Landesstraßen (singular:
Landesstraße) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective
German or
Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district (
Landkreis or
Kreisfreie Stadt). A
Landesstraße is thus less important than a
Bundesstraße or federal road, but more significant than a
Kreisstraße or district road. The classification of a road as a
Landesstraße is a legal matter (
Widmung). In the
free states of
Bavaria and
Saxony – but not, however, in the Free State of
Thuringia –
Landesstraßen are known as
Staatsstraßen.
