The Bundesstraße 71 is one of the longer German federal roads numbered in the 60s and 70s series. It begins at the B 6

Bundesstraße 6

The Bundesstraße 6 runs from the North Sea coast in a southeasterly direction through the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony to the Polish border.- History :...

 in Bremerhaven

Bremerhaven

Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...

 by the Unterweser and ends in Könnern near Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

. To begin with it is one of the east-west links across the Elbe-Weser Triangle

Elbe-Weser Triangle

The region between Bremen , Hamburg and Cuxhaven forms the Elbe-Weser Triangle in northern Germany. It is also colloquially referred to as the Nasses Dreieck or "Wet Triangle"...

 and runs in a gentle curve via Bremervörde

Bremervörde

Bremervörde is a town in the north of the district Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the Oste river near the mid of the triangle, which is formed of the rivers Weser and Elbe respectively the cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Cuxhaven....

 (48 km, briefly with the B 74) and Zeven

Zeven

Zeven is a town in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of around 14,000. The nearest large towns are Bremerhaven, Bremen and Hamburg. It is situated approximately 22 km northwest of Rotenburg, and 40 km northeast of Bremen...

 (71 km) over the Hansa Line A 1 (83 km) to the district town of Rotenburg (Wümme) (97 km). Here it crosses the B 75

Bundesstraße 75

The Bundesstraße 75 is a German federal highway running in a northeast to southwest direction from the Lübeck borough of Travemünde to Delmenhorst near Bremen....

 and continues past the Lüneburg Heath

Lüneburg Heath

The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...

 to Soltau

Soltau

- Middle Ages :The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis...

 (133 km), where it crosses the B 3. Carrying on towards the east it runs through heathland to Uelzen

Uelzen

Uelzen is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality....

 (190 km), where the road again crosses another major federal route, the B 4

Bundesstraße 4

The Bundesstraße 4 is a German federal highway running in a northwesterly to southly direction from the state of Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria...

. Next it runs through the Elbufer-Drawehn Nature Park

Elbufer-Drawehn Nature Park

The Elbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park , formerly known as the Elbufer-Drawehn Nature Park is a German nature park east of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony.- Location:...

 and crosses the old Inner German Border and present-day state border between Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 and Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

 at kilometre marker 222.

In Salzwedel

Salzwedel

Salzwedel of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:...

 (233 km the B 71 leaves the Wendland

Wendland

Wendland may refer to either of the following regions or people:*Wendland may refer to a region once inhabited by Wends, an old Germanic term for Slavic tribes living in close proximity to the Germanic tribes:...

 to the left and swings southeast. In the Altmark

Altmark

The Altmark is a historic region in Germany, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt. As the initial territory of the Brandenburg margraves, it is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Prussia", as by Otto von Bismarck, a native from Schönhausen near Stendal.- Geography :The Altmark is...

 it passes through villages and sparsely populated heathland. At Gardelegen

Gardelegen

Gardelegen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Milde, 20 m. W. from Stendal, on the main line of railway Berlin-Hanover....

 it meets the B 188. After Gardelegen it heads south passing for 30 km through the Colbitz-Letzlingen Heath. After 335 km the B 71 enters Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

, where it crosses the A 14

Bundesautobahn 14

is an autobahn in eastern Germany.Currently, the route comprises two disconnected sections:* The old A 241. A North-South route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin....

, A 2 and B 1

Bundesstraße 1

The Bundesstraße 1 or B1 is a German federal highway running in an east-west direction from the Dutch border near Aachen to the Polish border at Küstrin-Kietz on the Oder River.-Route description:...

, and passes through the old cathedral city in a north-south direction as part of the Magdeburg Ring. Next it runs on for 56 km as the Romanesque Road (Straße der Romanik) through the heart of the Anhalt

Anhalt

Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...

 country until, at Könnern

Könnern

' is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the river Saale, approx. 15 km south of Bernburg, and 25 km northwest of Halle ....

, it meets and joins the B 6

Bundesstraße 6

The Bundesstraße 6 runs from the North Sea coast in a southeasterly direction through the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony to the Polish border.- History :...

 again, the road it left at Bremerhaven, 26 km before Halle, the largest city in Sachsen-Anhalts.

The whole route is 391 km long.