Särkänniemi (; 'Cape of Sandbank') is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, located in the district by the same name. The park features an

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

, a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

, Doghill Fairytale Farm, an art museum and an observation tower Näsinneula (Näsi Needle). Särkänniemi is the second most popular amusement park in

with

Linnanmäki Linnanmäki (, colloquially ''Lintsi'', ) is an amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened on 27 May 1950 and is owned by the non-profit (, ), which operates the park to raise funds for Finnish child welfare work. In 2023, the foundatio ...

in Helsinki being the most popular one. Särkänniemi has four rollercoasters: the inverted coaster Tornado, the family motorcycle launch coaster MotoGee and Hype, a launched steel Sky Rocket II coaster, and family coaster Vauhtimato ("Speedy Worm"). The half-pipe coaster called Half Pipe was recently removed due to multiple reasons. Särkänniemi is owned by the city of Tampere and attracts over 600 000 visitors annually. Särkänniemi is the biggest rival for

as the lead amusement park in Finland. Both are about the same size. The park gave up the

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums (sometimes called dolphinaria in plu ...

in 2016 and the dolphins were safely transported to

Attica Zoological Park Attica Park, officially Attica Zoological Park (AZP), is a private zoo located in the suburb of Spata, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Athens, Greece. It is the only zoo in Greece. The zoo is home to more than 1,500 animals repr ...

in Greece. The park has more than 30 rides and attractions. There are also two water rides in the park, a log flume called Tukkijoki and a river rapids called Koskiseikkailu. The roller coaster Trombi will be removed in autumn 2024. In the future, a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and spa with restaurants and water experiences are planned around the amusement park, as well as new apartments. It is also possible to travel to the area by

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

as part of the Tampere light rail network.

History

This multi-purpose park is owned by the city of Tampere and boasts a variety of rides as well as both Aquarium and Planetarium was opened in 1969, a children's zoo that opened in 1970, a 168m tall

Observation Tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

that opened in 1971, The Sara Hilden Art Museum opened in 1979, and the Dolphinarium opened in 1985. The amusement park aspect of Särkänniemi started in 1973 with the opening of Neulan Huvipuisto (Neula Amusement Park); in the beginning the park offered only a handful of children's rides. In 1975 the city of Tampere took over the operations of the fun park and integrated it into other attractions on the peninsula. The park is located on a peninsula, about a kilometre from the city centre of Tampere, that juts out into the Black Gulf. The area used to house three different breweries in the 18th century onward and in the 20th century a huge warehouse serving the log industry was built on the peninsula of Särkänniemi. These buildings were demolished in the 1960s. The park is easily accessible by bus line 2 and tramway line 3.

Rides

Operating Coasters

Defunct Coasters

Flat rides

*X – Giant Discovery Revolution rotating 360° pendulum ride that opened in 2016; height limit 1.4m. Zamperla. *High Voltage – Power Surge, high-impact thrill ride that opened in 2014; height limit is 1.3m. Zamperla. *Tyrsky – Disk'O Coaster that opened in 2009; height limit 1.2m. Zamperla. *Take Off – Breakdance spinner that opened in 2006; height limit 1.3m. Huss. *BOOM – Zamperla Z-Max drop tower that opened in 2019; height limit 1.4m. Zamperla.

Water rides

*Koskiseikkailu – this Rapids Adventure ride was opened in 1999. Intamin; a 6-passenger boat journeys a 490 meters course with a tunnel and a waterfall. *Tukkijoki – a log flume ride that opened in 1982. Reverchon, Tamperer; a 400 meter long course with 3 drops, the highest of which is 13 m tall.

Other rides

*Auto Racing – bumper cars that opened in 1986. Reverchon. *Lake Carousel – swing ride that opened in 1996. Gerstlauer. *Troika – troika spinner ride that opened in 1975; height limit 1m. Huss. *Viking Ship – swinging Viking ship that opened in 1988. Zierer. *Swing Carousel – Carousel that opened in 2018. Preston & Barbieri.

Kiddie rides

*Piggy Town's playground – play area that opened in 2012 and renew 2023. *Hopping Carrots – Zamperla jump around that opened in 2012 and renew 2023. *Candy Carousel – merry go round that opened in 1993. Bertazzon. *Coffee Cups – spinning cups for kids only. Soriani&Moser. *Convoy Truck Race – convoy trucks for kids only. Cosetto. *Crazy Bus – crazy bus ride. Zamperla. *Lady Bird – roundabout. Modern Products. *Bublebee – mini roundabout for young kids only. Modern Products. *Bat Delivery – bike ride that opened in 2008. Zamperla. *Merry Mail Adventure – on track cars that opened in 1981. Ihle. *Piggy Train – mini train for kids only that opened in 1994. Zamperla. *Airplanes – airplanes. Soriani & Moser. *Candy Boat – boat ride that opened in 2004. Zamperla. *Lighthouse – tower ride that opened in 2012. Zamperla.

Other attractions

*The Aquarium at Särkänniemi was opened in 1969. It has a total combined aquarium volume of , and is home to more than 3,000 animals representing 200 species. The lower floor of the aquarium includes a mangrove swamp habitat that is home to

monos Monos is an island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the "Bocas Islands", which lie in the '' Bocas del Dragón'' (''Dragons' Mouth'') between Trinidad and Venezuela. It is so named as the island was once home to noisy red h ...

, archer fish,

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of fresh water, freshwater Anabantiformes, anabantiform fish that comprise the family (biology), family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeas ...

fish, rainbow sharks and blowfish. *Doghill Fairytale Farm is petting zoo that opened in 2013. *Näsinneula Observation Tower that opened in 1971 is 168 meters tall and it has a restaurant on the top floor. *Piggy Town is Pouta Pig's hometown that opened in 2023. *Sara Hilden Art Museum opened in 1979 and has on display works from mostly contemporary Finnish artists. *Creepy Carnival is a horror-themed festival held annually in autumn.Creepy Carnival
– Särkänniemi (in English)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkanniemi Amusement parks in Finland Buildings and structures in Tampere Aquaria in Finland Tourist attractions in Tampere 1975 establishments in Finland Parks and attractions with Angry Birds exhibits Amusement parks opened in 1975