AVUS Berlin – Germany's Legendary High-Speed Road Circuit Guide
Originally published November 2015. Last updated September 2026: expanded Tier B circuit guide, facts table, table of contents, internal links, FAQ schema, and editorial refresh while preserving legacy narrative, images, and video.
AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße) was a public road in Berlin used as a race track from the 1920s until 1998 — two long straights, steep banked curves, and speeds that outgrew its safety almost from the start. At its longest the course measured about 19 km; the final competitive layout was roughly 2.6 km before the last race in 1998.
AVUS matters because it hosted pre-war Grands Prix, a one-off Formula 1 German Grand Prix in 1959, and DTM farewell races beside the Berlin Wall. The famous control tower still stands as a motel while the wooden grandstand is a protected monument. Compare Germany’s surviving classics at Hockenheimring and the Norisring, or read why the German Grand Prix moved to the Nürburgring after 1927.
Contents
AVUS facts
| Location | South-west Berlin, Germany (AVUS motorway corridor) |
|---|---|
| Circuit type | Public road course (former dedicated race layout) |
| Opened | 1921 (construction began 1907) |
| Original length | About 19 km (two straights with hairpins) |
| Final race length | About 2.6 km (1990s layout) |
| Direction | Anti-clockwise on later layouts |
| Notable feature | 43-degree brick banking on the north curve (1937–1967) |
| Last competitive race | 1998 (DTM); veterans’ farewell 1999 |
| Status today | Public Autobahn section; tower motel and listed grandstand remain |
Lap record note: AVUS times depend heavily on which chicane configuration and car category ran. Compare only within the same era and layout.
Map: AVUS track layout
Track with a length of 19 km
It was probably the most unusual racing track in the world — so simple, with only two long straights and two hairpin corners at each end. The original length was 19 km, but after moving the southern turn several times the course shrank from 8.3 km to about 2.6 km.
Building AVUS started in 1907 after the Kaiserlicher Automobilclub planned a circuit for racing and industry testing. It finished 14 years later and hosted the first post-war International Automobile Exhibition with a motor race.
‘Green Hell’ was safer than AVUS
Five years later AVUS hosted the International German Grand Prix for sports cars — a good idea with a bad outcome. Safety was inadequate and four people died during practice and the race. From 1927 the German Grand Prix moved to the safer Nürburgring.
Streamlined Mercedes-Benz W25 Silver Arrow on the banked curve, 1937
Olympics, bricks, and 200 km/h averages
The last major race before the war hiatus came in 1935 as AVUS became too dangerous for cars averaging 200 km/h. The circuit still served the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games for cycling and athletics.
The north curve became a 43-degree brick banking so steep that cars missing the turn could fly off. In 1967 the banking was removed for safety and replaced with a flat hairpin.
Video: 1937 AVUS Grand Prix
Formula 2, Fangio, and Brooks’s 1959 win
After the Second World War AVUS hosted its first race in 1951 for Formula 2 and Formula 3. The track sat close to the Berlin Wall.
In 1954 a non-championship Formula 1 race brought Juan Manuel Fangio. In 1959 AVUS hosted the only Formula 1 German Grand Prix on this layout; Tony Brooks won for Ferrari.
Hans Herrmann was thrown from his BRM at the 1959 German Grand Prix at AVUS
Straight-line racing fades out
As safety rules tightened, AVUS lost championship appeal. Straight-line circuits fell from fashion in the 1980s and 1990s even after chicanes shortened the lap. Formula 3 and DTM visited, but fatal incidents continued.
Closed in 1998, monuments remain
The last competitive race was in 1998; a veterans’ event in 1999 marked the farewell.
AVUS Motel in Berlin
The round race control tower at the north end still operates as a motel and restaurant. The large wooden grandstand is protected as a historic monument.
Frequently asked questions about AVUS
What does AVUS stand for?
AVUS stands for Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße — an automobile traffic and practice road in Berlin that doubled as a race track.
How long was the AVUS race track?
The original course was about 19 km with two straights and hairpins. Layout changes shortened it to 8.3 km, then about 2.6 km before racing ended in 1998.
When did AVUS stop hosting races?
The last competitive race was in 1998 (DTM). A veterans’ farewell event ran in 1999.
Why is AVUS called the strangest track in history?
AVUS was essentially two long straights with hairpins, later a steep 43-degree brick banking, built on a public road beside Cold War Berlin — unlike any modern permanent circuit.
Did Formula 1 race at AVUS?
Yes. AVUS hosted the 1959 German Grand Prix (won by Tony Brooks). Juan Manuel Fangio also raced in a 1954 non-championship F1 event.
Why did the German Grand Prix leave AVUS for the Nurburgring?
After four fatalities at the 1926 sports-car Grand Prix, organisers moved the German Grand Prix to the safer Nürburgring from 1927.
What was the AVUS north curve banking?
Built for speed in the 1930s, the north curve was a 43-degree brick banking removed in 1967 and replaced with a flat hairpin for safety.
What remains of AVUS today?
The public road still carries traffic. The round control tower operates as a motel and restaurant, and the wooden grandstand is a protected monument.
Where was AVUS located in Berlin?
AVUS ran through south-west Berlin along what became the AVUS motorway, close to the former Berlin Wall on later layouts.
Did AVUS host the Olympics?
Yes. The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games used AVUS for cycling and athletics after car racing had become too dangerous for 200 km/h averages.
Berlin’s strangest straight
AVUS linked Weimar ambition, Nazi-era banking, Cold War geography, and DTM nostalgia — a cautionary tale next to Sachsenring and Norisring in Germany’s circuit history.
Related reading
- Nürburgring — where the German GP moved in 1927
- Norisring — Nuremberg street circuit
- Hockenheimring — former high-speed oval straights
- Red Bull Ring — modern Austrian Grand Prix venue
Photo: themotorsportarchive.com.