On 19 June, roughly 16:40, a fire broke out in Europa-Park, Germany. It was started due to yet unknown reasons in the ‘Zauberwelt der Diamanten’ (Magical World of Diamonds), in the Austrian section of the park, adjacent to the Spanish area. Images and videos flooded social media, showing immense smoke development and flames coming out of the show building which houses a walkthrough, and which the Tiroler Wildwasserbahn log flume and Alpenexpress Enzian roller coaster run through.
Europa-Park communicates to its guests via social media and a special page on their website. On there, it is explained that the fire is currently still being fought but is under control. The park was evacuated, which went well, and no casualties have been reported. Two firefighters were lightly injured during the extinguishing works. The park is scheduled to open normally tomorrow.
It is the second time within 5 years that a large fire rages through Europa-Park. In 2018, the original Piraten in Batavia dark ride as well as a large portion of the Scandinavia area were completely destroyed. The decision was quickly made to rebuild Scandinavia and develop a brand new Piraten in Batavia, which opened in 2020. Meanwhile, the scale of the damage to the Zauberwelt, and whether the park will restore the rides or put something new in its place, is yet unknown.
The Zauberwelt der Diamanten was a walkthrough set within a mine, where dwarves could be seen mining ore. In addition, there was a large, metallic dragon and a ship with wings carrying treasure chests. At the end of the walkthrough was an alley with small, richly decorated houses and a shop selling jewellery. The walkthrough and Alpenexpress largely went over the decor, but in the Tiroler Wildwasserbahn you could see the scenes from the eye-level of the dwarves.
The Tiroler Wildwasserbahn originally opened in 1978 without a dark ride section. The coaster and hall were added in 1984, although the latter was at the time known as the ‘Eisriesenwelt’ (World of Ice Giants), featuring a cave with stalactites and animals of cold climates, some of which prehistoric. In 1998, the old decor was replaced with the Zauberwelt.
