Luna Park in the

Halensee Halensee () is a ''locality'' (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Halensee was established as a villa and tenement settlement in about 1880, in the suburb of Wilmersdorf, which became part of Gre ...

area of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

was 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 ...

in operation from 1909 to 1933. At that time, it was

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's largest. The park was closed for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but reopened after

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. Luna Park closed for the last time in October 1933.Spiegel einestages
Article and photos of Luna Park from Spiegel Online

History

Origin

Around 1900 the businessman Saeger operated the ''Wirtshaus'' (guest house) ''am Halensee'' near the popular outdoor swimming pool on the east shore of

Lake. At that time, the shopping district

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially , ; ) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the of Berlin and is lined with s ...

was a forest path where on Sundays families took carriages from the nearby Grunewald train station (now Halensee) and drove in the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

forest. Here rest breaks were made and there was a motto: "Families can make coffee here." On the grounds of the inn there was already a fairground with carousel, shooting dice and stalls, and a water slide, where a similar pontoon-like barge rolled down the mountain into the lake.

Opening and heyday

On 14 May 1909 the gourmet August Aschinger together with the former chef at the

Kempinski Kempinski Hotels S.A., commonly known as Kempinski, is a luxury hotel management company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in Berlin in 1897 as the ''Hotelbetriebs-Aktiengesellschaft'', the group currently operates 77 five-star hote ...

Hotel, Bernd Hoffmann, opened the terraces at Halensee, which were renamed that year Luna Park. It was a modern fairy-tale palace, with magnificent towers and a large staircase down to the lake. The park attractions included all the typical fairground attractions of the time, like a water slide that ended in the lake. It had as a special feature a water chute, which the Berliners called the "tart aquarium" because the ladies in the newest bathing attire presented themselves to the sitting gentlemen on the rim. Other attractions were a loose staircase (Shimmy-Treppe) with a fan at the end that hoisted the skirts of the ladies, as well as a mountain train or a hippodrome. Following the example of

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, an amusement park was established, offering sensations, adventures, and dangers, as well as the illusion of the big wide world and the experience of the seemingly limitless possibilities of technology. Luna Park offered anthropological human shows ("Völkerschauen"); an early

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

; a large, nightly fireworks display; theater, revues, jazz, and cabaret; dance tournaments, and boxing matches. In 1926 the young

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...

won his first title fight here. The restaurants had a capacity of 16,000 seats. There was a Bavarian-themed village where beer flowed in streams and the Luna Palace for more the lofty clientele. In its early years, the park counted 50,000 visitors a day and on weekends substantially more. As early as 1910, the millionth visitor was received.

Decline

During

the first World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in the following period of

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

Germany, visitor numbers declined and the physical plant was in desolate condition. On May 9, 1929, the amusement park reopened after a major renovation. It succeeded; however, it did not attain its former grandeur.

Closure

In October 1933 the amusement park had to permanently close, and in 1934 the entire complex was demolished. The puppeteer Alfredo Bannenberg, being chased by Nazis, used the closed facility as a hideout for a short time. The Nazis considered the park to be an eyesore. Soon it was found to be in the path of the required Halenseestraße, which was opened for the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

to create a fast link between the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

, the

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend (Berlin), Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 20 ...

, the Berliner Funkturm, and southern venues.

References

;Notes * Claudia Puttkammer and Sacha Szabo: Gruß aus dem Luna-Park. Eine Archäologie des Vergnügens. Freizeit- und Vergnügungsparks Anfang des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. WVB, Berlin, 2007, .

Gallery

Lunapark plan 1911.tif, Lunapark plan 1911 File:Lunaparkshimmy treppe.jpg, Lunapark, Shimmy-Treppe, 1904 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P015302, Berlin, Wellenbad im Lunapark.jpg Bundesarchiv Bild 102-11818, Berlin, Luna-Park, Rekort im Mastsitzen.jpg

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Luna-Park Berlin
Spiegel einestages
Article and photos of Luna Park from Spiegel Online

Personal website with additional information and pictures Amusement parks in Germany Defunct amusement parks in Germany Event venues established in 1909 1933 disestablishments in Germany 1909 establishments in Germany Amusement parks opened in 1909 Amusement parks closed in 1933