Spreepark theme park is an abandoned amusement park located in Berlin, Germany. Spreepark was built on a large concreted area and was packed with rides, games, and other stalls. The green area featured many restaurants and more solid structures. The biggest attraction was the 45 meter high Ferris wheel with 36 gondolas.
Since its closure in 2002, it decayed quickly and became one of Berlin’s most famous abandoned places. Below you may find 50 stunning photos from inside abandoned theme park in southeastern Berlin.
History of Spreepark Theme Park
Spreepark was originally constructed by the socialist government of East Germany in 1969 as Kulturpark Plänterwald, covering an area of 29.5 hectares. The area is situated in the north of the Plänterwald, next to the river Spree. It was the only permanent theme park in the GDR and a popular holiday destination, drawing over 1.5 million visitors a year.
For the GDR’s 40th anniversary in 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the giant wheel was refurbished and enlarged. Once the Berlin wall fell in 1989, the park continued under privatisation, then known as the VEB Kulturpark Berlin, under the leadership of new manager Norbert Witte. He added a water feature around the Ferris wheel, and build roller coasters and water rides. Unfortunately, this was not enough. As the years went on, less and less people came to visit the park. In 2001, he had to register insolvency.
Spreepark was shut down to the public in 2002, and Witte was tried on smuggling charges two years later. Another reaason why Spreepark was abandoned was a combination of lack of parking and rising prices.
In 2014, a major fire broke out and destroyed a large portion of the site. In 2016 the site was taken over by the company Grün Berlin GmbH, owned by the City of Berlin, with the objective of transforming the site into a location for arts and culture. The Ferris wheel was dismantled in 2021 and the parts kept for potential re-use. The remains of other attractions can still be found on-site.
After the park was closed, the site has remained unused to this day. Fallen dinosaurs lie broken in the forest, derelict cars sit silently on tracks leading nowhere, and the ferris wheel spins with the wind, slowly and eerily in the distance.
Ferris wheel was the main attraction in Spreepark Theme Park. According to locals the roller coaster named Spreeblitz was the most popular rides in the park. Despite the years, parts of the abandoned attractions are easily recognisable: “Cinema 2000,” the facade of the English village, the cup carousel, and the artificial rock of the “Grand Canyon” wild water ride.
There are plans to to transform the old rides of Spreepark and develop area into a new public park. Construction project is supposed to be finished until 2026. The concept for a reopened park is to present decaying buildings as contemporary archeological ruins.
The only thing that is certain at the moment is that the Ferris wheel will remain the Spreepark landmark. The abandoned amusement park Spreepark is worth visiting if you stay in Berlin. Theme park in Berlin is currently being revitalized and will reopen in waves to the public as a recreation area. We prepared 50 stunning photos from abandoned Spreepark, which you may find below.
