Spreepark

About This Project

A tour in the Spreepark – Berlin’s Abandoned Amusement Park.

Photos of an abandoned amusement park in Berlin Treptow-Köpenick from the DDR time. Pictures taken in Berlin, August 2019.

The park opened in 1969 as Kulturpark Plänterwald, in East Berlin and next to the Spree river, within a big area of about 24 hectares.

It was finally completed in 1991, right after Germany’s reunification and the contract went to Spreepark Berlin GmbH, which added new attractions and reached 1.5 visitors per annum. With the time, the park suffered a few modifications and also transformed into a more Western-style amusement park. The Spreepark had very famous attractions like the Ferris wheel (that still can be seen from the other part of the river), roller coasters, a stage, a Western town and more.

Since 1999 the park started receiving less visitors and the debts increased. Three years later, in 2002, it was announced it was insolvent and closed for visitors.

Sadly, the area fell into disrepair and started to get vandalized: today it’s an abandoned amusement park, full of graffiti and a big decay sensation.

Some tours have been offered to the public since 2011, though many people has entered illegally to the park.

It wasn’t until 2014 when the City of Berlin bought the Spreepark and chose Grün Berlin to restore it. The company aims to unite art, culture and nature.

Today it’s possible to visit it in a very limited guided tour that lasts about an hour and a half and in which visitors can learn more in German and in English about its story and also about Berlin’s history. Only a few relics of the old park remain like the red Ferris wheel, the village and a roller coaster, but the Spreepark still catches the attention of the curious ones.