Mystery Park
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Mystery Park is an amusement park located near Interlaken, Switzerland. Designed by Erich von Däniken, it consists of seven pavilions, each of which explores a great "mystery" of the world.
- Nazca explores the Nazca Lines near Nazca, Peru.
- Contact explores cargo cults.
- MegaStones explores Stonehenge.
- Maya explores the Maya calendar.
- Orient explores Great Pyramid of Giza.
- Vimana explores Vimana (flying machines) described in the Mahabharata and the Rig Veda.
- Challenge explores space flight and Mars exploration.
The Panorama Kugel is the central pavilion, topped by a 41-meter high sphere, from which the park's grounds can be seen. The Kugel also contains exhibits of von Däniken's works.
Controversy
Von Däniken is well known to advocate alien influence on Earth and he has written sensational books about the subject. Indeed, all attractions heavily advocate the idea of Alien visits on Earth.
The theme of the park presents fantasy theories in an educational fashion, as if they were serious scientific facts. Notable statements include references to "prehistorical texts" (sic). The central tower is mainly devoted to the personal promotion of Erich von Däniken.
The Mystery Park was labeled a "cultural Tchernobyl" by Académie suisse des sciences techniques member Antoine Wasserfallen, cited by the Swiss newspaper Le Temps [1] (http://archives.liste-aleph.org/ml/aleph-200308/msg00043.html) and various other medias [2] (http://www.livenet.ch/www/index.php/D/article/196/10110/). Nonetheless, the Swiss federal railroad company advertises for the park and sells a combined ticket.
In winter 2004, the park and its governmental support came under heavy criticism in the News of the main state television channel.
External links
- Official website (http://www.mysterypark.ch/)