The Pripyat amusement park is an abandoned amusement park located in Pripyat, Ukraine. It was to be opened for the first time on 1 May 1986, in time for the May Day celebrations,but these plans were cancelled on 26 April, when the Chernobyl disaster occurred a few kilometers away. Several sources report that the park was opened for a short time on 27 April before the announcement to evacuate the city was made and one site shows photos of the amusement park in operation.Theories that the park was hurriedly opened in the aftermath of the accident to distract Pripyat residents from the unfolding disaster nearby seem to be substantiated by the fact that some of the rides were never fully completed (the Paratrooper was not fitted with canopies and the Ferris wheel’s cladding was incomplete. In any case, the park—and its Ferris wheel in particular—have become a symbol of the Chernobyl disaster. Constructed under the USSR as a “Парк культуры и отдыха” (Park of Culture and Rest) typical of many large cities in the then Soviet Union, the amusement park’s attractions were manufactured by the Yeysk-based firm “Аттракцион” (Attraction), who were responsible for the construction of many of the amusement parks which remain to be seen around the former USSR today in various states of repair. Located north-west to the Palace of Culture in the center of Pripyat, the park had five attractions:
The park also contains a carnival shooting game
The successor to the original company are still manufacturing the Ferris wheel, paratrooper and bumper cars to largely unaltered designs as of 2017.Radiation levels around the park vary. The liquidators washed radiation into the soil after the helicopters carrying radioactive materials used the grounds as a landing strip, so concreted areas are relatively safe. However, areas where moss has built can emit up to 25000 µSv/h, among the highest level of radiation in the whole of Pripyat.
Photos made by my cousin Verena Reinders. See her site http://www.derdeetage.nl