© dpa
The Ferris wheel is to be the centerpiece of the new Spreepark.
© dpa
After a general overhaul, the Ferris wheel at Spreepark shines in new colors.
The landmark of the Spreepark in Berlin's Plänterwald is back after a general overhaul: the 45-meter-high Ferris wheel is now back in its place in the middle of the park, as announced by Berlin Grün GmbH, the company responsible for the park.
Over the past few days and weeks, the steel structure has been gradually rebuilt. Further work will follow in the coming months, such as the installation of the drive and control technology and the assembly of the 40 nacelles.
The first ride on the new Ferris wheel is planned for the reopening of the Spreepark in spring 2027. According to Grün Berlin, the total costs for its refurbishment, conversion and technical equipment, including its surroundings and a water basin, amount to 8.76 million euros. The 220-tonne colossus, which dates back to 1989, was dismantled at the beginning of 2021 and the parts were initially temporarily stored in the park. In the summer of 2024, a total of 300 steel parts were transported to Poland and refurbished in a special workshop. At the same time, new parts were manufactured, such as a new axle and new control technology. The parts have been returning to the park piece by piece since the beginning of September 2025.
The Ferris wheel is therefore a mixture of old and new. Around 300 original steel parts - a total of 90 tons of steel - were reused. The color scheme and the gondolas are new. Their round shape is based on the gondolas of the first Ferris wheel in Plänterwald, which stood there from 1969 to 1989. To mark the GDR's 40th birthday in October 1989, the "largest Ferris wheel in Europe" was put into operation in what was then the only amusement park of its kind in the country. It turned until the park closed in 2001, after which it was exposed to environmental influences and vandalism for many years.
Following the transfer of the site to the state-owned Berlin Grün Berlin GmbH in 2017, the plan emerged to awaken the Spreepark from its slumber and redevelop it. The concept includes the refurbishment of the Ferris wheel as a landmark visible from afar. It is to form the centerpiece of the new leisure park.