The A 13 Brenner Autobahn is a relatively short autobahn

Autobahns of Austria

The Austrian autobahns are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A according to the Austrian federal road act...

 (controlled-access highway

Controlled-access highway

A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...

) in the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n state of Tyrol

Tyrol (state)

Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...

, linking the A 12 Inn Valley Autobahn

Inn Valley Autobahn

The Inn Valley Motorway or Inntal Autobahn A12 is an autobahn in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol and part of Euroroutes E45 and E60....

 near the state's capital Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

 to the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 border at the Brenner Pass

Brenner Pass

- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...

 (1374 m (4,507.9 ft)), where it becomes the Autostrada A22

Autostrada A22 (Italy)

The Autostrada A22 is an Italian motorway which connects the city of Modena and the A1 motorway to Austria through the Brenner Pass, located in the village of Brennero.-External links:*...

 (called also Autostrada del Brennero or Autobrennero) to Modena

Modena

Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

. It is part of the major European route E45

European route E45

The European route E 45 goes between Sweden and Italy, through Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north-south European route...

.
The historic Brenner Pass is the lowest in the Central Eastern Alps

Central Eastern Alps

The Central Eastern Alps comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps with its highest peaks, located between the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps, from which they differ in geological composition....

. It therefore was particularly suitable to built the first motorway crossing the Alpine main chain

Main chain of the Alps

The Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the water divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, and generally include the highest peaks of a range; the Alps are something of an unusual case in that several significant groups of...

 from 1959 onwards. The route opened in 1963, including the Europabrücke

Europabrücke

Europabrücke, or Europe's bridge, is a long bridge spanning the Wipp valley just south of Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria. The A13 Brenner Autobahn passes over this bridge, above the Sill River, forming part of the main route from western Austria to Italy via South Tyrol across the Alps...

, then Europe's highest bridge with 190 m (623.4 ft).

Tolls

The whole Brenner Autobahn including the Europabrücke is a so-called special toll route. In this area instead of the general vignette

Vignette (road tax)

A road tax vignette is a form of tax on vehicles, used in several non-English speaking European countries. The term is of French origin, and is now used throughout Central Europe....

 requirement, extra tolls (Maut) are paid in cash or by credit card at the toll plaza at the Schönberg

Schönberg im Stubaital

Schönberg im Stubaital is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land and is located 9 km south of Innsbruck at the entrance of the Stubaital. The village was mentioned as “Schönenberge” for the first time in 1180. It has 1002 inhabitants....

junction or via a Videomaut prepaid system. For driving on all other Austrian motoways the standard vignette is required.