Tivoli Gardens

About

Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli (Danish pronunciation: [ˈtsʰiwoli]), is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, also in Denmark. With 4.25 million visitors in 2024, Tivoli is the most visited amusement park in Scandinavia and second-most popular seasonal amusement park in the world after Europa-Park. Tivoli is also the fifth-most visited amusement park in Europe, behind Disneyland Park, Efteling, Europa-Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. It is located in downtown Copenhagen, next to the Central rail station.

The amusement park was first called "Tivoli & Vauxhall"; "Tivoli" alluding to the Jardin de Tivoli in Paris (which in its turn had been named after Tivoli near Rome, Italy), and "Vauxhall" alluding to Vauxhall Gardens in London. It is mentioned in various books, such as Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and was also used prominently in the 1961 science fiction film Reptilicus.

Tivoli's founder, Georg Carstensen (b. 1812 – d. 1857), obtained a five-year charter to create Tivoli by telling King Christian VIII that " when the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics ". The monarch granted Carstensen use of roughly 15 acres (61,000 m 2 ) of the fortified glacis outside Vesterport (the West Gate) for an annual rent. Until the 1850s Tivoli was outside the city, accessible from the city only through the Vesterport.

From its beginning Tivoli included a variety of attractions: buildings in the style of an imaginary Orient: a theatre, band stands, restaurants and cafés, flower gardens, and mechanical amusement rides such as a merry-go-round and a primitive scenic railway. After dark, colored lamps illuminated the gardens. On certain evenings, specially designed fireworks could be seen reflected in Tivoli's lake, a remnant of the moat surrounding the city fortifications.

Composer Hans Christian Lumbye (b. 1810 – d. 1874) was Tivoli's musical director from 1843 to 1872. Lumbye was inspired by Viennese waltz composers such as the Strauss family ( Johann Strauss I and his sons), and became known as the "Strauss of the North". Many of his compositions are specifically inspired by the gardens, including "Salute to the Ticket Holders of Tivoli", "Carnival Joys" and "A Festive Night at Tivoli". The Tivoli Symphony Orchestra still performs many of his works.

In 1874, a Chinese-style Pantomimeteatret (pantomime theatre) took the place of an older smaller theatre. The audience stands in the open, the stage being inside the building. The theatre's "curtain" is a mechanical peacock's tail. From the very beginning, the theatre was the home of Italian pantomimes, introduced in Denmark by the Italian Giuseppe Casorti. This tradition, dependent on the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, has been kept alive; it portrays the characters Cassander (the old father), Columbine (his beautiful daughter), Harlequin (her lover), and the stupid servant Pierrot. The absence of spoken dialogue is advantageous due to Tivoli's status as a tourist attraction.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Tivoli also hosted human exhibitions.

In 1943, Nazi sympathisers burnt many of Tivoli's buildings, including the concert hall, to the ground. Temporary buildings were constructed in their place and the park was back in operation after a few weeks. [ page needed ]

During World War II, several landmarks within Tivoli Gardens were bombed by Nazi saboteurs in June 1944, including sections of Rutschebanen. Government officials believed it was essential to restore the park back to operating order as soon as possible, so Rutschebanen was renovated and reopened just 25 days later.

Georg Carstensen said in 1844: "Tivoli will never, so to speak, be finished", a sentiment echoed just over a century later when Walt Disney said of his own Tivoli-inspired theme park, " Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world".

In Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, the word tivoli has become synonymous with any amusement park.

The park is best known for its wooden roller coaster, Rutschebanen, or as some people call it, Bjergbanen ( The Mountain Coaster ), built in 1914. It is one of the world's oldest wooden roller coasters that is still operating today. An operator controls the ride by braking so that it does not gain too much speed during descent of the hills. It is an ACE Coaster Classic.

Another roller coaster, Dæmonen ( The Demon ) features an Immelmann loop, a vertical loop, and a zero-G roll all during the ride time of just one minute and forty six seconds. An old roller coaster, Slangen ( The Snake ) was removed to have enough space for Dæmonen. In 2017, Tivoli Gardens added an optional virtual reality experience to the ride, simulating a flight through ancient China, along with encounters with dragons and demons. Dæmonen is situated next to the concert hall.

A well-known swing ride, The Star Flyer, opened in Tivoli in 2006. 260 feet (80 metres) high and built by the Austria-based Australian company Funtime, it offers panoramic views of the city.

On 1 May 2009, Tivoli Gardens opened the new ride Vertigo, a looping plane ride where the rider pilots the ride, able to control the plane. This ride had extremely low capacity and suffered significant downtime. The ride was removed in 2021.

A Zamperla Air Race ride, Aquila, opened on 11 April 2013. It is a giant swing and spinner with centrifugal powers up to 4 g, named after the constellation of the Eagle.

The newest attractions include Fatamorgana and Tik Tak. Fatamorgana opened in 2016. This is the world's first Condor 2GH, which offers two separate seating arrangements, one milder version with two-seater gondolas, and a thrilling version in which riders are slung around at high speed while seated in a ring and facing away from the center.

Tik Tak opened in 2018 and is the first permanent installation of a Mondial Shake R5. This model is slightly less aggressive than the traveling model and is spectacularly themed.

- Aquila – giant swing and spinner ride that opened in 2013; with centrifugal powers up to 4 g; height limit 1.2 m. Zamperla.

- Fatamorgana – a 141 ft (43 m) tall hybrid Condor ride that opened in 2016. Huss.