Depending on the sources, you might hear there are 80 Nurburgring corners, or you might hear there are 170. You may also hear the same corner called different things by other people. How can there be so much uncertainty!?
This article provides a definitive list of the Nurburgring corner names and looks at exactly how many turns there are on the Nordschleife.
Contents
Nurburgring corner names
Ok so here goes. Below is a list of the official (and a few unofficial) Nurburgring corner names. As you’ll see as you move down the list, one name can actually apply to multiple separate corners.
The Nurburgring map below includes every single corner name. This is a huge hi-resolution satellite image of the Nordschleife.
It’s too many MB to host on this page so instead click the image below and the full-res map will download. Zoom in to see the Nurburgring corner names and the highlighted sections of track that they apply to.
1: Antoniusbuche
Translation: Anthony’s beech (Antonius’ beech)
Naming reason: This used to be the location of a huge beech tree, perhaps belonging to someone called Antonius, which had to be chopped down to make way for the circuit.
Corner: Applies to the very fast left hander under the Bilstein Bridge (Antonius’ bridge) at the very start of a tourist lap.
Total corners: 1
2: Tiergarten
Translation: Animal garden
Naming reason: This used to be the site of an animal or pet cemetery. Perhaps for animals which were killed in battle, perhaps for a local landowner’s animals, perhaps for another reason.
Corner: Applies to the fast left and right handers.
Total corners: 2
3: Hohenrain-Schikane
Translation: Sloped boundary chicane / high altitude chicane
Naming reason: There used to be the boundary of two fields here which was sloped. It can also mean high altitude which makes sense as this is one of the higher points on the circuit. The chicane was added at a later date to slow the cars down before they reached T13.
Corner: Applies to the left, right and left handers of the chicane.
Total corners: 3
4: T13
Naming reason: No translation needed, the grandstand by the side of the track here was named T13.
Corner: Just the right hander with the armco for the apex.
Total corners: 1
5: Sabine-Schmitz-Kurve
Naming reason: No translation needed. Named after the Queen of the Nurbugring and all-time hero Sabine Schimtz after she sadly passed away in 2021. She twice won the Nurburgring 24 hour race, the only woman to ever win it, and was a legendary driver of the BMW Nurburgring Ring Taxis.
Corner: Left hander that drops downhill after T13.
Total corners: 1
6: Hatzenbach Bogen
Translation: Hunt stream curve
Naming reason: Hatzen means hunt and bach means brook, or stream. Perhaps this is where hunting used to take place, near to a stream. Bogen means arc or curve.
Corners: Applies to the second right hander after Sabine Schmitz Kurve. This is one of the Nurburgring corner names you probably haven’t heard of; it’s rarely called this these days, but it’s a way to identify this fast and ballsy corner before the main part of Hatzenbach begins. Sometimes it’s just referred to as ‘The Bogen’.
Total corners: 1
7: Hatzenbach
Translation: Hunt stream
Naming reason: Hatzen means hunt and bach means brook, or stream. Where hunting used to take place, near to a stream.
Corner: Hatzenbach coveres a lot of different corners. It applies to the left hand kink directly after Hatzenbach Bogen, all the way through the entire next sequence of left, right, right, left, right left corners.
Total corners: 7
8: Hoheichen
Translation: High oaks
Naming reason: High oak trees border the left hand side of the track here. Some had to be felled to make way for the circuit.
Corner: Covers both the right and left handers leading on to the next straight.
Total corners: 2
9: Quiddelbacher Höhe
Translation: Quiddelbach height
Naming reason: One of the Nurburgring jumps is on the crest here, which is the highest point of the nearby village of Quiddelbach.
Corner: Refers to the right hander over the bridge after leaving Hoheichen, and the double right hander after the jump.
Total corners: 3
10: Flugplatz
Translation: Airfield
Naming reason: There used to be an airfield to the left of the circuit here for gliders. Often incorrectly assumed to be the name of the jump at Quiddelbacher Hohe as a jump called ‘airfield’ would be very fitting, but alas that’s not the case.
Corner: Applies to the fast left hander straight after the double right of Quiddebacher Hohe.
Total corners: 1
11: Kottenborn
Translation: Kottenborn
Naming reason: Named after a small village near to the circuit, on the far side of Quiddelbach village.
Corners: Another of the Nurburgring corner names you won’t have heard of. It’s rarely referred to by this name any more. Instead most people know it simply as the left hand kink between Flugplatz and Schwedenkreuz.
Total corners: 1
12: Schwedenkreuz
Translation: Swedish cross
Naming reason: Named after the large stone cross monument just behind the armco on the right hand side of the circuit. The cross was supposedly placed there in 1638 in honour of an old mayor and tax collector for Adenau, believed to have been killed by the Swedish army.
Corner: The incredibly fast left hander after the hump.
Total corners: 1
13: Aremberg
Translation: Arem mountain
Naming reason: Named after the nearby Arem hill on top of which Aremberg castle sits, and also the nearby town of Aremberg.
Corner: The long right-hander after Schwedenkreuz that finishes under the bridge.
Total corners: 1
14: Fuchsröhre
Translation: Foxhole
Naming reason: Legend goes that during construction of the Nurburgring a frightened fox hid in a drainpipe, causing the building work to be halted until the fox could be moved out of his hiding hole. As such the circuit named this section after him. This is one of the Nurburgring corner names that people often refer to as the English version just as much as the German.
Corner: We all presume the Foxhole is just the severe compression right at the bottom of the hill, but it applies to more than that. It’s the slight right hand kink, then the compression, then the fast left lander over the crest afterwards. Read more about this corner on the separate Foxhole page.
Total corners: 3
15: Adenauer Forst
Translation: Adenau Forest
Naming reason: Simply named after the nearby forest on the outskirts of the town of Adenau.
Corner: The right hander after exiting the Foxhole, the first and second left handers followed by the right hander. Read more about why everyone gets Adenauer Forst wrong. This is also where the Koenigsegg One:1 infamously crashed when attempting to set a Nurburgring lap record.
Total corners: 4
16: Metzgesfeld 1 & 2
Translation: Metzges field
Naming reason: The track runs through a field which has been given the name Metzges, perhaps due to the name of a previous land owner.
Corner: One of only two occasions where the corner name differentiates between different sections. Metzgesfeld 1 is the first left hander and Metzgesfeld 2 is the second, otherwise known as Blame James.
Total corners: 2
18: Kallenhard
Translation: Kallen hard
Naming reason: This one is a bit of an unknown. One suggestion was that is could refer to Hart, the name of the hill this bit of track is on, which was pretty baron and lacked much vegetation, so could be referred to as cold Hart.
Corner: Refers to the slow right hander that exits right up against the armco.
Total corners: 1
19: Spiegelkurve
Translation: Mirror curve
Naming reason: Back in the earliest days of racing at the ‘Ring, cars would occasionally clip their mirrors on the trees lining the edge of the circuit through this very fast left-right.
Corner: Another of the Nurburgring corner names that you probably haven’t heard of. It applies to the left and right pif-paf, but not many people actually call it this any more.
Total corners: 2
20: Miss-hit-miss
Naming reason: No translation needed, the Brits gave this one its name. It refers to a series of three right hand corners where, when on the ideal line, you should miss the first apex, hit the second and miss the third.
Corner: Applies to the three consecutive right handers.
Total corners: 3
21: Wehrseifen
Translation: Defend valley
Naming reason: The valley in which this corner sits used to mark the boundary between the towns of Adenau and Breidscheid. This could well have been a strategic point at which either town could forcibly be defended from invasion by the other.
Corner: Refers to the right hander, the left hander (which is the slowest corner on the Nordschleife) and the following right hander.
Total corners: 3
22: Breidscheid
Translation: Wide part
Naming reason: This corner is named after the town of the same name through which this part of the track runs.
Corner: The right hand kink before Breidscheid bridge and the left hander of the bridge itself.
Total corners: 2
23: Ex-Mühle
Translation: Water mill
Naming reason: Given this name because of a local mill, powered by water from a nearby stream, that bordered the track. The plan was originally to have the start and finish of the track at this point, and the circuit owners wanted to build some grandstands on the land but the owner of the water mill was stubborn and refused to sell it.
Corner: Applies only to the steep uphill right hander directly after the track exit point
Total corners: 1
24: Lauda Links
Naming reason: Named after Niki Lauda’s fiery crash at this spot in 1976 which almost cost him his life. An unofficial corner name but one that everybody uses.
Corner: Applies only to the fast left kink before Bergwerk.
Total corners: 1
25: Bergwerk
Translation: Mountain factory
Naming reason: There used to be a lead and silver mine close to the track here.
Corner: Applies only to the right hander before the long drag uphill. Very important to get a good exit as the speed is carried all the way up the hill. Read more about why Bergwerk is so crucial for a good lap time.
Total corners: 1
26: Kesselchen
Translation: Little valley
Naming reason: This part of the track is set at the bottom of a small valley with hills either side.
Corner: The name Kesselchen refers to the final left hand part of the long left hander after leaving Bergwerk. It’s a dangerous spot, especially in the rain, as speeds are high here and running a wheel on the grass on the outside is deadly.
Total corners: 1
27: Klostertal
Translation: Monastery valley
Naming reason: There used to be a monastery in the valley near to this section of track.
Corner: The incredible fast right hand kink, flat out in a lot of cars.
Total corners: 1
28: Mutkurve
Translation: Courage curve
Naming reason: When you drive this corner at speed you will understand why it’s been given this name. The incredibly fast left hander is nearly flat-out in most cars, and completely flat out in some lower powered or higher downforce cars. But doing it as fast as possible, with absolutely zero run off on the outside of the corner, takes a lot of courage.
Corner: Just applies to the fast left hander.
Total corners: 1
29: Steilstrecke
Translation: Steep section
Naming reason: There used to be an incredibly steep straight section of road here that joined up two sections of the track. It was used for car hill testing for the first few decades the circuit was open, and you can still see the section of road off to the left just as you turn in to this corner.
Corner: Applies only to the 180 degree right hander.
Total corners: 1
30: Carraciola-Karussell
Translation: Carousel
Naming reason: When the Nurburgring was first opened this legendary corner was driven on the flat tarmac on the outside, with a small drainage ditch running on the inside. In 1931, in a bid to shave off some lap time, Rudolph Caracciola put two wheels in the ditch and realised he could take the corner much faster. He won that race by over 78 seconds and from the next year onwards the drainage ditch turned in to a driveable banking, and has been used ever since. Driving it feels like you’re on a merry-go-round, or a carousel. Read more about the Karussell corner.
Corner: The most legendary of the Nurburgring corner names refers to the most infamous of corners, the banked turn that’s over 180 degrees around. Probably the most famous corner in the world.
Total corners: 1
31: Hohe Acht
Translation: High attention
Naming reason: Hohe means high and Acht comes from Achtung which means ‘attention’, which could also be ‘lookout’. There is a hut here which was referred to as the lookout hut, and this is one of the highest points on the track. Hence Hohe Acht = High Lookout.
Corner: Refers to the right hander at the top of the hill.
Total corners: 1
32: Hedgwigshöhe
Translation: Hedgwig height
Naming reason: The wife of Dr Otto Creuz, the counciller for the Eifel district in the early 1900s who was the driving force behind the construction of the Nurburgring, was called Hedgwig. When the track was completed he named this corner after his wife.
Corner: The right hander just before the start of Wippermann.
Total corners: 1
33: Wippermann
Translation: Seesaw man
Naming reason: Partly because the fast direction change makes you feel like you’re on a seesaw, and partly because the track used to be very bumpy here.
Corner: Applies to the fast downhill left and right handers where you can take a lot of kerb on both sides.
Total corners: 1
34: Eschbach
Translation: Ash brook
Naming reason: A stream, or a brook, off to the side of the track. Also surrounded by ash trees.
Corner: Some confusion over exactly which corner(s) the name applies to, but the consensus seems to be that Eschbach is both the right hander after Wippermann and also the left hander before Brunnchen.
Total corners: 2
35: Brünnchen
Translation: Small water
Naming reason: There was a small stream that ran through here which had a number of pipes that supplied water to a nearby village.
Corner: The name applies to both the right hander that drops down in to the ‘bowl’ and then the second right hander that climbs up out of it. The second right is now known as YouTube corner.
Total corners: 2
36: Eiskurve
Translation: Ice curve
Naming reason: This corner is often in shade from the overhanging trees, so is usually one of the last parts of the track to dry up and can be as ‘slippery as ice’.
Corner: Applies to the left hander after YouTube corner and the right hander that immediately follow it.
Total corners: 2
37: Pflanzgarten I
Translation: Plant garden
Naming reason: There used to be a plant garden or a nursery here.
Corner: Applies to the infamous jump where most cars get fully airborne and the long right hander directly after it.
Total corners: 1
38: Pflanzgarten II
Translation: Plant garden
Naming reason: There used to be a plant garden or a nursery here.
Corner: The left hander after Pflanzgarten I that drops down a steep slope which is very unsettling to most cars.
Total corners: 1
39: Stefan-Bellof-S
Naming reason: Named after the Legendary Stefan Bellof who set the outright Nurburgring lap record in 1976 of 6:11.13 in his Porsche 956 Group C. He later crashed at this very point, so the corner was named in his honour.
Corner: The high speed right-left-right S curve directly after Pflanzgarten 2, that you can just about straight line if you get it right.
Total corners: 3
40: Schwalbenschwanz
Translation: Swallow’s tail
Naming reason: When the circuit was being constructed the workers suggested that the track layout at this section looked like the shape of a Swallow’s tail.
Corner: Right hander after the Stefan-Bellof-S followed by a left hander with a small gravel trap on the outside.
Total corners: 2
41: Kleine Karussell
Translation: Mini Carousel
Naming reason: With a small little concrete banking this is just a mini version of the famous Karussell.
Corner: Just applies to the small banked turn where cars can often get on 2 wheels on the exit.
Total corners: 1
42: Galgenkopf
Translation: Gallows head
Naming reason: Used to be the site of public executions, where the gallows used to be, many years ago.
Corner: Applies to the final, long right hander on to the main straight which could actually be classed as two separate corners.
Total corners: 2
Döttinger Höhe
Translation: Dottingen height
Naming reason: The highest point for the nearby village of Dottingen.
Corner: Not actually a corner but instead it’s the main straight that’s 2km long.
Total corners: 0
other Nurburgring corners with no name
From the list of Nurburgring corner names above we can see that there are 42 names (not including Dottinger Hohe straight). Those 42 names actually cover a total of 73 distinct corners.
There are also some other corners which slip between the cracks of the existing corner names. These are:
- Right hand kink between Sabine Schmitz Kurve and Hatzenbach Bogen
- The left-right after the bridge on the exit of Aremberg before dropping in to the Foxhole
- Left hand kink after Adenauer Forst and before Metzgesfeld
- Right hander after Metzgsfeld before dropping down in to Kallenhard
- Left kink on the run up the hill after Bergwerk and before Kesselchen
- Left kink after Klostertal and before Mutkurve
- Right hander over the hump before Steilstrecke
- Right hander directly after the Karussell
- Left hander before Hohe Act
- Left-right before Hohe Act
- Left hander after Eiskurve on the run down to the Pflanzgarten I jump
The list above includes an additional 13 corners.
how many corners does the Nurburgring have?
The Nurburgring has a total of 86 corners. This is purely for the Nordschleife and does not include the Grand Prix track.
This number comes from adding all of those covered by names to the 13 in the list above that fall between the named bends. It’s almost impossible to exactly define where one corner starts and one ends on the Ring, but this is close to definitive as I can get.
what are the most famous Nurburgring corners?
The most famous Nurburgring corners are the Karussell, Brünnchen and the Foxhole.
The Karussell and the Foxhole are known for the design of the corners themselves: the Karusell has the infamous banking and the Foxhole has the incredibly high speed compression.
Brünnchen has shot to fame in recent years because it features on thousands of YouTube highlight videos of thrills and spills from tourist driving sessions at the Ring.
what is the slowest corner on the Nurburgring?
The slowest corner on the Nurburgring is Wehrseifen. The Mercedes AMG One, the Nurburgring lap record holder, recorded a minimum speed of 72kph / 45mph at this corner on its record run.
what is the best corner to watch on the Nurburgring?
The best Nurburgring corner to watch from is Brünnchen. This is easily accessible by road and has a large car park right next to it, plus you get great views of a large section of track where drivers often push too hard in front of the crowd and get it wrong. Just check out one of the many videos of Brunnchen corner on YouTube for an example.
Another great spot to spectate from is Adenauer Forst. This is the corner where most Nurburgring newbies make a mistake and end up off track.
