The Deutsches Eck is the name given to the shortest and most convenient road and railway link between 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 metropolitan region of Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 and the Tyrolean Unterland

Tyrolean Unterland

The Tyrolean Unterland is that part of the Austrian state of Tyrol east of its capital city, Innsbruck, excluding East Tyrol.- Extent and language :...

 with the state capital Innsbruck

Innsbruck

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

.

Due to the irregular course of the border and the mountainous landscape, the main transport routes to the western Austrian states

States of Austria

Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...

 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...

 and Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...

 cross through the territory of the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 federal state of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

. While an alternative, albeit longer, all-Austrian Salzburg-Tyrol Railway

Salzburg-Tyrol Railway

The Salzburg-Tyrol Railway is a main line railway in Austria. It runs through the states of Salzburg and Tyrol from Salzburg to Wörgl and belongs to the core network of the Austrian Federal Railways ....

 exists, there is no continuous intra-Austrian motorway route between the states of Salzburg and Tyrol.

Großes Deutsches Eck

A larger railway

Rail transport in Germany

, Germany had a railway network of 41,315 km. 19,857 km are electrified. The total track length was 76,473 km. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.-Overview:...

 and autobahn (motorway) link runs from Salzburg westwards along the northern rim of the Chiemgau Alps

Chiemgau Alps

The Chiemgau Alps are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and therefore belong to the Eastern Alps. Their major part is situated in Bavaria, Germany and only a small section crosses the Austrian border into the states of Salzburg and Tirol...

 to the Bavarian town of Rosenheim

Rosenheim

Rosenheim is a town in Bavaria at the confluence of the rivers Inn and Mangfall. It is seat of administration of the district of Rosenheim, but is not a part of it.-Geography:...

, then turns south through the Inn valley to reach the Tyrolean border at Kufstein

Kufstein

Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...

.

Since the conclusion of an 1851 treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 between the Austrian Empire

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

 and the Kingdom of Bavaria

Kingdom of Bavaria

The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...

, so-called "corridor-trains" of the Austrian Railways (ÖBB) use the Munich–Salzburg

Munich–Salzburg railway

The Munich–Salzburg railway is a 153 kilometre-long double-track main line of the German railways. It connects Munich with the line to Vienna at Salzburg. At Rosenheim station, it connects with the line to Kufstein. which continues to Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy...

 and Rosenheim–Kufstein railway

Rosenheim–Kufstein railway

The Rosenheim–Kufstein railway is a 32 kilometre-long double-track main line of the German railways. It connects the Munich–Salzburg line at Rosenheim with the line to Innsbruck, thus connecting Germany, Salzburg and eastern Austria with Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy and the Arlberg line...

 lines maintained by the German Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

 company against payment of a regular fee. At the Rosenheim rail junction a direct connection (the Rosenheimer Kurve) was erected in 1982 to allow express trains pass quickly without a stop at Rosenheim station

Rosenheim station

Rosenheim station is the largest railway station between Munich and Salzburg / Innsbruck and is located in the centre of the city of Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria, Germany.- Description, Location, Importance and History:...

.

The parallel German Bundesautobahn 8

Bundesautobahn 8

is an autobahn in southern Germany that runs 497 km from the Luxembourg A13 motorway at Schengen via Neunkirchen, Pirmasens, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg and Munich to the Austrian West Autobahn near Salzburg....

 links the Austrian West Autobahn at Salzburg with the Inntal three-way interchange

Interchange (road)

In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...

 near Rosenheim, from where the southern Bundesautobahn 93

Bundesautobahn 93

The Bundesautobahn 93 is an autobahn in Bavaria with a length of 276 km. It consists of two parts one is a short track, from the A 8, near the Austrian border, to the Inntal Autobahn in Tyrol, Austria, the other from Hof A 72 in the north of Bavaria to Holledau A 9. A...

 leads to the border crossing at Kufstein and the Tyrolean 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....

. The road connection to Tyrol on Austrian highways via Bischofshofen

Bischofshofen

Bischofshofen is a city located in the Salzach valley in the Alps, in the District of Pongau, in Salzburgerland, Austria.The city is an important railway hub and lies at the Tauernautobahn, a highway route through the Alps....

 and Zell am See

Zell am See

Zell am See is the capital city of the Zell am See district in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The city has about 10,000 inhabitants.Zell am See is a tourist destination and a transportation hub for the region...

 or Saalfelden

Saalfelden

Saalfelden is a town in the Austrian state of Salzburg and is the administrative centre of the Pinzgauer Saalachtal...

 is considerably longer.

Kleines Deutsches Eck

A smaller highway connections leads from the southewestern Salzburg outskirts at Wals-Siezenheim

Wals-Siezenheim

Wals-Siezenheim is a municipality in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Salzburg.-Overview:It is located west of the city of Salzburg, at the border with Germany...

 across the border on the German Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...

 No. 21 along the Saalach

Saalach

The Saalach is a long river in Austria and Germany, and a left tributary of the Salzach.- Course :The river begins, as the Saalbach stream, in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kitzbühel Alps at the Torsee lake below the 2,178 m high Gamshag...

 river via Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps ....

 to Unken

Unken

Unken is a municipality in the district of Zell am See , in the state of Salzburg in Austria. The population is 1956.- External links :*...

 and Lofer

Lofer

Lofer is a market town in the Pinzgau region of Salzburg in Austria. It also hosts a lovely ski resort, with 48km of pisted runs.-Overview:...

 in the Austrian Pinzgau region. As in Austria, studded winter tire

Tire

A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

s are admitted (while prohibited in the rest of Germany) to spare drivers a tire change.

Since Austria joined the Schengen Area

Schengen Area

The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...

in 1997, all border controls have been abolished, allowing travelers to move freely between both states.