The entertainment park was opened in 1969 in the South East part of Berlin, covering an area of 29.5 hectares. It was the only constant entertainment park in the GDR and after the consolidation of the two German states also the only one in all of Berlin.
The VEB cultural park Berlin was completed in 1991 by mixed municipal authorities in Berlin. From seven applicants altogether the Spreepark Berlin GmbH company received the contract. Crucially, the references of Norbert Witte of the company were not properly checked.
Under the Spreepark GmbH some new attractions were added and visitor numbers reached 1.5 million per annum. Later the concept was changed.
Since 1999 the park has had to cope with large debts. The increase in the admission fee to 30DM per person and a lack of parking space contributed to a drop in visitor numbers until in 2001 only 400,000 visitors entered the park.
In 2001 Spreepark GmbH announced that they were insolvent.
On 18 January 2002 Norbert Witte, together with his family and closest coworkers left for Lima in Peru. They shipped six attractions in 20 ship containers, having been allowed to do so by the authorities who believed they were being sent for repair.
Since 2002 the park has not opened for visitors. In August 2002 the park was declared completely insolvent. Debts at a level of 11 million Euro remained and the area was allowed to fall into disrepair. The Ferris wheel still stands on the area as a reminder of the old days.
Norbert Witte failed in his attempt to run a "Lunapark" in Lima. On 19 May 2004 he was sentenced to seven years in jail for attempting to smuggle 180kg of cocaine with a value of $14 million from Peru to Germany in the masts of the "flying carpet" ride. In October 2006 a Peruvian court sentenced Wittes' son, Marcel Witte, to 20 years for drug smuggling.
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