway with wide cycleways in both directions will connect around 10 cities and be over 100 kilometers (62 miles) long.
‘Shared mobility’
For renowned mobility researcher Andreas Knie, improved bike infrastructure is only part of the answer. Building expensive new bicycle lanes from the suburbs into the city center, as the city of Berlin is planning, will not address all the issues: instead, the future is a model that Knie calls “shared mobility.”
Knie himself owns neither a bicycle nor a car and believes that bike and car-sharing schemes need to be expanded.
“We’ll have a lot more mobile work and we’ll have to learn to share cars, even in rural areas,” he told DW. “And to rent bikes instead of owning them.”
Accidents at traffic hubs
But until that happens, more and more bike enthusiasts and car drivers will be fighting over fewer road and parking spaces. And accidents occur primarily at busy traffic junctions, as a study by the Insurer’s Organization of Accident Research shows.
According to the study, some 66% of all accidents which injured or killed cyclists in Germany occurred at major road junctions. It could be a long time before Germany is truly bicycle-friendly.
This article has been translated from German.
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