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Europa-Park is a
theme 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
Rust, Baden-Württemberg Rust (; ) is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is also the home of the famous theme park Europa-Park. The Renaissance era Balthasar Castle is now part of the theme park. The protected floodplain for ...
, Germany. Covering a total area of 95
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s, twenty themed areas offer around a hundred attractions, including shows and fourteen
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
s. The park also includes six hotels, a camping site, a tepee village, a cinema and a conference center. According to the AECOM Theme Index 2020, Europa-Park is ranked 19th out of the 25 most visited theme parks in the world and is the third most visited theme park in Europe after
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...
and
Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient European myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a ...
, as well as the most visited seasonal theme park in the world. The park received 5.4 million visitors in 2022. Alongside Rulantica, the resort had over six million visitors. Also that year, the
Golden Ticket Award ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
jury of the US magazine ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
'' voted Europa-Park the "best theme park in the world" for the eighth year in a row.


History


Background and founding

In 1958, Franz Mack (1921–2010) took over the family firm, ''Mack GmbH & Co. KG'' (now ''
Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...
''), together with his brothers. Along with his son Roland (born 1949), he visited the US in 1972 and was inspired to open a theme park in Germany as an exhibition site for his company's built amusement rides, including flat rides, dark rides, log flumes, tow boat rides and roller coasters. At first, the park was planned to be located in
Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...
. It was named "Europa-Park" after Breisach's nearby ''Europaweiher'', a small artificial lake which commemorates a historical pilot poll held in Breisach in 1950, in which 95.6% of voters were in favor of
European unification Pan-European identity is the sense of personal identification with Europe, in a cultural or political sense. The concept is discussed in the context of European integration, historically in connection with hypothetical proposals, but since th ...
. The Breisach site was deemed unsuitable because of flooding hazard, and the project moved some further north, where the Macks bought the park of the ''Balthasar'' castle in Rust. An adjacent fairy-tale park was acquired as an additional site. The park opened on 12 July 1975 with an area of 16 hectares. Initially, the park was managed by Franz Mack. Later his sons Roland and Jürgen joined the management. It counted 250,000 visitors in the first year; 700,000 in the second; and passed the million mark in 1978.


Themed areas and growth (1980s–2012)

In 1982, the first country-themed section opened featuring ''Italy''. Like most of the original themed areas at Europa-Park, it was designed by Ulrich Damrau. Later, the ''Alpenexpress "Enzian"'' and ''Schweizer Bobbahn'' rides opened in 1984 and 1985, respectively. The ''European'' theme was pursued further with the opening of the sections ''Holland'' (1984), ''England'' (1988), ''France'' (1990), ''Scandinavia'' (1992), ''Spain'' (1994) and the ''German Alley'' (1996). In 1991, for the first time the park counted over 2 million visitors. With ''El Andaluz'' in 1995, the first hotel in a German theme park was opened. An increase in the length of stay resulting from growing number of attractions in the park led to an increase in the demand for overnight accommodation. In its first year, the hotel was booked to 87% of its capacity. In 1999, it was followed by the construction of the hotel ''Castillo Alcazar''. By 2001, the number of visitors had risen to 3.1 million. The same year, Europa-Park was the first theme park in Germany operating in winter as well, with 180,000 visitors in that season. In order to strengthen its own brand and initiate the park's business activities in digital formats, Michael Mack founded ''MackMedia'' in 2002. The company shoots image and advertising films, produces music videos, games and special films. After a continuous increase of visitors the following years, in 2011, the park counted 4.5 million visitors, and by 2012 the park encompassed an area of , featuring eleven roller-coasters, five themed hotels with a turnover of close to
EUR The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 10 ...
300 million and more than 3,000 employees.


Further expansion and fire incident (2012–2018)

In 2012, the
water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...
project
Rulantica Rulantica is a water park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg. The name sets the theme of a fictional Norwegian Sea island. The park is operated by Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG, and owned by the Michael Mack, Mack family. It was opened to the public in ...
was initiated. Two years later, the Rulantica brand was registered by Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG. In 2017, Europa-Park opened the attraction ''Voletarium,'' the biggest
flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
motion simulator A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provid ...
theater in Europe. The
flying theater A flying theater is a Theme park, themed entertainment technology and adjacent show style. It is a type of simulator ride which consists of one or several motion systems and a large screen. This type of attraction is also known as a panoramic flyin ...
features a queue line with multiple pre-show elements culminating in the main ride section: a film showcasing European landmarks which lasts for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. On 26 May 2018, a fire broke out in a building complex near to the park's ''Holland'' and ''Scandinavia'' areas. Despite the efforts of the fire department, the building was destroyed, along with parts of the neighboring Scandinavia section. According to the operators, the incident resulted in tens of millions of Euros in property damage. No visitors or employees were injured, but seven firefighters suffered minor injuries during firefighting operations. With the exception of a few hot spots, the fire was mostly extinguished and the park reopened the very next morning. Only the destroyed ''Pirates of Batavia'' ride, a restaurant, a theatre, a few shops, the fjørd ride, as well as the neighboring attraction ''Koffiekopjes'', remained closed for refurbishment. On 6 June 2018, the
Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...
police stated that the fire broke out due to a technical failure in the fjørd water ride. The Scandinavian village area and ''Pirates'' ''Batavia'' ride were both rebuilt based on their original designs with certain additions and modernizations, and reopened in July 2020. Further, in 2019 the new dark ride ''Snorri Tours'' was established in this area, which has taken the water world of ''Rulantica'' and its mascot ''Snorri'' as its theme. Snorri Tours was the prototype of a media dark ride by ''Tacumeon Rides'', a newly founded sister company of Mack Rides that specializes in marketing media-based attractions.


Opening of Rulantica and COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2021)

After several years of construction, Europa-Park's water park ''Rulantica'' was completed in October 2019, and was opened on 28 November 2019. Until then, the total cost was estimated at EUR 180 million. After initial speculations, the park is located near the Europa-Park, but operates separately from the latter. Rulantica contains the actual water park with more than 30 slides and attractions, the ''Krønasår'' hotel, the ''Hyggedal'' sauna and relax area, as well as
car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...
s. The park includes 13 themed areas with a total square footage of of which more than are indoors. In 2019, before the COVID-19-pandemic, the Europa-Park had over 5.7 million people visiting. Due to the pandemic the park had to shut down operations temporarily. As a result, the park registered significant declines in visitors in 2020 and 2021. On average, in 2020 and 2021, around 2.75 million visitors were counted. In addition, the pandemic strained the staff situation. As a result, the park had to cap the number of daily visitors temporarily in 2022.


Recent development (2022 onwards)

In 2017, Europa-Park acknowledged allegations of racial and cultural insensitivities; some attractions in the ''Adventure Land'' featured potentially offensive portrayals of African people as "tribal" (with white characters featured as colonial rulers and safari hunters). However, no major changes were made to the attraction until 2021, only minor changes such as changing the name of the ''Colonial Food Station'' to ''Adventure Food Station''. The reason given for the delay was the Covid pandemic. In January 2022, it was announced that the ''Jungle Rafts'' ride would be closed until the start of the 2023 season, to be completely renovated and rethemed as a new part of the ''Austria'' area. In March 2022, the Jungle Rafts ride reopened under the new name ''Josefina’s Magical Imperial Journey'' (now themed to the adjacent Austrian-themed area), with all references to
colonial Africa The colonial history of Africa spans from colonial period until the postcolonial period in the history of Africa. Southern Africa By the 1850s, British and German missionaries and traders had penetrated present-day Namibia. The Herero and N ...
removed. The final reconstruction will take place in several phases in the next years. In 2022, the resort, including Rulantica, surpassed the threshold of 6 million visitors for the first time. In November of the same year, the new restaurant experience ''Eatrenalin'' opened. Further, construction work began on the new ''Croatia'' themed area. Its main attraction, Voltron Nevera, was announced be a further development of the ''Big Dipper'' ride model from ''Mack Rides'', dubbed a "Stryker Coaster" - a roller coaster that allows direction changes in a tight radius - set to be arranged around a replica of the
Wardenclyffe Tower Wardenclyffe Tower (1901–1917), also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901–1902, located in the village of Shoreham, New York. Tesla inte ...
. Initially scheduled to open in 2023, it was postponed to 2024 due to supply difficulties. On 19 June 2023, a fire broke out in a control room. It was believed to be caused by corroded wiring. The fire caused the park to be evacuated and drew 450 firefighters and emergency personnel to the scene. The blaze was brought under control with only two firefighters lightly injured, and the park reopened the next day. On 26 April 2024, Voltron Nevera opened to the public. This roller coaster is located in the Croatian area, which is the 17th themed zone of the park.


Operator

Europa-Park is operated by ''Europa-Park GmbH & Co Mack KG''. The Mack family has been producing roller coasters and attractions for eight generations since 1880. Managing directors of the park are
Roland Mack Roland Mack (born 12 October 1949) is a German entrepreneur. Mack grew up as a son of the entrepreneur Franz Mack, in Waldkirch. In 1975, he became the founder of Europa-Park in Germany. Personal life Mack was born in Freiburg. He married M ...
, his brother Jürgen Mack and Roland Mack's sons Thomas Mack and Michael Mack. In the fiscal year 2020/2021, the operating company generated revenues of EUR 149.665 million and employed around 4'500 people (2022). Further, with the subsidiary ''Mack Media & Brands GmbH & Co KG'' Europa-Park ventures beyond the theme park business and produces
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
s,
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s and operates a
music label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...
.


Attendance


Infrastructure

The park is divided into 20 thematic areas, 17 of which are European countries/regions and are designed to be authentically featuring the respective region (2023). They are intended to give visitors the feeling of being able to discover several European countries within one day. The first themed area was ''Italy'' in 1982. The
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
mountain village of
Grimentz Grimentz is a village in the district of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. An independent municipality before, it merged on 1 January 2009 with neighboring Ayer, Chandolin, Saint Jean, Saint-Luc and Vissoie to form the municipality of An ...
served as the structural model for area ''Switzerland''. ''Chocoland'' was a themed area with no direct connection to the country. In 2010 it was abandoned and the attractions added to the ''English'' area. Other themed areas with no connection to a country are ''Adventure Land'' (1978), ''Grimm's Fairytale Forest'' (redesigned in 2012) and ''Kingdom of the Minimoys'' (2014).


Attractions

The theme park offers a mixture of rides, themed areas and parks. One of the main attractions is the roller coaster
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
, which was planned by the Swiss engineering office
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
and constructed in cooperation with
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
. The roller coaster
Euro-Mir Euro-Mir is a space-themed spinning roller coaster located at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, Rust, Germany. Unlike most spinning coasters, however, the cars do not spin freely, but are rotated by motors at set points during the ride. It was desig ...
has rotatable gondolas, so the ride is temporarily backwards. The ride in Eurosat CanCan Coaster takes place in a big sphere which is designed with special effects that create the illusion of a night flight over
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
; it was inspired by the style of
Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...
. Euro-Mir and Eurosat are among the few roller coasters in the world that have a drum lift to move the coaster cars upwards. The ascent in a drum lift runs on spirally laid rails, in the middle of which there is a rotating body. At the bottom of the ride, the rotating body connects itself with a gripper arm to the coaster car, transports it upwards, and disconnects again. Another ride is called ''Poseidon'', a water roller coaster. The Blue Fire Megacoaster is the first launched roller coaster in the Europa-Park, including a linear motor start and rollover elements, namely one looping, two corkscrews and one heartline roll. This roller coaster accelerates from 0 to in 2.5 seconds, reaches a maximum velocity of , is high and long. In 2012, the first wooden rollercoaster Wodan - Timburcoaster opened. A special feature of this roller coaster is that it crosses paths with the Blue Fire Megacoaster and the Atlantic Supersplash water coaster.


Roller coasters


Other attractions

The range of rides is supplemented by several water rides,
carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
s, and themed rides. The latter are rides with a boat in a water channel or a wagon on a track, which transport the visitors into strange worlds and sceneries with the help of computer-controlled animated puppets (so-called ''animatronics'') or media based content. In detail, the park offers:


Business operations and events


Events

Europa-Park hosts dozens of events throughout the summer season and several events during the winter season. Midsommar event: During this event, the park organizes activities to celebrate the summer solstice, which take place around the lake of the Nordic-themed water world ''Rulantica'' and the hotel ''Krønasår''. Euro Dance Festival: Since 2008, between February and March, the Euro Dance Festival takes place for several days. Participants attend a combination of dancing classes and shows and a trade fair caters for the needs of both beginners and professionals, including dance instructors and choreographers. Ladies Only Festival: Since 2014 the ''Ladies Only Festival'' takes place on one weekend between the months of January and March, when the park is closed for a winter break. On this occasion, the festival connects elements of fitness, dance, health, beauty and wellness. Every year, around 1,400 participants from German-speaking countries attend more than 150 workshops. Miss Germany Pageant: Since 2002, the official election of
Miss Germany Miss Germany is a national beauty pageant in Germany. The contest was held for the first time in 1927. Since 2020 it is used to honour women with special achievements. History In the past there were several organisations which claimed the tit ...
has taken place every spring in the Europa-Park Dome. Dinner Theater: The Europa-Park offers a variety of dinner events on several nights of the year after the amusement park closes. For example, the Dinner Show, the Baden Medieval Banquet as well as the Dinner & Movie. Science Days: Every year the Europa-Park hosts the Science Days. The Science Days are mainly aimed at schoolchildren and teachers, but also at anyone between the ages of 9 and 99 who is interested in discovering the world of
STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
. CloudFest: Formerly known as WebHostingDays, CloudFest is an annual conference in March about
cloud computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...
aimed at commercial organizations. CloudFest 2022 had 150 exhibitors, 250 speakers, and was attended by 7,200 visitors.


Halloween

Europa-Park regularly hosts events on special occasions. Since 1998, especially Halloween has been celebrated, with the Halloween season lasting all October. In the last week of the season, the park organizes a
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
festival, with fireworks every evening and a special Halloween show program. Specials are the daily Halloween parade with over several dozen artists at noon and the evening parade of night ghosts and goblins. Numerous attractions, shows, and food and beverage facilities adopt a Halloween theme as well. In the 2014 season, Europa-Park premiered their independently produced Halloween musical, ''Spook Me!.'' The show was performed in the ''Teatro baroque'' theatre, several times during the Halloween celebrations between 2014 and 2017. From 2007 onwards, the park together with
Marc Terenzi Marc Eric Terenzi (born June 27, 1978) is an American pop singer and reality show participant. He was a member of the boy band Natural and was married to German pop/soul singer Sarah Connor from 2005 to 2008. They have a son named Tyler and a ...
hosted the ''Horror Nights'' for the first time. The project started with the ''Hell's Inn'' ''hotel''. The horror house stood in the middle of Europa-Park's French themed area next to the Magic Cinema 4D. At the time, 60 monsters were roaming the hotel and the streets of the area. The Horror Nights have been replaced by the ''Traumatica - Festival of Fear''. It takes place in the evenings, partly in the Greek-themed area and partly outside of the theme park's territory. Visitors are taken into a post-apocalyptic world in which five different groups fight for dominance. The group members are played by live actors and are set up in haunted houses with special effects as their main quarters, which can be attended by visitors. The show includes 5 horror mazes with over 200 performers. Whereas in 2007, under of film blood were used, today it is over . Also a free show was added over the years which is shown twice every evening; since 2022 it includes ''The Traumatica Circus: Dystopia'', and the ''Vampire's Club''. In 2022, ''Traumatica'' received a ''Scare Award'' for the best European event from the Dutch Scare Network for the second time. Located in the Greek themed area in 2006 and from 2007 to 2011 in the Scandinavian themed area, in the show ''Tortuga - Forgotten Pirates,'' live scare actors awaited visitors in dark corridors. The show was replaced by ''The Villa''. Designed as a Victorian dream house from the 19th century, the creepy maze in the Greek themed area awaited visitors with special effects in addition to numerous live scares. Every other year from 2011 through 2016, the park's festival grounds were home to the Halloween show ''Mysteria'', offering live music, artistic performances, pyrotechnics, and lighting effects. During off years, 30-minute concerts by the Swiss
DJ BoBo Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as severa ...
took the place of the show. Starting in 2011, the show was set in a ghostly castle with the title ''Mysteria: Castillo Mystico''. In 2017, the show was replaced by the fountain and fire show ''Hellfire Fountains'', offered multiple times every evening in the last week of the season.


Other Shows

Every day there are also numerous shows with more than 300 international artists. Prominent shows take place in the revolving theatre multimedia show. Once introduced as "Das lila Geheimnis" (translated: ''The Purple Secret'') about the creation of
Milka Milka is a Swiss brand of chocolate confectionery. Originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Chocolat Suchard, Suchard, it has been produced in Lörrach, Germany, from 1901. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, ...
chocolate, the attraction later showed "Wunder dieser Welt" (translated: Wonder of this World) and after that the show "Zeitreise" (translated: ''Time travel''), which presented Europa-Park's past. In 2010, for the theme park's 35th anniversary, the revolving theatre was redesigned as the ''Historama'' with insights into the creation of Europa-Park. This theme was maintained until 2017, before the revolving theatre became part of the ''Journey to Rulantica'' as part of an exhibition on the new Europa-Park water park. In 2022, plans wer revealed to replace the current revolving theatre by a new type of ''Gameplay Theatre'' from the manufacturer
Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...
. In 2018 and 2019, ''Rulantica - The Musical'' was shown in the ''Teatro baroque'' theatre, located in the Italian themed area, where, previously, the Halloween musical ''Spook Me!'' took place. Both musicals were composed by Hendrik Schwarzer; the ensemble included Ornella De Santis, who played the female lead in each case. Since 1999, the annual dinner show "Cirque d'Europe", which changes theme every year, takes place here in winter as well. In 2020,
Peter Valance Peter Valance (born June 4, 1980 in Riedlingen) is a German illusionist. Career He was the youngest winner of all times of the Merlin Award. This award, which is the highest honor in the international magic community, was also given to David C ...
presented his show ''It's Magic!'' in the theater''.'' Opened in 2000, the ''Globe Theater'' in Europa-Park's English themed area is a largely accurate smaller replica of the famous London
Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...
of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
´s time. In the Globe Theatre in the English themed area, amongst others, the show ''Times Three - the Acrobatic Show'' attracts visitors during the summer season. In addition, other productions are hosted in the ''Spanish Arena'', like medieval knight games; and in the ice stadium, like ''Paddington on Ice''. In 2022, the park presented the show ''ACE – The Adventure Begins'' in the ice stadium. Since 2008, the park collaborated with
DJ Bobo Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as severa ...
on different occasions.


Winter events

In 2001, Europa-Park opened for its first winter season. During the winter season, the rides at Europa-Park are in operation as usual. In addition to the rides, the focus is on the shows. In winter, the park opens an ice rink, a
skibob Skibobbing (also called skibiking or snowbiking) is a winter sport involving a bicycle-type frame attached to skis instead of wheels and sometimes a set of foot skis. The use of foot skis is what defines "skibobbing". Although skibobs are ofte ...
track, the Big Wheel Bellevue and adds festive decor. The park is also home to an annual Christmas market. Since 2002, the park has been hosting an annual Weihnachtsmann-Treffen (''translated: Santa Claus Convention''). During winter, most outdoor and/or water rides are closed. The circus revue is the flagship of the theme park's winter season. It includes professional productions on the ground and in the air. In keeping with the cold season, there is an ice show as well, with figure skaters performing acrobatics and choreographies.''''


4D cinema

The park's 4D cinema screens different 15-minute short films, the latest being ''Happy Family Next Level'' (2022). In the evenings after the park closes, current cinema films are shown, often complemented by the additional 4D effects.


The Park’s TV production

Channels, such as BR,
Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...
, SWR,
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
,
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
and
Prosieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
, produce shows in the park. Each year since the summer of 1995, SWR has been airing its show called
Immer wieder sonntags ''Immer wieder Sonntags'' (''Again on Sundays'') is a German television entertainment show which is broadcast live every Sunday in the summer months from Europa Park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, Rust, Southwest Germany. The series was first aired ...
, which has been hosted by Stefan Mross since 2005. The production was moved to the nearby water park Rulantica in 2022.


Accommodation


Europa-Park Resort

The six hotels and the Europa-Park ''Camp Resort'' are combined in the so-called ''Europa-Park Hotel-Resort''. Hotel operations are taking on an increasingly important role in park operations. With its hotels and an expansion of the offers, the park has developed into a tourist destination for visitors who stay for several days. It is no longer - like other parks - solely dependent on day visitors and the weather or on individual target groups. Further, Europa-Park is also home to the restaurant ''Ammolite - The Lighthouse''. Under Peter Hagen-Wiest, it has been awarded two Michelin stars.


Hotels

Source: * Hotel Colosseo (four star superior), Italian themed * Hotel Santa Isabel (four star superior), themed around a Portuguese Monastery * Hotel El Andaluz (four stars), themed as a Spanish Villa * Hotel Castillo Alcazar (four stars), themed as a Spanish castle * Hotel Bell Rock (four star superior), themed around New England and features a lighthouse * Hotel Krønasår (four star superior), themed as a natural history museum that shows unique and historical objects collected by the ''Adventure Club of Europe'' File:ENTRANCE EL ANDALUZ.jpg, El Andaluz File:ENTRANCE AL CANZAR.jpg, Alcazar File:Colosseo.jpg, Colosseo


Europa-Park Camp-Resort

The ''Europa-Park Camp-Resort'' consists of a tipi village and caravanning. In the tipi village, there are tipi tents, log cabins and covered wagons as overnight accommodation. They are arranged in a small western village around a lake, where the "Silverlake Saloon" restaurant is located. At Europa-Park Caravanning, visitors have 200 pitches for caravans, motorhomes and tents at their disposal.


Confertainment Center

In addition to numerous smaller halls in the hotels and rooms that are otherwise used by the public, Europa-Park has its own event center next to the main entrance. In 2017, the ''Europa-Park Arena'', a hall with three thousand square meters, was opened, which among other things has a gallery. The offer is complemented by smaller conference rooms, which are connected by a common foyer. The larger halls at the park are the ''Europa-Park Dome'', a tent-shaped hall with a round floor plan and a size of , and the ''Ballroom Berlin'', a room that can be divided in the middle and has a total area of eight hundred square meters. Access is from outside the park to allow independent use. As a special feature, the Ballroom Berlin also has its own foyer, which can also be used as a conference room, as well as direct access from the park.


= Eden Palladium salon carousel

= The Eden Palladium is a historic carousel located within the Europa-Park Confertainment Center. It was originally built in 1909 by Gustave Bayol in
Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
, France, and was opened at its current location in 2012. The carousel was installed in the Confertainment Center instead of inside Europa-Park due to its fragile state and its inability to accommodate large theme park crowds. It is one of only four salon carousels that still exist.


Transportation


On-site transportation

Due to the size of the park, the three trains, ''EP-Express'', ''Monorail-Bahn'' and ''Panoramabahn'' serve as a means of transport in addition to their function as rides. The Panoramabahn - a miniature train ride - has been installed since the opening of the park in 1975. The trains are '' C. P. Huntington'' trains that were originally built by
Chance Rides Chance Rides is an American roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. Originally founded in 1961, the current company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufa ...
. At first, it served as a sightseeing train which departed and arrived near the entrance of the park in the area ''Germany''. Today, the train also stops at train stations in the areas ''England'', ''Spain'', and ''Russia''. The trains have since been rebuilt by
SEW Eurodrive SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG is a German manufacturing company located in Bruchsal, Germany. The company produces gear units, motors, electric motors, and inverter technology. The beginnings under Ernst Blickle The company started with the desig ...
, removing the combustion engine and converting the locomotives to environmentally friendly electrification. The Monorail-Bahn was put into operation in 1990 and was originally intended for sightseeing only, with its starting and finishing point inside the Historama in ''Luxembourg''. In 2009, the monorail was extended by an additional stop in ''Iceland'' allowing passengers to use it as a means of transportation. The EP-Express - another elevated monorail - operates in the park since 1995. Inaugurated together with the Hotel El Andaluz in 1995, one of the purposes of the EP-Express was to connect the hotel to the main entrance. Now, it runs a circuit and also connects the hotel complex with other stations. In 2021, the park operators got the permission to build an additional elevated railway system that will connect Europa-Park with its neighbouring park Rulantica. In addition, a moving walkway called ''Express Lane'' was put into operation in the park's parking lot park in 2015.


Connection to the park

Europa-Park is located in Rust, Baden, between Freiburg im Breisgau and
Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...
, west of the A5 motorway. Since 2002, the park has had its own junction and access road. The Rhine, which forms the border with France here, is away as the crow flies. The nearest border crossing is the ferry between Kappel-Grafenhausen and
Rhinau Rhinau (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of Grand Est in north-eastern France. Until 1398, the village was located on the bank of the Rhine. The present village dates from the sixteenth century. At periods of low water in the Rhine ...
, away. The nearest railway station is
Ringsheim Ringsheim () is a village in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in 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 ...
, from where regional trains run to Offenburg, among others. Since 1 June 2021, Ringsheim has also been a long-distance stop, on the way of the EuroCity Express from Frankfurt to Milan. Since then, the park has been also connected to the German high-speed rail system, and since 2022 Europa-Park has also been connected to the French high-speed rail system. The Südbadenbus (SBG) runs several times a day between Ringsheim station and the park's main entrance. Direct buses also run from
Emmendingen Emmendingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the Emmendingen (district), district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz (Rhine), Elz River, north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, ...
and
Herbolzheim Herbolzheim () is a town in the Emmendingen (district), district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated near the river Elz (Rhine), Elz, 26 km north of Freiburg. People * Yannick Bury (born 1990), CDU politician ...
. Lines 271 and 531 of Réseau 67, the public transport system of the Département
Bas Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) depa ...
, connect the park with Strasbourg and
Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Depa ...
. Europa-Park can also be reached by long-distance buses operated by Flixbus. Services 007 (Zurich-Hamburg), 008 (Freiburg-Tübingen) and 011 (Constance-Saarbrücken) stop at Rheinweg, about from the main entrance. Europa-Park can also be reached by scheduled flights via
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (German: ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden'') is the international airport of Karlsruhe, the third-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also serves the spa town of Baden-Baden. It is the sta ...
, from where shuttle services are offered.


Bibliography

* Borman, Regina (2000). "Event machinery experience park: system integration through performative institutions". Events: Soziologie des Außergewöhnlichen (Erlebniswelten) ventmaschinerie Erlebnispark: System integration through performative institutions Erlebniswelten (in German). Vol. 2. Leske + Budrich Verlag. ISBN 978-3-322-95155-7. * Carlà-Uhink, Filippo (2020). Representations of Classical Greece in Theme Parks. IMAGINES – Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4742-9786-8. * Clavé, Salvador Anton (2007). The Global Theme Park Industry. Wallingford: CAB International. ISBN 978-1-84593-208-4. * Müller, Siegfried (2016). Kultur in Deutschland: Vom Kaiserreich bis zur Wiedervereinigung ulture in Germany: From the Empire to Reunification(in German). Kohlhammer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-17-031846-5. * Stieber, Benno (2014). Roland Mack: Herr der Achterbahnen oland Mack: King of fun(in German) (1st ed.). Verlag Herder. ISBN 978-3-451-80215-7.


See also

*
List of amusement parks in Europe The following is a list of amusement parks in Europe sorted by region. Austria * Hirschalm, Unterweißenbach, Upper Austria (Hirschalm Fairytale Hunting Park) * Märchenpark Neusiedlersee, St. Margarethen, Burgenland (Neusiedlersee Family Park) ...
*
Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...


References


External links

*
Europa-Park
(Official Site) {{Authority control 1975 establishments in West Germany Amusement parks in Germany Amusement parks opened in 1975 Buildings and structures in Ortenaukreis Economy of Baden-Württemberg