A nuclear power plant turned amusement park
“Hey, kids. Let’s jump in the car and head to the nuclear power plant.”
If that sounds like your idea of fun, then Wunderland Kalkar is the spot for you. The German theme park was built on — and incorporates — an abandoned nuclear power plant.
According to the Slate blog Atlas Obscura, construction of the plant began in 1972 in Kalkar, Germany. But the “fast breeder” reactor was controversial from the start, with locals expressing concerns about the plant.
Even after completion, the plant was never used and became the site of anti-nuke protests. When the Chernobyl disaster made headlines in 1986, the Kalkar plant was shut down for good. As Atlas Obscura put it, this made the plant one of “the most expensive, complicated pieces of trash in the world.”
But apparently when Dutch investor Hennie van der Most bought it, he didn’t see scary; he saw scary fun, transforming the plant into an amusement park.
When the park opened in 2001, it offered 40 attractions, including a whirligig; a roller coaster; and a vertical ride, the Jumping Star.
The monstrous cooling tower is a center point. A swing ride is placed right inside it. The outside of the tower, painted with picturesque snowy mounts, has been outfitted with a climbing wall, according to Amusing Planet.
Unlike the power plant, which was a bust, the amusement park receives 600,000 visitors a year.
No word on how all of this is powered, though.
