Landesstraßen (singular: Landesstraße) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district (Landkreis or Kreisfreie Stadt). A Landesstraße is thus less important than a Bundesstraße or federal road, but more significant than a Kreisstraße or district road. The classification of a road as a Landesstraße is a legal matter (Widmung). In the free states of Bavaria and Saxony – but not, however, in the Free State of Thuringia – Landesstraßen are known as Staatsstraßen.