Pripyat amusement park

The Ferris Wheel, August 2016
The bumper cars in 2016

The Pripyat amusement park is an abandoned amusement park in Pripyat, Ukraine. It was to be opened for the first time on May 1, 1986, in time for the May Day celebrations,[1][2] but these plans were scuttled on April 26, when the Chernobyl disaster occurred a few kilometers away. Several sources report that the park was opened for a short time on April 27 before the announcement to evacuate the city was made,[3][4][5] although several others report that it never opened. In any case, the park—and its Ferris wheel in particular—have become a symbol of the Chernobyl disaster.[6]

Attractions

Located north-west to the Palace of Culture in the center of the city, the park had five attractions: the iconic Ferris wheel, bumper cars,[7] swing boats, paratrooper ride and a carnival shooting game.

Radiation

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 up are dangerously high; some areas can emit 25 µSv/h, among the highest levels of radiation in the whole of Pripyat.

Films, games and literature

The park plays significant roles in the video games S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the film Chernobyl Diaries.

The park plays significant roles too in the Markiyan Kamysh novel about Chernobyl illegal trips "A Stroll to the Zone".

References

The paratrooper in 2016
  1. ↑ "Pillaged and peeling, radiation-ravaged Pripyat welcomes 'extreme' tourists". USA Today.
  2. ↑ Pacific Standard. "Chernobyl in Spring — Pacific Standard". Psmag.com. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  3. ↑ Robert J. Ursano, Ann E. Norwood, Carol S. Fullerton (17 June 2004). Bioterrorism with CD-ROM: Psychological and Public Health Interventions. Cambridge University Press. p. 175.
  4. ↑ International Atomic Energy (1991). The International Chernobyl Project: an overview : assessment of radiological consequences and evaluation of protective measures. IAEA. p. 49.
  5. ↑ "Chernobyl disaster zone top pick for 'extreme tourists' 30 years on". Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Fox, Michael H. (2014). Why We Need Nuclear Power: The Environmental Case. OUP USA. p. 226.
  7. ↑ "Chernobyl: Capping a Catastrophe". The New York Times. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
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Coordinates: 51°24′29.28″N 30°3′25.65″E / 51.4081333°N 30.0571250°E / 51.4081333; 30.0571250


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