Saxony-Anhalt is located in central Germany and offers vital transportation connections linking the east and west of the country.
The industrial powerhouse of North Rhine-Westphalia lies to the west, while Berlin, the German capital, is situated to the northeast. The historic cultural centres of Saxony, including Leipzig and Dresden, border the state to the southeast.
The state capital is Magdeburg, the second-largest city positioned along the Elbe River in the central part of Saxony-Anhalt.
Halle, the largest city, sits in the southern region and serves as an important educational and cultural hub.
The state also benefits from excellent rail infrastructure with high-speed connections to Berlin, Leipzig, and Hanover, making it a key logistics hub in the German transportation network.
Saxony-Anhalt has no major international airport of its own, although Leipzig-Halle Airport in Saxony is located right on the border and is around 100 kilometres from Magdeburg.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is the closest international airport to most of Saxony-Anhalt. It operates 24 hours a day with no night flight restrictions, making it accessible at all times. As Germany's second largest cargo hub, it also offers growing passenger services. The airport has a direct 15-minute train link to Halle, with good connections to other cities in the state. Travellers can catch regular flights to major European hubs including Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna, providing convenient transfer options for international travellers.
Website: www.leipzig-halle-airport.de
Berlin Brandenburg Airport offers the widest range of international destinations in the region. It has direct high-speed rail links to cities in Saxony-Anhalt, making travel relatively easy despite the distance. BER offers more intercontinental flight options than Leipzig/Halle and more frequent flights to key European destinations. This makes it a solid choice for international travellers who need more destination options than Leipzig/Halle can offer.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de
Hannover Airport is a good option for visitors to the western parts of Saxony-Anhalt. It has direct rail links to Magdeburg and offers more international connections than Leipzig/Halle. The airport tends to be less crowded than the larger German hubs, which can mean shorter waiting times and a more pleasant travel experience. Travellers coming from western Europe often find Hannover a convenient place to access the western parts of Saxony-Anhalt.
Website: www.hannover-airport.de
Frankfurt Airport is Germany's largest airport with global connections to almost every major city in the world. Despite the distance, there are direct high-speed ICE trains to Halle and other cities in Saxony-Anhalt, usually in under three hours. It is the best option for intercontinental travellers, especially from Asia, the Americas and Africa. The excellent frequency and availability of flights means that travellers can often find more convenient arrival and departure times than at smaller regional airports.
Website: www.frankfurt-airport.com
Leipzig/Halle ranks as the most convenient option due to its proximity and direct connections to Saxony-Anhalt, while Berlin provides more international options at a reasonable distance. Hannover serves western areas well, and Frankfurt offers the most comprehensive global connections despite the greater distance.
Saxony-Anhalt occupies a strategic position in the German rail network, with major lines crossing the state from east to west and north to south. The state benefits from excellent long-distance rail links through Deutsche Bahn's ICE (Intercity Express) and IC (Intercity) networks.
The main east-west corridor links Berlin with Hanover, passing through the state capital, Magdeburg. This high-speed line allows trains to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h, connecting Magdeburg with Berlin in about 90 minutes and with Hanover in about 75 minutes.
The north-south axis is served by the important Leipzig-Magdeburg-Stendal-Hamburg line. In addition, ICE trains on the Munich-Nuremberg-Halle-Berlin route stop at Halle, linking the southern part of Saxony-Anhalt to both the German capital and southern Germany.
Halle is the most important rail hub in the state, with direct ICE connections to Frankfurt, Munich, Dresden and Berlin. The Halle-Leipzig area acts as a unified rail hub for central Germany, with frequent connections between these neighbouring cities in as little as 15 minutes.
The town of Stendal in northern Saxony-Anhalt is served by ICE trains on the Berlin-Hannover route, providing fast connections to western Germany.
Most of the smaller towns and cities in Saxony-Anhalt are connected to the main rail network by regional services that connect to these ICE/IC stations, creating an integrated transport system across the state.
The German rail system has limited special offers on longer-distance high-speed services if booked at least a number of days in advance.
One of the best rail bargains in any state is the day pass for the (slower) regional services. In Saxony-Anhalt's case this is called the Sachsen-Anhalt-Ticket and offers unlimited travel on local services from 09.00 to 03.00 the following day (or from midnight on weekends).
Importantly, in Saxony-Anhalt's case, this regional travel ticket also includes all local services in neighbouring Saxony and Thuringia (and the equivalent tickets for those states also include Saxony-Anhalt).
The single price is low (33 Euros at the time of writing) but the real bargain is that extra people can be added to the ticket up to a maximum of five for only 8 Euros a person. Thus five people can have unlimited travel for a day in Saxony-Anhalt and two other neighbouring states for only 65 Euros. (Note that Intercity services are not included.)
Website: www.bahn.com
Saxony-Anhalt has a well-developed motorway network that connects its major cities and provides important links to other German regions. The system forms part of the wider German motorway network and serves both east-west and north-south traffic.
The A2 motorway is the main east-west corridor, running from the Lower Saxony border through Magdeburg and continuing east towards Berlin. This six-lane motorway is an important link between Western Europe and Poland and carries heavy goods traffic. It passes just north of Magdeburg, with several exits serving the state capital.
The A14 is the main north-south route through Saxony-Anhalt, linking Magdeburg with Halle and continuing to Leipzig in neighbouring Saxony. The northern extension of the A14 towards Schwerin is under construction and will improve access to the Baltic coast when completed.
The A9 skirts the eastern border of the state, providing a fast route from Berlin to Leipzig and continuing south to Munich. This motorway serves the eastern parts of Saxony-Anhalt, particularly the Dessau-Roßlau area.
The A36 (formerly the B6n) runs through the western part of the state, linking with the Harz Mountains and providing access to Lower Saxony. This more recent addition to the network has improved access to the tourism-oriented western areas.
The A38, known as the "Südharzautobahn", crosses the southern part of Saxony-Anhalt, linking Göttingen in Lower Saxony with Leipzig in Saxony. This motorway has significantly improved east-west connections in the southern part of the state.
The German automobile club is called ADAC and it offers information on traffic and road conditions on its website (German only):
Website: www.adac.de