How do I know which telephone prefix (Vorwahl) goes to which city? Can you give me more information about German telephone codes?
All German towns and cities have a Vorwahl, a prefix, which indicates a telephone number is from that area. Like the good, old days in small-town America, if you are within that area (Ort), you need only dial the number of the home or business, without dialing the Vorwahl.
Some larger cities have very well-known prefixes; for example, 89 automatically tells you the phone is in Munich.
There are two websites which are perfect for either finding the Vorwahl for a town or, if you already have the Vorwahl, determining where it is located. They are both in German but easy to use. If you have the Vorwahl, type that in and click on “Suchen” or “Starten.” This will give you all the towns, or small villages, with this prefix. If you know the town but are uncertain of the Vorwahl, enter the town in “Ort,” and click the same button.
