The Oath of KÄRNAN

About

The Oath of Kärnan (German: Der Schwur des Kärnan, short: Kärnan; stylized: The Oath of KÄRNAN) is a steel roller coaster at Hansa-Park, located in Sierksdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, the roller coaster is one of five full-circuit hypercoasters with inversions in Europe. The 1,235-metre (4,052 ft) long roller coaster, which has a track height of 73 metres (240 ft), a drop height of 67 metres (220 ft) and a speed of up to 127 kilometres per hour (79 mph) is with Silver Star the fourth highest roller coaster in Europe after Shambhala (76 metres (249 ft)), Hyperion (77 metres (253 ft)) and Red Force (112 metres (367 ft)).

Kärnan was first announced by Hansa-Park in November 2013, following an extensive planning and development stage. Gerstlauer were chosen to manufacture the coaster, Kärnan being their first installation over 61-metre (200 ft) in height. It was also the third consecutive Gerstlauer coaster to feature in the park, following Escape of Novgorod and Midgard Serpent.

Construction began on the tower element that will house the vertical lift hill in April 2014, with the tower itself being topped off in September 2014. Hansa Park confirmed that the coaster will feature a dark ride section with an inversion. Kärnan also has a 30 metres (98 ft) vertical reverse free fall drop during the vertical lift, a world first on a full-circuit roller coaster.

Kärnan officially opened to the public on 1 July 2015, with further addition of theming completed in 2016.

The route is divided into two areas, a dark ride section, in which the ride starts and ends, and the main part is an outdoor route. The Kärnan has some special elements, such as the world's first vertical lift hill with a backward free fall from a height of over 60 metres (200 ft), the speed of which was increased from 18 kilometres per hour (11 mph) to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) in 2017. The lift hill is completely enclosed in a 79 metres (259 ft) high tower. The roller coaster also has a non-inverting sea serpent roll, a vertical descent with a twist, airtime hill and a heartline roll at the end of the ride. After the first drop and the heart element, the layout of the roller coaster is kept closer to the ground in large parts of the route. Kärnan operates with 3 trains of 16 seats each, laid out in 4 rows of 4 with lap bar restraints. These are the same type of trains and restraints as found on Gerstlauer's other Infinity Coasters, such as Karacho at Tripsdrill.

When the lift opened in 2015, the tower ceiling was illuminated in blue. This effect was abandoned after a short time. A soundtrack is played from the entrance of the train to the first drop, the dynamics of which is synchronized with the journey. For the 2019 season, a further theming element was added in the tower: During the vertical ascent on the lift hill, the passenger, now lying on their back, looks at a screen attached to the tower ceiling, on which the spirit of King Eric Menved appears to him in the form of the video sequences in the queue. He reports that he has been tied to the tower for all eternity, whereupon the backward free fall begins. After this, the voice of the builder who wants to help the guests out of the tower can be heard and the train continues its journey on the lift hill to the first drop. If the familiar musical background was initially dispensed with in the first few days of this innovation, the park plays it back when driving on the lift hill and after the backward free fall in order to meet the visitors' wishes and therefore shortened the builder's monologue.

The waiting area is the KÄRNAN Museum. In the first part, the visitor sees a 15-minute documentary in seven parts in which Christian Schröder (moderator) visits Kärnan in Helsingborg and gets to the bottom of the legend. In the further course, the waiting person walks through numerous rooms such as a throne room in which the first indications of the spell can be seen like the symbol of Kärnan on the throne. On further screens the visitors are informed by an actor that another part of the fortress has just been exposed and that a longer stay in Kärnan is unsafe due to the danger of collapse. Visitors should leave the fortress via the "royal escape vehicle", which is the roller coaster train. It is pointed out again and again that no loose objects should be carried, which actually corresponds to the safety instructions for using the roller coaster. All parts of the waiting area are underlaid with sound effects such as chain rattling, sword fighting or the original soundtrack of the roller coaster. The lighting is kept very dark.

In this room, visitors are admitted in groups of a maximum of 16 people. A video is played in which the protagonist, who is already known from the queue, explores this room and discovers a "secret compartment" in a wall of books that turns out to be a luggage rack for the passengers. In the video, visitors are again asked to put down all loose objects, which the roller coaster operator expressly points out for the last time before the ride. For example, it is forbidden to wear headgear, scarves or glasses while riding.

Afterwards, the passengers are led into a darkened room and are divided into four rows independently in groups of four. A random generator determines which of the groups of four will be seated in which row of seats in the roller coaster train. This happens when one of the four rows lights up and then one of four doors opens, which determines the row in the roller coaster train. A free choice of the row of seats is therefore not possible. The passenger can only decide with whom he would like to take a seat in a row of four. Here, too, the drama in the music contributes a large part to the overall experience, with the green light symbols in the panels on the floor and above the doors each representing the symbol of the Kärnan.

The route is divided into two areas, a dark ride section, in which the ride starts and ends, and the main part is an outdoor route. The Kärnan has some special elements, such as the world's first vertical lift hill with a backward free fall from a height of over 60 metres (200 ft), the speed of which was increased from 18 kilometres per hour (11 mph) to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) in 2017. The lift hill is completely enclosed in a 79 metres (259 ft) high tower. The roller coaster also has a non-inverting sea serpent roll, a vertical descent with a twist, airtime hill and a heartline roll at the end of the ride. After the first drop and the heart element, the layout of the roller coaster is kept closer to the ground in large parts of the route. Kärnan operates with 3 trains of 16 seats each, laid out in 4 rows of 4 with lap bar restraints. These are the same type of trains and restraints as found on Gerstlauer's other Infinity Coasters, such as Karacho at Tripsdrill.

When the lift opened in 2015, the tower ceiling was illuminated in blue. This effect was abandoned after a short time. A soundtrack is played from the entrance of the train to the first drop, the dynamics of which is synchronized with the journey. For the 2019 season, a further theming element was added in the tower: During the vertical ascent on the lift hill, the passenger, now lying on their back, looks at a screen attached to the tower ceiling, on which the spirit of King Eric Menved appears to him in the form of the video sequences in the queue. He reports that he has been tied to the tower for all eternity, whereupon the backward free fall begins. After this, the voice of the builder who wants to help the guests out of the tower can be heard and the train continues its journey on the lift hill to the first drop. If the familiar musical background was initially dispensed with in the first few days of this innovation, the park plays it back when driving on the lift hill and after the backward free fall in order to meet the visitors' wishes and therefore shortened the builder's monologue.

When the lift opened in 2015, the tower ceiling was illuminated in blue. This effect was abandoned after a short time. A soundtrack is played from the entrance of the train to the first drop, the dynamics of which is synchronized with the journey. For the 2019 season, a further theming element was added in the tower: During the vertical ascent on the lift hill, the passenger, now lying on their back, looks at a screen attached to the tower ceiling, on which the spirit of King Eric Menved appears to him in the form of the video sequences in the queue. He reports that he has been tied to the tower for all eternity, whereupon the backward free fall begins. After this, the voice of the builder who wants to help the guests out of the tower can be heard and the train continues its journey on the lift hill to the first drop. If the familiar musical background was initially dispensed with in the first few days of this innovation, the park plays it back when driving on the lift hill and after the backward free fall in order to meet the visitors' wishes and therefore shortened the builder's monologue.

The waiting area is the KÄRNAN Museum. In the first part, the visitor sees a 15-minute documentary in seven parts in which Christian Schröder (moderator) visits Kärnan in Helsingborg and gets to the bottom of the legend. In the further course, the waiting person walks through numerous rooms such as a throne room in which the first indications of the spell can be seen like the symbol of Kärnan on the throne. On further screens the visitors are informed by an actor that another part of the fortress has just been exposed and that a longer stay in Kärnan is unsafe due to the danger of collapse. Visitors should leave the fortress via the "royal escape vehicle", which is the roller coaster train. It is pointed out again and again that no loose objects should be carried, which actually corresponds to the safety instructions for using the roller coaster. All parts of the waiting area are underlaid with sound effects such as chain rattling, sword fighting or the original soundtrack of the roller coaster. The lighting is kept very dark.

In this room, visitors are admitted in groups of a maximum of 16 people. A video is played in which the protagonist, who is already known from the queue, explores this room and discovers a "secret compartment" in a wall of books that turns out to be a luggage rack for the passengers. In the video, visitors are again asked to put down all loose objects, which the roller coaster operator expressly points out for the last time before the ride. For example, it is forbidden to wear headgear, scarves or glasses while riding.

Afterwards, the passengers are led into a darkened room and are divided into four rows independently in groups of four. A random generator determines which of the groups of four will be seated in which row of seats in the roller coaster train. This happens when one of the four rows lights up and then one of four doors opens, which determines the row in the roller coaster train. A free choice of the row of seats is therefore not possible. The passenger can only decide with whom he would like to take a seat in a row of four. Here, too, the drama in the music contributes a large part to the overall experience, with the green light symbols in the panels on the floor and above the doors each representing the symbol of the Kärnan.

In this room, visitors are admitted in groups of a maximum of 16 people. A video is played in which the protagonist, who is already known from the queue, explores this room and discovers a "secret compartment" in a wall of books that turns out to be a luggage rack for the passengers. In the video, visitors are again asked to put down all loose objects, which the roller coaster operator expressly points out for the last time before the ride. For example, it is forbidden to wear headgear, scarves or glasses while riding.

Afterwards, the passengers are led into a darkened room and are divided into four rows independently in groups of four. A random generator determines which of the groups of four will be seated in which row of seats in the roller coaster train. This happens when one of the four rows lights up and then one of four doors opens, which determines the row in the roller coaster train. A free choice of the row of seats is therefore not possible. The passenger can only decide with whom he would like to take a seat in a row of four. Here, too, the drama in the music contributes a large part to the overall experience, with the green light symbols in the panels on the floor and above the doors each representing the symbol of the Kärnan.

The old King of Denmark, Eric V of Denmark, was stabbed to death by his closest confidante while hunting on a November night. His son Eric VI of Denmark, who was 12 years old at the time, succeeded him on the throne. He took every oath of his reign, including his coronation oath, "by all holy men" ( Danish : ved alle hellige mænd ), which gave him the nickname Eric Menved. During the beginning of his reign, his father's vogelfrei murderers still roamed the coasts of Denmark, which frightened the people, but Eric did not care. His focus was on conquering distant countries and participating in all tournaments. In this way he spent the court's money until it ran out, which is why he increased taxes and pledged parts of his kingdom to nobles from other countries.

A famine broke out in Denmark later, but this did not prompt Eric to lower the tax rate. Instead, he put down the uprisings by force and had the corpses hung up outside the town as a deterrent, which meant that the nobility now turned against the king and a great rebellion broke out, which Eric could only put down with the help of foreign mercenary troops. Even that did not cause him to admit his mistakes, but rather let him see himself threatened by his people and neighboring kingdoms. He called the royal court together and announced:

Our enemies lurk in the shadows and beyond the borders of our Kingdom, but we will build a fortress for us and for Denmark - and it will be stronger than a fortress ever was, so that our enemies will never take it and never tear it down become! We swear it, by all holy men.