The A2 motorway is an important north–south motorway in Croatia, connecting the capital of the country, Zagreb, to Graz, Austria, via Maribor, Slovenia, as well as Vienna and other destinations along the Pyhrn route. The motorway follows a route through the Hrvatsko Zagorje region. Part of the road network of Croatia, the motorway is also part of European route E59 Zagreb–Graz–Vienna–Prague. The motorway is of major importance to Croatia in terms of economic development, especially for tourism and as a transit transport route. The road carries significant transit and tourist traffic as it connects to the Zagreb bypass segment of the A3 motorway, which serves as a hub distributing the southbound traffic to either eastbound A3 or southbound A1, and vice versa. As of the June 1997 Pan-European Transport Conference in Helsinki, the motorway is part of the Pan-European Corridor Xa.