Spreepark: the East Berlin amusement park left to rust
Marek Halden
Updated 24 September 2026
8 min read
Plänterwald, Berlin, Germany
Spreepark is the amusement park that Berlin forgot. For decades it was a place of family outings in the woods beside the River Spree, first as an East German state park and later as a private venture. When it closed in 2001, its rides were simply left where they stood — and for years the Ferris wheel and the dinosaurs turned slowly to rust among the trees.
A park for East Berlin
The park opened in 1969 as the Kulturpark Plänterwald, a state-run amusement park in the Plänterwald forest in East Berlin. It was, in its way, a showcase: a place where East German families could spend a day among rides, shows and a miniature railway, in a country where such pleasures were carefully controlled.
After German reunification the park was privatised and renamed Spreepark. New owners added rides and attractions and tried to turn it into a modern theme park, but the money and the crowds did not follow. The venture struggled, and in 2001 it closed. The owner later left the country, and the park was left to itself.
Left to rust
What happened next made Spreepark famous. Instead of being cleared, the park was simply abandoned, and its rides — the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the water chute and a collection of fibreglass dinosaurs — were left standing in the woods. Nature moved in. Trees grew through the tracks, and the bright colours of the park faded into rust and green.
For years Spreepark was one of the most photographed abandoned places in Germany, and one of the most tempting to trespass into. The site was fenced and guarded, but the images of its silent rides circulated around the world and made it a symbol of a particular kind of post-reunification decay.
A park coming back
Spreepark is no longer quite abandoned. The city of Berlin took it over, and a long, slow project has been restoring parts of the site and reopening it to the public as a cultural and leisure space. The Ferris wheel has been repaired and turned again, and the park now hosts events and visitors under a new, more careful arrangement.
It is a rare case in this archive of an abandoned place being brought back rather than lost, and it sits beside Nara Dreamland in Japan and Lake Shawnee in the United States as one of the world’s great abandoned amusement parks.
Visiting Spreepark
Spreepark is being restored and is now managed, with public access at set times and for events.
- Visit only through official openings and guided tours.
- Do not climb on rides or structures, even where the site is open.
- Check current opening arrangements before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Spreepark?
In the Plänterwald forest in the Treptow-Köpenick district of Berlin, Germany.
When did Spreepark open and close?
It opened in 1969 as the Kulturpark Plänterwald and closed in 2001.
Why was Spreepark abandoned?
The privatised park struggled financially and closed in 2001; its rides were left standing in the woods.
Is Spreepark still abandoned?
No. It is being restored and reopened to the public as a cultural and leisure space.
Related places
If this one stayed with you, these entries sit in the same corner of the archive:
- Nara Dreamland: the Japanese park that copied Disneyland — Japan
- Lake Shawnee: the amusement park that never reopened — United States
- Grossinger's Resort: the Borscht Belt hotel that inspired Dirty Dancing — United States
Marek Halden
Marek Halden has been photographing and researching abandoned places since 2019, working legally and leaving every site as found. This archive records architecture, history and the human stories behind the walls — and never encourages trespassing.