Freaky Friday: Exploring an Abandoned Amusement Park in Berlin

"Kulturpark Planterwald" was an amusement park built in 1969. It thrived for 20 years until the tumultuous reunification between the East and West of Berlin began in 1989. After a series of mysterious legal issues in the 90’s it went bankrupt, doors closed and was abandoned.

A Glimpse Inside...

There are bizarre creatures lurking in the woods of Plänterwald… flooded viking ships, giant swans, mustachioed golf carts… and dinosaurs. Spreepark is a fantastic and visually addictive cultural relic of East Berlin. The now fenced off and overgrown Park was officially abandoned over 15 years ago but still opens its rusted gates when the family-in-residence decides to. The eccentric “Witte” clan has maintained a complicated ownership the park since 1991. Several of them still live on-site and make a few dollars on the weekend selling tickets for tours. Near the main entrance, there’s a miniature cartoonish looking train that circles around the park, but there’s really only about a 50/50 chance that the train has enough juice to run that day. If you’re lucky, grab a ticket, it’s worth the ride. The train moves surprisingly fast. Dense trees opens up in pockets, unveiling prairies of exotic and forgotten worlds.

While living in Berlin, the four of us @hitheryon explored the park several times. Both formally (through the gates) and “informally” (over and under the gates.) A few years ago we did an art installation here… but more on that on another #freakyfriday.

Here are a few images we took that hopefully give you a sense of this incredible hidden Berlin gem...

• Prehistoric carnage...

• Here’s a fun old map of “Spreepark” (one of many names) when the amusements were at their peak.

• There’s an amazing lagoon in the center of the park that protects a massive ferris wheel. Giant swans and an old Viking ship still stand guard. Further down, you’ll see an army of swans stand in formation.

• The ferris wheel is a colorfully rusted work of art nearly 40 meters high. On a windy day the wheel creeks around (loudly)... it’s an eerie profile against a wooded treeline that you can see and hear from miles away.

• Many empty other amusements and hidden villages...

Kulturpark Planterwald has fought through a multi-decade tangled odyssey. The park was once successful, later bankrupt, then rebranded, at one point was literally exported to Peru, subsequently involved in a South American cocaine bust, auctioned on German Ebay… and only very recently… it was finally bought back by the City of Berlin. What a place!

Steem on with @hitheryon !