Spreepark is a former amusement park. Closed in 2002, the park has fallen into disrepair. Tours are offered sporadically and the place has been popular with urban explorers.
In the early 1990’s, Norbert Witte won the bid to run Spreepark. Initially, the park was popular and seemed to be making money. By 2002, things weren’t so good and Norbert ran off to South America, taking many rides with him. He set up Lunapark in Lima, Peru, using the rides taken from Spreepark – that park failed in 2004. Norberts next venture was to send the Fliegender Teppich (Flying Carpet) ride back to Spreepark, with 180 kg of cocaine stashed inside the ride parts. He served four years in prison and now lives in Berlin.
This review is available on this page as text and pictures, or below as a video.
We finally managed to obtain tickets (5 EUR) for a mid-July 2021 tour (in German). It didn’t matter that we wouldn’t understand the guide as all we wanted to do was see the abandoned Spreepark.
It was 30 degrees and so we took a 17 EUR Uber from the Pentahotel, Berlin Köpenick. This street (no sign for Spreepark) leads to the tour entrance (Kiehnwerderallee 1 – 3, 12437 Berlin) – it’s about a ten-minute walk from this point if you are arriving by bus.
We were early. The gates were closed and a security guard sat on the other side browsing his phone.
Our tour guide arrived and did a roll call of names. We headed down a boardwalk, toward a modern-looking building – beyond that a crumbling house in an English architectural style.
There followed a really long speech from our guide, which I think contained a history of the park and news of some ‘exciting’ future plans. Even if this had been in English, I wouldn’t have been interested – I daydreamed about being a young urban explorer, crawling under the fence to visit the park, with the constant danger of being caught by security.
Finally, we were allowed to proceed to the tumbledown house.
The security guard followed our group, as we followed the guide, checking that stragglers didn’t run away to become urban explorers.
I won’t try and identify every picture – this could have been anything from toilets to ice cream stand.
We crossed a bridge over a now dry lake, once the home of giant plastic swans – sadly we never spotted these on any part of the tour. On the other side of the bridge was an overgrown railway.
Our guide kept us at this point and spoke for at least ten minutes – with the sun blazing down and little shade, even those who enjoy guided tours were flagging.
At last, we moved on – this building still had the WC sign, so maybe the previous building was an ice cream stand!
I first thought this was the old dodgem/bumper cars building, but when I look at old pictures of Spreepark, that had a curved roof.
The spinning tea cups – a classic theme park ride.
Okay, this one definitely looks like an ice cream stand.
Sadly, the Ferris wheel has been dismantled.
After another long soliloquy from our guide, we moved on.
This used to be a pre-IMAX-style attraction called ‘Cinema 2000’.
It’s amazing to catch a first glimpse of the iconic rollercoaster tunnel entrance. I really hope this is preserved.
The swan ride station was in remarkably good condition.
The ride river full of algae and missing the swans.
We also didn’t see any of the fibre-glass dinosaurs that used to roam Spreepark. It’s disappointing that many items have been removed and possibly destroyed. What’s next, the teacups, or, worse still, the tiger tunnel entrance?
Had we been allowed to walk at our own pace, I would estimate our visit to be less than 30 minutes. Instead, the tour took well over an hour.
I find most guided tours completely boring, with the guide providing way too much detail and this was no exception. However, I understand that they want to escort visitors, rather than let them wander around without any control. I would prefer there to be two tours; one without any speeches, although guide available for questions and one for those who want to hear about everything. That applies to almost any attraction from stately homes to caves!
The redevelopment plans for Spreepark look like they’ve been designed by a well-meaning committee of flower children. Visit soon before the abandoned feeling is lost forever.
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