Tropical islands

The Tropical Islands is located about 60 km south of the center of Berlin and about 35 km from the border of the city of Berlin in the southern half of the Halber district on the territory of the former Soviet military base in the former Aerium airship hangar , about 70 m above sea level .

You can get there by car on the federal autobahn No. 13 through Ritsneendorf-Shtakov and then on the road No. 711 from the autobahn in the direction of Krausnik-Gros-Wasserburg . You can also get from Berlin by train in the direction of Görlitz .

Tropical Islands appeared as a result of the conversion of the hangar belonging to the bankrupt company Cargolifter AG for airships. Re-equipment made by the Malay concern Tanjong . The hall has dimensions of 360 m in length, 210 in width and 107 in height. The total volume of the premises is 5.5 million cubic meters. Construction costs amounted to about 78 million Euros .

Due to its original purpose - to be a hangar for airships - it is the largest self-supporting hall in the world. On June 11, 2003, the building was repurchased by Tanjong for 17.5 million Euros, of which 10 million were subsidies from Brandenburg . The park is open to visitors on December 19, 2004.

The temperature is maintained at 26 ° C, the “tropical” environment with a humidity of 64%, the world's largest artificial indoor “tropical forest” with beaches, numerous tropical plants, many swimming pools , bars and restaurants . Tropical Islands is open around the clock throughout the year.

Upon entry, you can select the base entry price, all other expenses inside are taken into account using a special wristband chip. The entire installation is divided into areas of a sauna and a tropical lake - each area has a separate access fee. Change of areas inside is associated with the purchase of a daily ticket. Other thematic areas in any case require additional payment. Other areas include water slides, minigolf , and overnight lodges. The entertainment program also includes a large evening performance and a number of performances during the day: variety shows , a children's program.

The park is divided into the following thematic areas:

• Tropical village - with buildings in the style of Thailand , Borneo , Samoa and Bali .
• Rainforest - more than 50,000 plants over 600 species.
• South Sea - The pool is 140 meters long, with an area of ​​4,400 square meters and 1.35 meters in depth, like a copy of the atoll bay with a sandy beach, 200 meters wide, 850 wooden folding chairs. Water temperature 28 ° C.
• Lagoon from Bali - over 1,200 square meters of water surface of variable depth, water temperature 32 ° C, fountains, artificial currents, water slides.

The construction is friendly for people with disabilities: and on the upper floors of tropical houses elevators are installed, paths in the forest are made without interference for movement.

In November-December 2006, the Tropical Islands park was expanded. 4000 square meters of children’s area was added. The spa and sauna with six divisions were completed in mid-2007. In the sauna area there are also a gemstone sauna, a wooden sauna, grass huts, a cold pool, a steam grotto, hot baths and special showers. A feature of the Spa center and sauna is that inside this part of the Tropic islands you must be completely naked.

Sauna style is borrowed from Southeast Asian culture , including from UNESCO World Heritage Sites , including the Indian Elephant Temple and Cambodian Angkor Wat .

A 25-meter-high water slide with four slopes was built, a children's playground and a mini-golf course complement the sauna area. There are over 7,000 lockers in the changing area. Additional restructuring and expansion cost about 23 million Euros.

The total investment for expansion and reconstruction was originally 75 million Euros, of which 17 million were financed by Brandenburg. The purpose of financing was to create new jobs ^[2] .

In 2008, in the immediate vicinity of the Tropical Islands, a working village for workers and a camp for visitors were also created.

Economic

The number of visitors falls short of the planned 1.25 million visitors per year. During the first year, even 2.5 million visitors were expected. The real number of visitors is less than one million per year. In 2005, losses amounted to 10 - 20 million euros. Until October 2006, there were a total of 600,000 visitors. ^[2] The decrease in the number of visitors has many reasons, including the relative remoteness of the Tropical Islands from the city. In addition, the average per capita income of locals in Berlin and southern Brandenburg is slightly lower than the federal average. The target group of the planned expansion and restructuring of the complex was guests from more distant regions, including Poland .

By changing the price structure and improving the possibilities for spending the night, the situation with attracting visitors was slightly improved. According to the head of the company, Ole Bested, in 2008 a profit of one million is planned and this is a direct consequence of the increased opportunities for spending the night ^[3] .

At first, there were also problems with plants that did not grow well under a lightproof dome without receiving daylight. To solve this problem, since 2005 the coating on the dome part has been replaced with a special translucent ETFE foil. Formed 20,000 square meters of dome area, transmitting daylight. Subsequently planted palm trees , trees and bushes have taken root well and bring the appropriate atmosphere to the rainforest and the so-called "tropical village".

Energy

High energy consumption is a negative economic and environmental factor. The shell is designed to maintain a temperature of 19 ° C; in the sauna area, a temperature of 26 ° C is maintained. Due to the large surface area and the coating that transmits ultraviolet rays, large heat losses occur. A thermographic image shows heat loss in different areas of the room.

Natural gas as a heat source is associated with carbon dioxide emissions . Heat loss also occurs due to the constant heating of sand. In addition, losses arise due to the fact that water vapor evaporating from the pools, accumulating heat, is removed as a result of ventilation. About 1.3 MW is spent on this alone.

• Offizielle homepage
• Homepage des investors
• Thermographieuntersuchung (link not available) im Auftrag der Grünen Brandenburg ( Aufnahmen mit Erläuterungen )
• s0000970 on Structurae
• Erfahrungsbericht und Bilder zur Neueröffnung der Tropical Islands
• “Mallorca Light. Eine Fahrt ins Tropical Island. ” - Bericht von polaronline.de
• Beschreibung als Sehenswürdigkeit auf Berlin.de
• How to get to the Tropical Islands Waterpark by Public Transport