diff --git a/Util/OSRMException.h b/Util/OSRMException.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dcae24e18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Util/OSRMException.h
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+    open source routing machine
+    Copyright (C) Dennis Luxen, 2010
+
+This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU AFFERO General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+or see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.txt.
+ */
+
+#ifndef OSRM_EXCEPTION_H
+#define OSRM_EXCEPTION_H
+
+#include <exception>
+
+class OSRMException: public std::exception {
+public:
+    OSRMException(const char * message) : message(message) {}
+private:
+    virtual const char* what() const throw() {
+        return message;
+    }
+    const char * message;
+};
+
+#endif /* OSRM_EXCEPTION_H */
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