Almost everyone has seen it – but almost no one knows its story.
It’s brown, big, eye-catching – and intriguing: tourist information signs along the highway. Sometimes the “gingerbread town of Pulsnitz” is advertised, sometimes the “Nolde Museum”, sometimes the “Gellert town of Hainichen”. TRAVEL BOOK (also Axel Springer’s) asked himself – what’s behind it?
Study the culture as you pass by
Whether Sauerland or Lüneburg Heath – you can see a lot even without a sign. But who knows what Zevener Geest really is? Or where the Hinzert concentration camp was located? That’s the goal of this panel: to raise awareness of places that might otherwise be lost to highway speeds.
For many people, the boards provide local history as they pass by. Tourism researcher Prof. Sven Groß from the Harz University of Applied Sciences studied this topic intensively several years ago – and continues to count on it.
Nearly 3,500 food banks nationwide
The number of signs is not recorded centrally. In his research in early 2020, Groß produced more than 3,400 signs with around 1,800 different motifs, including WORLD reported. There are no official numbers.
But the signs are working. According to research, two out of three respondents said they could remember the board and objectives. One in six people even go spontaneously just because a sign makes them curious.
From the village church to the old town
Anyone driving the A4 from west to east will first encounter the “Industrial State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Aachen Technological Region”, and at the end, just before the Polish border, the “European City of Görlitz Zgorzelec”. Interestingly, the signs are not the same in both directions. In contrast, there are no references to places such as the “Cunewalde Village Church”, the “Klinewelka Labyrinth” or the “Pfefferkuchenstadt Pulsnitz”.
There are also many advertisements on the A7 from north to south: from the Nolde Museum on the North Sea coast to the old town of Füssen. In Bavaria alone, Groß counted 836 signs – more than in any other federal state.
The first signature was more than 40 years ago
The first board was installed on the A8 near Stuttgart in 1983. He promoted Teck Castle. Initially, the rule was: one sign every 20 kilometers – and only if the destination could be seen directly from the road. These rules have now been significantly relaxed.
The federal states are responsible for installing the signs. The basis is hard ADAC “Guidelines for tourist information on highways” was adopted in 1988. Municipal governments usually submit such applications. This must then be approved by the responsible road traffic authority. But associations, organizations and even commercial providers such as Tropical Island water park can also apply.
Signs can be very expensive
But fun comes at a price. As daily news reports that a new sign can cost up to 180,000 euros – for example in Sangershausen, Saxony-Anhalt. In Straubing (Lower Bavaria), two signs had to be replaced due to their age – price according to reports: up to 83,000 euros. When it was founded in 2001, it cost around 6,000 euros.
By the way, tourism researcher Groß himself followed a sign – and was amazed. As a “fan of regional specialties,” he discovered Thuringian Dumpling World in Heichelheim thanks to a sign.
