Street naming conventions - two words or one

Most street names are written as one word. For example:

• Leopoldstrasse
• Sonnenstrasse
• Kaufingerstrasse
• Klenzestrasse
• Prinzregentenstrasse

But some are written as two:

• Nymphenburger Strasse
• Neuhauser Strasse
• Barer Strasse
• Brienner Strasse
• Schleissheimer Strasse

Is there any kind of convention which dictates whether a street name is written as two words? Or are all adopted names purely accidents of history?

maybe they are written separate if they are place names (Nymphenburg, Schleissheim...)?

Good thinking.

Dachauer Strasse would fit that theory.

But Belgradstrasse doesn't.

Maybe only place names that are within Germany?

.. or if they end in "r"?

Nevermind. Just saw Kaufingerstrasse

hmmm but i'll throw a spanner in the works. i used to live on Erdingerstrasse, in Freising, originally heading to Erding. Now I live in Erding on Dorefener Strasse, heading to Dorfen. Same idea but differently written.

I would go as far as saying it probably does not matter but maybe it has something to do with the class of road?

Minor roads remain one word and the higher classification 2 ("B" Roads for example)

EDIT: In fact, I reckon that may well be the reason

if its a place its two.

Courtesy of: http://www.udoklinger.de/Deutsch/Grammatik/ZusGetr.htm

there is no rule that applies to all street name. generally or most of the times, street names with "er" are separate words. (mainly because it is a town name or location Nymphenburg, München, Neuhausen etc)
ie Dachauer Str., Münchner Str, etc etc,
ie Leopoldstrasse, no "er" Karlstrasse, Blutenburgstrasse, Augustenstrasse..
on your top list you can notice that only one street name 'Kaufingerstr.' is one word. all the other names have no "er".

does it make sense?

oops, i was wrong, erdinger strasse is two separate words. i just always wrote it as one. i think you may have some thing there gideon. i'm off to check maps n stuff.

have checked a few maps and it looks like when the street is named after the place it leads directly (or historically directly) to, then it is two words. if it does not lead to a specified place, it looks like it is combined.

@ UrbanAngel

Could we have a translation please? I can't work out what "ungebeugten" is.

unbowed

Edit: undeclined, apparently.

UA is right. Generally, if a street is named after a place (Pariser Platz) it is written in two words. If it is named after a person (Leopoldstrasse) it is one word. Don't get thrown by names like Schwanthalerstrasse (named after the sculptor Ludwig Schwanthaler).
Then you get the newfangled idea of naming the street with the person's full name so that you end up with Mies-van-der-Rohe-Strasse in Parkstadt Schwabing.
For more info on Munich street names, see Wikipedia.

I think I've got it - Belgradstraße is not declined (no -er suffix) and so is one word. There are several Belgrader Straßes in Germany and they are all in two parts. Why some are declined and some not is another question though.

I thought that if the road actually lead to the Named place, it was 2 words..

Pariser Straße doesn't lead to Paris so it's not as simple as that unfortunately.

It does if you keep going

and take a left at the end

Or a right if you went the other way.

Is anyone actually going to loose sleep over this street naming issue..?

So by that token all streets should be called Römer Strasse then?

I can never find logic in the German language although I am not detered from studying it. Remember this language is brought to you from the people who brought you Die, der,das

I think they like to refer to it as der, die, das

Dorks

What about 'Tal'?

Easy, it means valley, the one that led from Marienplatz to the Isar. Same as Zur Schönen Aussicht, right off the Isartor, you had a good view from there.