Wurstelprater, the oldest amusement park in the world, is located in Wiener Prater, a large public park in Vienna (Wien), Austria. Publicly opened in 1766, it currently features the iconic Wiener Riesenrad (a Ferris wheel), 13 roller coasters, a Madame Tussauds, and plenty of other fun attractions.
The traveling coaster Olympia Looping was located at the park from March to August 2016 as part of their 250 year anniversary celebration. Olympia Looping is considered by some to be the most iconic roller coaster in the world and it’s been touring Europe since its debut at Oktoberfest in 1989.
Also at the park is the Weiner Riesenrad, a giant Ferris wheel built in 1897 and the world famous symbol of the Wurstelprater. Often people make the trip to Vienna just to see it.
Another historical attraction is Toboggan, the oldest wooden slide in the world. It opened in 1913 and was rebuilt to be exactly the same after a fire in 1947.
One of the more recent rides is a coaster called Boomerang. This is your standard Vekoma Boomerang coaster with bright colors and a tunnel added for fun. There are many of these models around the world, but this is the first one I’ve seen that has only a lap bar restraint instead of normal over the shoulder restrains, giving you much more upper body freedom during the ride.
You can see more of what attractions are available on the park website here. In fact, I would encourage you to glance at it if you want a laugh, because some of the ride descriptions are quite funny.
You can read the full version of the post here.
I’ve been fascinated with the Riesenrad since The Third Man. One of my fondest (at distant memory, not at the time) of Vienna is being alone with my wife, late on a rainy evening in 1988, near the top. The wheel stopped for a few moments, the car swayed in the wind, and I had a momentary sensation that it was 1946 and I was in the film…
Not much sign of that in these sunny pictures!
Looks like a wonderful fun day for the entire family. The ferris wheel is more my speed now, rather than the roller coasters. I bet the food was terrific, too.