Kempten 2026: Roman Roots, Zero Emission-Zone Rules
Kempten, Germany · LEZ
Kempten has never had an Umweltzone and is missing from the federal register of all 58 German zones, so no green sticker or emission fine applies.
Can your car enter Kempten?
Kempten’s driving rules are simple because there aren’t any beyond the national ones: the city never installed an Umweltzone and doesn’t appear on Germany’s federal register of low-emission zones. Its real claim to fame predates any modern traffic rule anyway: Strabo named the Roman town here around AD 18, making Kempten the oldest German city mentioned in writing, and its remains lie in the Archaeological Park Cambodunum. Park centrally for the baroque Residence and Basilica, and keep the car for the Allgäu’s lakes and mountains.
This page covers driving around Kempten. For the zone record, see the Kempten LEZ details.
Is There a Low Emission Zone in Kempten?
No. Kempten has never had an Umweltzone. The Umweltbundesamt register lists all 58 German zones ever created, 35 active and 23 withdrawn, and Kempten is not among them. No Umweltplakette, no low-emission penalty.
Park centrally and walk
No sticker is needed. Leave the car in a central car park and walk to the Residence, St Lorenz and the old town. Germany’s limits: 50 km/h in town and 0.05% alcohol, zero for drivers under 21 or in their two-year probation.
When the car helps
Keep it for the Allgäu: the green hills, the lakes (Alpsee, Forggensee), the mountain resorts and the royal castles near Füssen, driven from a central car park.
Sources
- Umweltbundesamt, register of German low-emission zones: gis.uba.de
- Stadt Kempten, the oldest German city mentioned in writing: kempten.de
- Stadt Kempten, Archaeological Park Cambodunum: kempten.de
- Straßenverkehrsgesetz §24c (zero alcohol for novice and under-21 drivers): gesetze-im-internet.de
Speed limits, fines, equipment & license requirements
Full requirements, sticker info & exemptions
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Winter tyres in Germany — 2026–27 season
Winter tyres are required in Germany whenever conditions are wintry — Situational (when conditions require: ice, snow, slush, black ice).
- Tread minimum: 1.6 mm — Germany sets no separate winter figure.
- Accepted marking: 3PMSF only — the M+S transitional rule no longer applies to cars (StVZO §36(4))
- Studded tyres: banned
- Penalty: EUR 60 + 1 point; EUR 80 if you obstruct traffic; EUR 75 for the vehicle owner
In German the rule is Winterreifenpflicht, and snow chains are Schneeketten — that is the wording on signs, in hire-car paperwork and on any penalty notice.
Checked against national legislation, 30 Sep 2026 · Full Germany tyre law · Compare all countries
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Umweltbundesamt's register lists every German low-emission zone ever created, 58 in all with 35 still running, and Kempten appears on neither list. No Umweltplakette is required and no low-emission penalty applies. The nearest zones on the register are in Augsburg and Munich.
Because it is the oldest one named in writing: the Greek geographer Strabo mentioned it as a town of the Estiones around AD 18. The Roman town of Cambodunum on the high bank of the Iller can be explored at the Archaeological Park Cambodunum, with its temple precinct, small baths and forum. Later Kempten was a prince-abbey, which left the baroque Residence and the Basilica of St Lorenz in the centre.
The prince-abbots' Residence with its state rooms, the Basilica of St Lorenz next door, the old town that grew from two rival towns, the abbey town and the Protestant imperial town, and the Roman park. The Allgäu hills and lakes begin at the city's edge.
In one of the central multi-storey car parks, then walk. The Residence, the basilica and the old town around the Rathausplatz are close together, and the Roman park is a short walk or drive across the river.
Not for the compact centre, and Kempten has a mainline station. A car is useful for the Allgäu around it, the pre-Alpine hills, lakes such as the Alpsee and the Forggensee, and the castles near Füssen, driven from a central car park.
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