Spreepark: One of Berlin’s Most Beloved Lost Places
In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a pretty thick wall of trees, you can find what I would say is Berlin's most beloved Lost Place of all time. It is certainly mine.
VEB Kulturpark Berlin (1969-1991): The fairground in Plänterwald was opened on October 04, 1969 as "VEB Kulturpark". It was the only permanent fairground in the GDR. In addition to numerous rides, the GDR offered concerts, dances and children's entertainment.
After reunification, the Kulturpark came under the jurisdiction of the Berlin Senate for Culture, which wanted to preserve the fairground as a modern amusement park and put it out to tender for a private operator. Spreepark GmbH, represented by Ms. Pia Witte, wins the contract out of seven bidders.
Spreepark Plänterwald (1992-2001): The Spreepark in Plänterwald was opened in 1992. By 1997, 40 million DM had been invested in the transformation of the park. The first new attractions were the coffee cup carousel and the circus tent. These were soon followed by the "Pirate" ship swing, the "Spree-Blitz" family roller coaster, the "Mega-Looping" looping coaster and the "Grand Canyon" whitewater ride. The large concrete plaza around the Ferris wheel was transformed into a large lake with a canal ride and an amphitheater.
It was only after these conversions that the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment decided to place the Plänterwald under landscape protection. As a result, the Spreepark lost about 8.5 of its former 28.5 hectares of economically important usable space and all of its visitor parking spaces overnight.
In 2001, after years of declining attendance, Spreepark GmbH gave up and terminated the leasehold and all associated obligations. They considered the attempt to transform the former VEB Kulturpark into a modern amusement park a definite failure. In their justification, they wrote that it had never been their intention to turn the Plänterwald into a nature reserve.
The Liegenschaftsfonds rejected the allegations in the termination letter and did not accept the termination of the contract by Spreepark GmbH, which filed for bankruptcy and vacated the premises. The Witte family, the operators of Spreepark, decided to travel to Peru with six rides.
Lost Place (2002-2015) After that, father Norbert Witte made headlines with the Spreepark bankruptcy, the alleged escape to Peru in the fog, a failed new start in Lima and a drug deal involving 181 kilos of cocaine hidden in one of his rides.
Meanwhile, various companies tried to take over the former amusement park. However, they faced the same problems as the former Spreepark operators. After years of negotiations with Berlin and the Liegenschaftsfonds, all applicants withdrew their bids. Since the 2002 season, the Spreepark has been abandoned. Nature reclaimed the area. In 2014 it was bought back by the state of Berlin.
SOURCE: Berlin Spreepark
The universe of the Colors of the Beyond
If you are familiar with my work, you might have read or at least heard about my Supernatural Tropical Gothic & Psychological Thriller novella "Colors of The Beyond". Well, the Spreepark is the place mentioned. The place that hosts this wonderfully creepy circus and its enchanting singer Anna-Sena.
Colors of The Beyond is available now in English, on e-book and paperback!
