The House of the Five Senses is the main entrance of amusement park

Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a nature p ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was designed by

Ton van de Ven Ton van de Ven (1 January 1944 – 16 September 2015) was a Dutch industrial designer. He is best known as the creative director at the Efteling theme park. Van de Ven was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where he also studied at the Design Acade ...

and went operational in 1996, a year later than planned due to a general strike in the construction sector.

Details

The architecture is based on the Indonesian Rumah Gadang style of the

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

ethnic group.
The wooden construction has the largest reed roof (48437 square feet/ 4500 square metres) in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The five peaks of the roof symbolize the five senses, which stand for experiencing the Efteling. Besides the entrance,

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

, a souvenir shop and a toilet group are located in the building.

The story

“A long time ago, there ruled a king, but who got too old and sick to stay in power. He had five sons, who were meant to rule the country, each contributing with their special ability (one of the five senses). But they grew apart and the kingdom started falling apart. The old king’s

court jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

“Pardoes” (today’s park

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

) tried to get them together, and doing so requested an audience with each of the five sons.
To the first one he asked: “Can you hear what I’m thinking?”... –“No, only my brother can do that!... I see what you mean!!!”
To the second one he asked: “Can you see if people are honest?”…-“No, only my brother can do that!…I hear what you’re saying!!!”
Asking such questions to all the sons, he made them realise their

interdependent Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

relationship and brought them together, and the people built the House of the Five Senses, with the five peaks referring to the sons’ abilities, for them to rule together. It so happens that the park’s entrance passes through this building nowadays.”

References

Company information

{{Efteling House of the Five Senses