- Jungfrau Park
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The 'Panorama Kugel of the "Jungfrau Park"
Jungfrau Park is an amusement park located near Interlaken, Switzerland. It opened as the Mystery Park in 2003, and closed in November 2006 due to financial difficulties. The park was designed by Erich von Däniken, and consisted of seven pavilions, each of which explored one of several great "mysteries" of the world. It was re-opened for the 2009 summer season as the Jungfrau Park, and opened again for the 2010 season[1].
Contents
The Pavilions
- Nazca explored the Nazca Lines near Nazca, Peru.
- Contact explored cargo cults.
- MegaStones explored Stonehenge.
- Maya explored the Maya calendar.
- Orient explored Great Pyramid of Giza.
- Vimana explored the Vimana (flying machines) described in the Mahabharata and the Rig Veda.
- Challenge covered space flight and Mars exploration.
The Panorama Kugel was the central pavilion, topped by a 41-meter high sphere, from which the park's grounds could be seen. The "Kugel" contained exhibits of von Däniken's works.
Controversy
Von Däniken is an advocate of aliens influencing Earth and he has written books about the subject. All attractions heavily advocated the idea of alien visits to Earth.
The Mystery Park was labeled a "cultural Chernobyl" by Académie suisse des sciences techniques member Antoine Wasserfallen who was cited by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps and other media [1]. The Swiss federal railroad company (SBB) advertised for the park and sold a combined ticket.
In the winter of 2004, the park and its governmental support came under heavy criticism by the news channel, SRG SSR idée suisse. Owing to expectations which foresaw 500,000 guests per year, the Mystery Park was in major financial straits. In 2005 only 200,000 visited the park [2]. Because of this, operation of the park had to be suspended on November 19, 2006.[3]
Reopening
On May 16, 2009, the park was renamed Jungfrau Park and reopened by its new owner, New Inspiration Inc., for the summer season hoping to attract at least 500 visitors a day until November 1. In June, a children's paradise (German: Kinderparadies) is on schedule.[4] It opened again for the 2010 season.[5]
References
- ^ http://www.jungfraupark.ch/en/attractions_2010/
- ^ Mystery Park wird geschlossen - Wirtschaft - Tages-Anzeiger
- ^ Closure of Mystery Park in Interlaken is no mystery - swissinfo
- ^ Tages-Anzeiger (May 16, 2009): Im Mystery Park darf wieder gerätselt werden
- ^ http://www.jungfraupark.ch/en/attractions_2010/
External links
Categories:- Amusement parks in Switzerland
- Defunct amusement parks
- Ancient astronaut speculation
- Pseudoarchaeology
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