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Gastarbeiterroute is aGerman languageslang term originating in the 1970s.[1] It referred to the formerEuropean route 5,[2] which started inMunich and terminated in eitherIstanbul orThessaloniki.[3] In summer, as well as for Christmas and Easter, so-calledgastarbeiters working inWest Germany,Austria andWestern Europe would drive their automobiles south on thegastarbeiterroute through Austria andYugoslavia to their countries of origin.[3] It was notoriously dangerous for drivers and passengers who traveled on congested roads not suited to such heavy traffic.[1][2][3]
The route ran from Munich on the GermanBundesautobahn 8 toSalzburg and further southwards on the AustrianTauern Autobahn, which then ended atGolling at the northern rim of theAlps. Drivers had to take the highway (Bundesstraße) toBischofshofen,Radstadt, and through theEnns valley toLiezen,Leoben,Bruck an der Mur, andGraz. The route passed the Austrian–Yugoslav border atSpielfeld and ran further south toMaribor,Varaždin, andZagreb. From Zagreb, the notoriousBrotherhood and Unity Highway (Autoput) led toBelgrad andNiš, where the route forked: one branch led viaSkopje andEvzoni to Thessaloniki, the other branch ran southeastwards along the ancientVia Militaris throughBulgaria to Istanbul.