A once thriving theme park, which attracted millions of visitors in its heyday, is now a ghost town – but not only that the abandoned amusement park also has a dark secret.
An abandoned theme park in East Berlin – popular with visitors from all over the world in the 1990s – now stands eerily empty and is hiding a dark secret.
First opening in 1969 in Berlin, Spreepark grew in popularity in the 1990s welcoming a total of 1.5 million visitors each year. Yet, the East German theme park’s popularity didn’t last with losing visitors over the following years before closing In 2001.
But its story didn’t end there and what happened next is often referred to as the ‘scandal of Spreepark’.
The park’s owner, Norbert Witte, and his family moved to Peru and authorities permitted them to ship six attractions (Fliegender Teppich, Butterfly, Spider, Baby-Flug, Wild River, and Jet Star), for repair in 20 shipping containers.
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But Norbert and his son Marcel had other plans and were caught attempting to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine back to Germany in the masts of the “Flying Carpet” ride.
Norbert Witte was sentenced to eight years in prison for drug smuggling, while his son Marcel, who was also involved, was sentenced to 20 years in Peru.
In its heyday the park catered to visitors from both sections of the Berlin Wall, initially charging a fee per ride.
After a change in management and guests paying a general admission fee to enter the park, Spreepark took on a more western theme including an English village, western town, new rollercoasters and a collection of other games and activities.
However, the park began to reportedly struggle with ageing rides and debts – with the Guardian reporting Spreepark’s books revealed debts of up to €15million (£12.4m) when the park filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
To try to rectify this situation, admission prices were increased for guests, but the dismal parking options and rising costs kept many visitors away.
Since 2002, the park has not opened for visitors and in August that same year it was declared insolvent. Reports showed it had debts of €11,000,000, and the park fell into disrepair.
In 2011, a scene for the action film Hanna was filmed at the park, as well as the music video for the single “Run Dry” by German band Sizarr. After 2011, guided tours were offered to the public at restricted times but in March 2014 guided tours ended.
On the evening of 10 August 2014, major parts of the park were destroyed in a fire but The Ferris wheel remained. That was dismantled in 2021 and the parts kept for potential re-use and some remains of other attractions are still on the site.
Years after its closure, the city of Berlin purchased Spreepark and began plans for its restoration. The site is now undergoing a transformation into an art and culture park, with some original elements preserved.
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