Welcome to the KÄRNAN Museum. Learn more about the history of the famous fortified tower in Helsingborg. Join us on a journey through time and learn more about the Danish King Erik Menved, who built the tower, which remained invincible until today.
It could sound like this if the tour guide greets his group of visitors in the old vault of the mighty fortress that has been standing in HANSA-PARK since 2015. During the tour, guests will gain insights into the throne room with its fascinating exhibits. But KÄRNAN has other secrets that some archaeologists are currently tracking. Supposedly, the fortress is under a highly effective spell that KÄRNAN owes his invincibility. To prove this theory is now feverishly looking for evidence.
For this reason, the North German journalist Christian Schröder has set out to learn more about the hidden secrets of KÄRNAN. For this he has got professional support in the person of the archaeologist Jenny Fridh. Together, they discuss the relationship between King Erik VI. Menved and the fortress KÄRNAN. Is there really a spell? You can now track the documentation in the KÄRNAN Museum on several dedicated TV sets.
Of course, the story of KÄRNAN's oath is pure fiction. But the hyper-coaster is very real. At 73 meters high, the Oath of KÄRNAN is one of Germany's highest roller coasters. In order to ensure the stability of the lift and the building around it, in May 2014, piles of up to 9 meters in length started to be drilled into the ground. For this, they had to drill to a depth of 12 meters, and then carried out an excavation. In July, the 104 bored piles will come back to light for the foundation work to be cut to 60 cm and woven into the 55-tonne steel net of the foundations. During the night of the 12th of August, the foundation will be poured into the middle of the day, and on the evening of the 25th of August the construction of the massive reinforced concrete tower will begin. A so-called slipforming process is used to cast concrete into a self-lifting mold. As soon as the concrete has enough strength, it appears beneath the formwork as part of a huge monolith. Crucial to this production is the continuous re-delivery of steel and concrete in order to give the subsequent infusion the opportunity to connect with the already poured concrete. Between 10 to 40 centimeters per hour, the slipform moves continuously upward, taking into account the expected temperature conditions, crane capacity and installation capacity for concrete and reinforcement, according to the company Bitschnau from Austria, which is responsible for the slipform. The average sliding speed was 5.80 meters a day. In total, a sliding surface of 10,260 m² will be built and 1,533 m³ of concrete will be installed. After 14 days, the last batch of concrete was poured on 8 September and reached a height of 75 meters. After a rest period, the Monobox can be retrieved in parts to the ground.
Already at the beginning of the collection of ideas for the new roller coaster and showpiece attraction, the project managers are aware that the roller coaster will be very high. The altitude is said to be in an area classified as at least 61 meters (200 feet) and maximum 91 meters (300 feet) under coaster connoisseurs as a hyper-coaster. These are new dimensions for HANSA-PARK as well as for many roller coaster manufacturers. Experiences with such sizes are in Europe primarily the manufacturers Intamin and Bolliger & Mabillard. In America, there are still, with some very high specimens, the still active companies Premiere Rides and S & S Sansei, as well as Togo in the Far East, but so far only a single coaster. However, the HANSA-PARK decides against an established Hyper-Coaster expert and hired Gerstlauer Amusement Rides from Münsterhausen. With the Curse of Novgorod and the Midgard Serpent, the two business partners are combining success with both projects and trust in their implementation. Gerstlauer gets the opportunity to prove itself in new height conditions, and to rank KÄRNAN in the top 20 of the highest roller coasters in the world (as of: Opening 2015). For these dimensions, Gerstlauer relies on his new train design "Infinity Coaster", which celebrates its premiere in 2013 in Alton Towers with the "Smiler", a rollercoaster with 14 inversions, and 10 days later with the Karacho launch coaster in the German amusement park Tripsdrill already be presented to the public with a second delivery. KÄRNAN should become number four.
Shortly after the park says goodbye to the current season, work begins on the staircase of the tower. For the station building bored piles are set, and excavations carried out. At the end of November, the first lift segments will fly into the tower interior. The fitters need about 20 days to put on the lift, and the first drop, the first big downhill after the lift, can be brought into the tower. With beginning of the new year work is in full swing on the construction of the building around the KÄRNAN tower as well as the huge foundations of the highest elements, some of which are set deep in the ground. Until the start of the season ready-mixed concrete parts are set up and connected. The first guests of the year can thus marvel at the still-gray fortress of the Hyper-Coaster on April 1st.
Next to the station building, work on the terrain area near the Barracuda Slide is admired. In the high-speed sector of the rollercoaster the first supports are already set, some of which protrude only one meter from the ground. With quick steps, the first rail parts are put together. A spectacle for many visitors of HANSA-PARK. At a dizzying height, workers mount the central support structure of the heart element, giving the appearance of a railway bridge. Gradually, the track pulls through the northern park area, which not only the height of the rollercoaster is clear but also the length. KÄRNAN takes up almost a third of the entire park. At the end of April, half of the heart element protrudes above the first drop, and the twists on the uprising figure suggest that the Hyper-Coaster will be the same as a bull ride.
On May 24, the heart element is final and a last piece of rail is used. Rail connection at HANSA-PARK. KÄRNAN can do his first test drives. These are already eagerly awaited. Many fans come to the park to catch a first glimpse of the rolling and thundering KÄRNAN. The first rides can be made by press representatives as well as invited guests from the fan and theme park industry on the evening of June 30th. At a presentation in the park's show theater, Mr. Leicht, CEO of HANSA-PARK, talks about the rollercoaster in a very personal atmosphere and for the first time ever unveils to guests the secret of a globally unique element. A few minutes later, a jolt goes through the Internet after it is announced via social media that the rollercoaster lift will become a drop tower. Through the representatives of HANSA-PARK and rollercoaster fan pages and the lightning-fast coverage, the Hyper-Coaster abruptly receives attention and even before opening many positive reactions. Now the expectation has to be fulfilled.
Following the presentation, the guests were invited to take a ride, and KÄRNAN started the public business amidst applause from the direction of the external brake. Grand Opening was the following day, the 1st of July 2015, with many enthusiastic fans from the HANSA-PARK and rollercoaster scene.
At the beginning of the 2016 season, the astonished visitors will see the first major thematic approaches. Including a huge castle gate with drawbridge, the first corridor of the KÄRNAN Museum, as well as the hidden rooms of the builder and the spell. In the luggage compartment they learn that they are busy working on the excavation in KÄRNAN. The video of an archaeologist is shown, informing about the newly discovered room of the builder. In addition to a large number of gears, he finds behind a series of bookshelves secret compartments in which, at the request of the archaeologist, all bags, glasses, cell phones, loose objects and cameras are stored. Many drawings of the old master can also be discovered in the room. Drawings of new rooms, hidden traps, and a suspected escape machine that was supposed to transport the king safely out of the fortress during a siege.
The Oath of KÄRNAN is not a classic roller coaster, both in layout and design. As a guest you have to get involved in this roller coaster. So you must learn that not you, but the mysterious spell decides who will sit where in the roller coaster train. There are four rows of four people each, randomly assigned to the rows of the roller coaster train.
Under changing lights and touchable rumble, the spell room thus becomes a true lottery. Once the passengers have sat down in their seats, the escape machine is already being set in motion to keep the visitors of the KÄRNAN Museum safe from the spell. The train dives down into the basement and disappears in the dark. Shortly thereafter, it reaches the foot of the massive tower and the elevator to bring the train at a height of 73 meters. With a loud chain rattle, the lift gets going and carries the fugitives upwards. Abruptly the train stops in front of the lift dome. It's like the machinery is blocked by something. Then the melody sounds, a song with a sinister announcement. The lines of the mysterious spell, and then the vehicle crashes together with it passengers backwards into the depths. A moment of terror until everyone realizes that they are once again hanging in the chain and being pulled out of the darkness again by the chainlift, finally being transported across the dome and released from the clutches of the spell.
With speeds of up to 130 km/h, the train shoots out of the tower opening and past the passers-by standing on the ground, with momentum back up into the 53-meter-high heart element, always intent on sitting upside down. During the entire ride outside, the passangers are never upside down, despite daring changes of direction.
KÄRNAN thunders through the park canyons, past the heads of people past the Barracuda Slide, in serpentine lines and over two brute airtimeholes, and comes to rest in front of the fortress in the brake. Barely escaped the spell, it goes back into the fortress. In the dark of the castle, the passengers can expect the first and only inversion of the rollercoaster, a heartline roll, and a subsequent photo point. When they arrive at the station, the guests on the opposite side of the luggage room get their belongings back.
When daylight steals through the winding exit, the large chamber of the KÄRNAN Butiken opens. The museum shop invites you to browse and marvel. Numerous merchandise products in the design of the KÄRNAN oath can be found here. T-shirts and caps, school supplies and bags, matching candy and medieval toys. Again, the soundtrack is available on CD, and driving photos from the final brake can be purchased. Furthermore, all hungry and thirsty guests get hot and soft drinks as well as popcorn in sweet, salty and caramelized.
