In 2021, 9.1 percent of the German population hopped on a bike daily, while 17.1 percent did so several days a week. Cycling is both a popular way to commute as well as a recreational activity.

Wheels in motion

Cycling is an increasingly familiar fixture of urban life. One of the things to look out for when walking around German cities are marked bike and pedestrian paths. Cycling is especially common in student areas and towns. Germany has many regions offering scenic routes for bike travel, among them Allgäu and Emsland, as well as long-distance tours. There is still work to be done in the area of sustainable public transport, of which bikes are a considerable part, if Germany wants to place higher in world rankings.

Cycle of life

Europe’s cities look back on a long cycling history. It’s not uncommon to see a bike lending station in urban areas. Visitors and the local population alike are encouraged to use bikes not just for recreational reasons, but also for environmental ones – it remains one of the cleanest and cheapest ways to get around, plus cycling is another way to preserve Europe’s many old streets and quarters. In 2019, Utrecht in the Netherlands was rated the most bicycle-friendly city in the world, followed by Münster in Germany, with Bremen closing the list.

Sources: Statistical yearbook on German towns (since 1890; the data on towns with 50000 inhabitans and more are collected). Town’s archives of Munster and Bochum; The municipal authorities’ yearly administration reports; The tow towns’ budget; Budgets and monthly reports of the water- and gasworks as well as of the electricity power stations; Selected data of the research-literature; Gathering statistics on salaries and working hours for 1902 and 1907, processed from the Imperial Statistical Office.