Czech Republic

General description: Routes 1-12 are the main arterial roads from Praha. Other main roads have numbers 13-99. So far, the only motorways are the D1, D2, D3, D5, D8, D11 and D35. All these roads are European routes.

D, R and national roads form one integrated system. For example, route 35 begins as just '35' in Liberec, it is the R35 between Mohelnice and Olomouc, there it is 35 again, then it continues as D35, and the last section is 35 again. There is one exception: the D2 is independent of the (new) route 2, see History. Disregarding the new route 2, routes 1-12 form a spiderweb with centre Praha. Route 1 is the D1 to the east (it will continue to the Polish border in future), the D2 branches off the D1 at Brno (towards Bratislava), and route 3 branches off the D1 towards Linz in Austria. Numbers increase further in clockwise direction. Route 12 is to the east.

When a new road is built (generally D or R), the number of the old road is increased by 600. There has always been one exception to this: route 602 runs approximately parallel to the D1. However, originally this was route 2, see below. Recent changes violate this system. For example, the section of route 5 west of Plzen was replaced by 501 instead of 605, possibly because it is not linked to the rest of 605, though this should only be a temporary situation (until the D5 is completed).

Roads with 1- and 2-digit numbers are known as First class roads (silnice I. trída), 3-digit numbers as Second class roads (silnice II. trída) and local roads with 4- or 5-digit numbers as Third class roads (silnice III. trída).

Exit numbers are derived from kilometer values, except for the first exit which always has number 1 instead of 0.

Ring roads appear only in Praha, Brno, Hradec Kralové and Ostrava.

Local road numbers sometimes have one or more trailing zeroes, e.g. 00317.

Road signs:

History: There was a different road numbering system in the 1930's. Examples of numbers:

During World War II, German road numbers were extended throughout the Czech Republic. Examples can be seen on the fragment of a 1952 Michelin map below.

Later, a new numbering system was devised: number 1 was for a planned Prague ring road, and numbers 2-12 formed a spider-web around Prague. The section of route 2 between Prague and Brno was later changed to 1, as the D1 was built.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia used to have one road numbering system (when they formed Czechoslovakia). However, there was one important difference:

In the Czech republic, D, R and other roads formed an integrated system. The 'add 600' rule was applied. In Slovakia, routes x and Dx could be parallel, though there was a D1 of which sections existed though there was no route 1. This system was retained until 1997, when numbers in the Czech Republic were replaced by numbers that also exist in Slovakia (59 - 70). Many other numbers were also changed. Below is a list of most of the changes (^ = Hacek on next letter, ú = u with circle on top).

The new route 2 is the biggest eyesore because it is not really a main route, it does not fit into the spider-web (it is between the D1 and route 12) and it is independent of the D2 Brno-Bratislava.

Also, instead of following route 33 from Písek to Hradec Králové one now has to follow 9 different routes: 29, 19, 137, 150, 336, 126, 2, 333 and 324.

Recently, motorway numbers have been starting to appear on signs. Before, only E numbers were signposted along motorways. On R roads, there was also a preference for E numbers, though the R numbea (without the letter 'R') were usually also indicated.

Sources and links: Personal experience, various maps and atlases

1. Official sites:

   1. Ministerstvo dopravy a spojù Ceské republiky

   2. Reditelství silnic a dálnic CR

   3. Other links:

   4. Motorways

   5. Ceskedalnice.cz Information on motorways and other main highways

   6. mapy.cz

   7. Motorways and expressways news

   8. Toll roads

   9. Silnice v Cesku on Wikipedia

2. Specific roads:

• 1. D11

  2. R6 Jenisov

  3. R43

  4. R52

  5. Other pages within this site:

  6. Road sign colours

  7. Europe

  8. Description of road sections with km values

  9. Fusion table with km values mostly on motorways and expressways

Marcel Monterie

Back to Home