Known as the Hamburg Building Lion, Hans Peter Rüster designed and built around 4,000 apartments right on the coast of Sierksdorfer. However, conditions imposed by the provincial government also demanded that leisure facilities be provided. So Rüster decided to build a LEGO®-licensed amusement park near his facility, and trusted in the successful concept in Denmark.
Managing Directors were Carl M. Wenzel, founder of today's Wenzel Consulting AG, and Paul Bornscheuer, former owner of amusement park Verden. The vision of the 12-hectare complex devoured 30 million marks, part of which was co-financed by the Kieler Landesbank.
The few attractions included the still active park railway, pony riding, as well as a traffic school with controllable vehicles. Still in operation today are the rides Kohlraupe (now known as the Koggenfahrt), the canal boats (today's Blumenmeer boat trip), the mini-cars and the safari jeeps. Another legacy of the LEGOLAND® at the HANSA-PARK, and thus still admired today, is the western town of LEGOREDO, which now shows the heyday of the far west under the name of Bonanza City.
A highlight of the LEGOLAND® is the mini country with replicas of well-known German cities, such as Rüdesheim am Rhein or the Lower Saxon Celle. 28 million building blocks were installed to revive a small, colorful world. And even the Lübeck Holstentor found a place as a replica in direct proximity to the main entrance. If you look closely at the HANSA Garden these days, you can even see the outline of the Miniland.
But after three years, the LEGOLAND® Sierksdorf had to close its doors. For one, the toy manufacturer demanded up to 35% of all sales of souvenirs and entrance fees, licensing fees. On the other hand, the oil crisis caused rapidly rising interest rate increases. But even the concept missed the interests of the Germans. Of the expected in the opening year 1.6 million visitors came just 600,000. Der Spiegel wrote: "The adults were bored in the small towns, children did not bring enough into the coffers. Rüsters Deutsche Familienpark GmbH was liquidated."