Pripyat amusement park

The Pripyat Ferris Wheel, as seen from the City Center Gymnasium.

The Pripyat amusement park in Pripyat, Ukraine is an amusement park in the ghost town of Pripyat. It was to be opened on May 1, 1986 in time for the May Day celebrations (decorations for this event are still in place in Pripyat today) but it was opened for a couple of hours on 27 April to keep the city people entertained before the announcement to evacuate the city was made. Today, the park, and in particular the ferris wheel are a symbol of the Chernobyl disaster. The amusement park itself is located behind the Palace of Culture in the center of the city.

The park appears in the video games S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Attractions

The park contained the symbolic ferris wheel, bumper cars, swing boats, and a carousel like ride. Photographers are known to place stuffed toys in the ferris wheel to reflect its sadness.

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.