HaFraBa

HaFraBa e.V. stands for the association Verein zur Vorbereitung der Autostraße Hansestädte–Frankfurt–Basel (Template:Lang-en) and was one of the first large Autobahn projects in Germany.

The association was founded on November 6, 1926 as Verein zum Bau einer Straße für den Kraftwagen-Schnellverkehr von Hamburg über Frankfurt a.M. nach Basel (Template:Lang-en) by Robert Otzen.^[1] It projected a motorway link from Hamburg to Hanover and from Frankfurt to Basel (and from Basel to Genoa). The marked-out route matches nearly the today's Autobahn 5 and the Northern part of the Autobahn 7.

On May 31, 1928 the association was renamed as the Verein zur Vorbereitung der Autostraße Hansestädte–Frankfurt–Basel to include the Hanseatic cities of Bremen and Lübeck into the planning. As the terms Hamburg and Hansestädte begin with the same letters the abbreviation HaFraBa could be maintained.

In 1930, for each city, detailed plannings of the linkage to the Hafraba was presented in summaries subtitled "Städte an den Hafrabastraßen" (Template:Lang-en) by J. F. Amberger (Heidelberg), Adolf Elsaesser (directeur of urban planning of Mannheim), Dr. Theodor Krebs (Darmstadt), Maurer (Mainz), Dr. Rehorn (chief of traffic of Kassel) and Carl Thalenhorst (senator of building authorities of Bremen) in the newspaper Hafraba-Mitteilungsblatt.^[2]

As the public bodies saw no need to this project a toll system was planned to provide financing. The calculations resulted in the following prices:

one car including the driver: 3 Pfennig per kilometre
each additional person: 1 Pfennig per kilometre
one truck: 2 Pfennig per kilometre
loading: 0.5 Pfennig per ton and per kilometre

At first, the project was rejected by the Nazis. After the takeover by Adolf Hitler, the plannings where partially adopted; the name of the association was changed to Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung der Reichsautobahnen (Template:Lang-en).

Literature

Vahrenkamp, Richard (June 23, 2010), The German Autobahn 1920-1945: Hafraba Visions and Mega Projects (pdf) (in German), Lohmar/Köln: Josef Eul Verlag GmbH, ISBN 978-3-89936-940-3, DNB 1005500924, retrieved August 12, 2010

External links

Die vergessene Autobahn bei Hannover by Michael Grube on geschichtsspuren.de Template:De icon
Die Reichsautobahnen by Volker Wichmann Template:De icon
Geschichte des Autobahnbaus aus bayerischer Sicht by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior Template:De icon
Working Papers in History of Mobility by Richard Vahrenkamp (University of Kassel) Template:De icon

References

^ "Development of the HaFraBa" (pdf) (in German). German Federal Archives. 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ "Die Strasse – Index of Hafraba-Mitteilungsblatt 1928–1931" (in German). Prof. Dr. Richard Vahrenkamp, University of Kassel. 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[1] "Development of the HaFraBa" (pdf) (in German). German Federal Archives. 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[2] "Die Strasse – Index of Hafraba-Mitteilungsblatt 1928–1931" (in German). Prof. Dr. Richard Vahrenkamp, University of Kassel. 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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