From Atzendorf to Frankenstein to Pups: The Humor in Germany's Place Names

Who doesn't know it? You are leisurely driving by car, train, or bus through Germany and catch a glimpse of a funny place sign that makes you laugh or dream. From Tussenhausen in Bavaria to Lederhose in Thuringia to California in Schleswig-Holstein, there are many place names that simply stick in your mind.

As a little laughter is always good, Travelcircus has searched for the funniest and most curious place names in Germany and discovered a chuckle or two.

Let someone say that Germans are not funny. When it comes to place names or certain districts, Germany clearly shows that we do indeed have a sense of humor.

Places with funny, nasty or ambiguous names can be found throughout the Federal Republic. Anyone could even go on a small world trip within Germany and visit places like Brazil, California, or America right in the heart of Germany.

Since there are seemingly thousands of such place names, it is of course impossible to find and appreciate every single one. However, we have put together a colorful mix and tried to categorize the place names or districts.

The selected places, however, are not a ranking; if it were up to our editorial team, our favorites would be: Pumpernudl, Atzendorf, Killer, and Ursulapoppenricht.

By the way, it's not uncommon for particularly funny and desirable place signs to be simply taken down and stolen - much to the annoyance of the respective places. They have to replace the signs at their own expense. A new place sign costs about €400 plus installation costs. According to the ADAC (German Automobile Club), approximately 1.6 million traffic and place signs have to be replaced each year.

A place sign from a favorite place or a funny place name is indeed a humorous souvenir, but removing and taking the signs is a criminal offense, can be reported, and may result in a fine or even imprisonment of up to 5 years.

So, anyone who wants a place sign for home should rather go to their favorite décor store and buy a small one there.

If wanderlust hits you again, you don't necessarily have to book a plane ticket and jet across the globe. A short trip to England, Brazil, or California can be done with just the Schleswig-Holstein Ticket from the train. Especially Brazil and California are popular destinations for sun-seekers from all over Germany, which is also due to their truly beautiful beaches.

How about a short trip to America or Egypt? Then off to Lower Saxony! Vacationers won't find pyramids and camels there, but it's good enough for a funny Instagram post.

In Brandenburg, wanderlust-stricken people could also take a detour to Philadelphia or Waterloo, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to Troy, or in Saxony-Anhalt to Krakow. If you want to see the whole world, you can do so in Schleswig-Holstein, where both the community of Welt and the small town of Weitewelt are located.

Have you ever wondered if hell really exists and if so, where it actually is? The answer is finally here: Hell is located in Bavaria. It belongs to the city of Naila and is not scary or intimidating at all. By the way, just 9.3 km away is also the small wilderness Erzengel.

Across Germany, there are various other places with names referencing heaven, hell, or generally creepy-sounding places. In the south, you can find Galgen and Killer, Frankenstein is a place in Rhineland-Palatinate, and Gabe Gottes is also only about 50 km from Hell. We particularly like the approximately 130 m long street Fegefeuer in Lübeck in this context.

Somewhat more heavenly sounding are Himmelpfort and Himmelpforten. The Brandenburg Himmelpfort is even genuinely famous. The well-known Christmas post office is located there, where big and small Christmas fans can send their letters directly to Santa Claus. Alternatively, wish lists can also be sent to the Christ Child in Himmelstadt or the Nikolaus in Nikolausdorf.

This category includes three of our own favorites: Ursulapoppenricht, Pumpernudl, and Atzendorf. When you think of the place Pumpernudl, you immediately picture a noodle with a big bicep, right?

Classics when it comes to funny place names include the Thuringian Lederhose, the Hessian Linsengericht, and the famous Sommerloch in Rhineland-Palatinate. There are also some of our chuckling places hidden in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Kukuk and Schabernack.

Place names that even include the word 'funny' are always amusing, such as Witzigmänn in Baden-Württemberg, Witzwort in Schleswig-Holstein, or Ohnewitz in Brandenburg.

Not all place names are necessarily nice. Some are even quite nasty or even include insults that, as a local, one should take with a certain portion of humor.

For example, a lake in Lower Saxony is called Dümmer, a small town in Rhineland-Palatinate is Oberbillig, Lieblos is located in Hesse, and the quaint Oberhäslich is in Saxony. Even though hässlich is spelled with a double S, the place in Saxony is often jokingly pronounced with a sharp S.

Southern Germany also has some places with names that are nasty and somehow funny at the same time: Deppenhausen, Tuntenhausen, or Tussenhausen.

There are, however, places that did not want to keep their somewhat nasty names forever and have renamed themselves. From Irrendorf to Irndorf and from Blödesheim to Hochborn.

With places like Pumpernudl or Lederhose, it's funny to visualize the words. However, there are also places where it would be better not to visualize them directly. Some of these places sound disgusting, while others belong in the category of 'toilet romance'.

For example, Ekel and Kothausen in North Rhine-Westphalia or Eiterberg, Pups, and Oberanschi(e)ssing in Bavaria. Particularly charming are also Unter- and Oberkaka, as well as Poritz in Saxony-Anhalt.

With Ekelsdorf, Schleswig-Holstein also has a place where hopefully the name is not a description. Similarly (un-)pleasant are the place names Jucken, Krätze, Pissen, and Kotzen.

Animals are simply adorable. Many of them make people smile, whether it's due to their cute appearance, their behavior, or the things they sometimes do. So it's not really surprising that there are also quite a few places in Germany named after animals.

In addition to some rather common place names like Hase (Hare), Hering (Herring), or Hahn (Rooster), there are also a few funny place names with animal references. How about Affendorf in Lower Saxony, Hundeluft in Saxony-Anhalt, or Katzenloch in Rhineland-Palatinate?

Some of the animal places that we at Travelcircus find particularly funny include Katzenelnbogen (Rhineland-Palatinate), Köttel (Bavaria), Schneckenhausen (Rhineland-Palatinate), Ochsenhausen (Baden-Württemberg), and Ochsenschenkel (Bavaria).

What would a list of the funniest and most curious place names be without some of the clearly double-entendre places in the Federal Republic? These place names are not only funny but also a little bit blush-inducing.

Admittedly, some of them are only funny if you engage with the ambiguity of these words. Sometimes it's just fun to see the world a bit more humorously, right? Feucht, Titisee, Geilenkirchen, Eichelhardt or Leck are definitely among such names.

Others, however, can hardly be seen as anything other than risqué: Fickmühlen, Wixhausen, Petting, Busendorf, or Blasdorf. Places that include the word 'Poppen' regularly cause a giggle or two as well. Poppendorf, Poppenhausen, and Poppenbüttel are just too 'spicy', right?