Deutschlandring

Deutschlandring
Großdeutschlandring

Hohnstein (Saxon Switzerland) , Saxony
Route type:	permanent race track
Start of building:	1933
Opening:	April 26, 1939
Decommissioned:	1939
Demolition:	1990
Track layout
Route data
Route length:	10,000  km (6.21  mi )

Coordinates: 50 ° 59 '22.6 "  N , 14 ° 5' 3.1"  E

The Deutschlandring (also called Großdeutschlandring ) near Hohnstein near Dresden was one of the first race tracks in Germany .

history

From 1919 to 1922 the Wartenbergstraße was built from the Polenztal near Hohnstein to the Hocksteinschänke . This meandered up the mountain in serpentines. On May 30, 1926, the first Hohnstein race was held as a hill climb in front of 10,000 spectators. A second race followed on May 29, 1927, but the third only in 1930. The Hohnstein hill climb , as it was now called, was held again on September 18, 1932 and September 10, 1933.

In 1933 the six-year construction period for a circuit began. Prisoners from the nearby Hohnstein concentration camp were forced to expand the serpentines on Wartenbergstrasse . The track was twelve meters wide, ten kilometers long and also included Wartenbergstrasse. The width of the curves was up to over 20 meters. The Deutschlandring was inaugurated on April 26, 1939. The planning should accordingly up to one million spectators find and parking for 250,000 Volkswagen .

In October 1940 the first race on the new course, the Grand Prix of Greater Germany , was to take place. Because of the Second World War , the event did not take place. After the war, the very last race took place on October 14, 1951. A tragic accident shortly before this race probably ended his racing career in Hohnstein.

Current condition

The racetrack was partially dismantled after 1990 to prevent illegal car races . However, its route was completely retained. A so-called quarter mile cup has been held on part of the route since 2007 .

Today the following sections are state roads in Saxony :

• 161 northern part connection Heeselicht - connection Stürza,
• 163 western part connection Stürza - Hocksteinschänke and
• 165 southern part of Hocksteinschänke - connection in Polenztal near Hohnstein.

The eastern section is a municipal road.

Web links

• Article about the Großdeutschlandring ( Memento from March 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• Lilo Graumüller in a DKW at the 3rd Hohnstein race in 1930, Deutsche Fotothek

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Katrin Koritz: castles in the air in Saxon Switzerland. Stories and walks to the locations of spectacular construction projects . Edition Sächsische Zeitung, Dresden 2008. ISBN 978-3-938325-56-8