Budowa Autostrady Rzeszy w rejonie Góry św. Anny i plany przebudowy tamtejszej sieci drogowej (1938–1942)
The construction of the Reich’s motorway at Góra św. Anny (St. Annaberg) and the plans of the road network reconstruction in that area (1938–1942)

Summary/Abstract: From the documentation stored in the Federal Archives in Berlin (Bundesarchiv Berlin) an unequivocal conclusion is drawn that the idea to construct a motorway through Góra św. Anny was connected with the construction of the monumental amphitheatre and the “national” mausoleum in that area. Their grand opening in 1938 attracted crowds of inhabitants and invited guests, who had difficulty with arrival. Drawing the motorway closer to the complex was intended to solve at least a part of the transport difficulties and at the same time to connect the new object of national cult with a large-scale motorway project – the famed “Adolf Hitler’s Roads” (die Straßen Adolf Hitlers). Neither the proximity of the sanctuary at Góra św. Anny, nor pilgrim traffic had influence upon the decisions taken; with a high probability they might have led to the decision to draw the route of the motorway farther from the basilica. Generally, the increased influx of tourists arriving to see the new “attraction,” which reflected the pro-touristic offensive of the authorities in those times, was not taken into account. The landscape values of the planned RAB (Reich’s motorway) mentioned in the documents were intended to strengthen the tourist aspect of the investment, to break the monotony of the travel and to emphasise the beauty of the land, to which contemporary German planners attached considerable importance. Safety or economic aspects of the “transit” through Góra św. Anny were not raised extensively in the discussions, which confirms that the relevance of the “Third Reich’s pyramids” lay to a greater extent in propaganda rather than in practical assumptions. Like in all other parts of Germany, the segment of the motorway in Góra św. Anny was a prelude to a broader reconstruction of the transport system.

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