diff --git a/drivers/include/periph/timer.h b/drivers/include/periph/timer.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..45ba67eafc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/include/periph/timer.h
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 Freie Universität Berlin
+ *
+ * This file is subject to the terms and conditions of the LGPLv2 License.
+ * See the file LICENSE in the top level directory for more details.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * @ingroup     driver_periph
+ * @brief       Low-level timer peripheral driver
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file        timer.h
+ * @brief       Low-level timer peripheral driver interface definitions
+ *
+ * @author      Hauke Petersen <hauke.petersen@fu-berlin.de>
+ */
+
+#ifndef __TIMER_H
+#define __TIMER_H
+
+#include "periph_conf.h"
+
+
+/**
+ * @brief Definition of available timers
+ * 
+ * Each timer is based on a hardware timer, which can further have 1 or more channels.
+ * To this point 4 timers are possible, might need to be expanded for some cases.
+ */
+typedef enum {
+#if TIMER_0_EN
+    TIMER_0 = 0,            /**< 1st timer */
+#endif
+#if TIMER_1_EN
+    TIMER_1,                /**< 2nd timer */
+#endif
+#if TIMER_2_EN
+    TIMER_2,                /**< 3rd timer */
+#endif
+#if TIMER_3_EN
+    TIMER_3,                /**< 4th timer */
+#endif
+    TIMER_UNDEFINED         /**< fall-back if no timer is defined */
+} tim_t; /* named tim instead of timer to avoid conflicts with vendor libraries */
+
+/**
+ * @brief Initialize the given timer
+ * 
+ * Each timer device is running with the given speed. Each can contain one or more channels
+ * as defined in periph_conf.h. The timer is configured in up-counting mode and will count
+ * until TIMER_x_MAX_VALUE as defined in used board's periph_conf.h until overflowing.
+ * 
+ * The timer will be started automatically after initialization with interrupts enabled.
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer to initialize
+ * @param[in] ticks_per_us  the timers speed in ticks per us
+ * @param[in] callback      this callback is called in interrupt context, the emitting channel is 
+ *                          passed as argument
+ *
+ * @return                  returns 0 on success, -1 if speed not applicable of unknown device given
+ */
+int timer_init(tim_t dev, unsigned int ticks_per_us, void (*callback)(int));
+
+/**
+ * @brief Set a given timer channel for the given timer device. The callback given during
+ * initialization is called when timeout ticks have passed after calling this function
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer device to set
+ * @param[in] channel       the channel to set
+ * @param[in] timeout       timeout in ticks after that the registered callback is executed
+ * 
+ * @return                  1 on success, -1 on error
+ */
+int timer_set(tim_t dev, int channel, unsigned int timeout);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Clear the given channel of the given timer device
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer device to clear
+ * @param[in] channel       the channel on the given device to clear
+ * 
+ * @return                  1 on success, -1 on error
+ */
+int timer_clear(tim_t dev, int channel);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Read the current value of the given timer device
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer to read the current value from
+ * 
+ * @return                  the timers current value
+ */
+unsigned int timer_read(tim_t dev);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Start the given timer. This function is only needed if the timer was stopped manually before
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer device to stop
+ */
+void timer_start(tim_t dev);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Stop the given timer - this will effect all of the timer's channels
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer to stop
+ */
+void timer_stop(tim_t dev);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Enable the interrupts for the given timer
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           timer to enable interrupts for
+ */
+void timer_irq_enable(tim_t dev);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Disable interrupts for the given timer
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer to disable interrupts for
+ */
+void timer_irq_disable(tim_t dev);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Reset the up-counting value to zero for the given timer
+ * 
+ * Note that this function effects all currently set channels and it can lead to non-deterministic timeouts
+ * if any channel is active when this function is called.
+ * 
+ * @param[in] dev           the timer to reset
+ */
+void timer_reset(tim_t dev);
+
+#endif /* __TIMER_H */
+/** @} */