After several years of financial difficulties, the Amusement Park of Budapest, the largest amusement park in Hungary was closed on 30 September, 2013. Today I had a chance to take a walk among its remains.
The first permanent funfair on this area was opened at the beginning of the 19th century, and a century later, an English park was established here too. During the Second World War, many attractions were severely damaged. Only a few attractions that were built at the beginning of the 20th century survived, including the wooden roller coaster and the carousel.
To prevent a relocation or closure the English park and the Fun Fair fused in 1950, not long after the transition to Communism, and this new park took on a new name: "Vidámpark," or Merry Park. It had about 34 attractions—the big ones being the Cave Train, the Haunted House, Bumper Cars, the Ferris Wheel, the Ghost Train, the Mirror Palace, the Roller Coaster, the Carousel—and was visited by hundreds of thousands of people.
After the democratic transition, the park survived for more than 20 years—but the sorrowful end was inevitable. After last year's closure, the adjacent animal and botanical park acquired the land, and most of the attractions were dismantled or torn down.
The good news? Some of the historical buildings were going to be saved and remain operational. Check out the rest of the images below—this is what the end of the amusement park era looks like.
Photos: Attila Nagy/Gizmodo