Cornwall-themed Rollercoaster to open in German Theme Park

Cornwall’s flag of St Piran will soon be flying high above a brand-new rollercoaster in a German amusement park. Hansa Park, a theme park in northern Germany, will be opening a Cornish-themed ride later this year. The ride will become a major feature of the Park’s ‘Beautiful Britain’ area. Riders will be given views of Cornish landmarks, including Roche Rock and the Minack Theatre.

I spoke with Claudia Leicht, a manager at Hansa Park. Claudia and several other executives from the park visited Cornwall when designing the ride. “We just enjoyed it so much, so we’re trying to combine the best of Cornwall. We want to enable our guests to experience a little bit of Cornwall from what we brought back when we went”, she told me.

She said the team were inspired to make the ride as accurate as possible to its Cornish theme. “We intended to be as authentic as possible… We’re quite professional when it comes to theming, but with the Cornwall Coaster, we’re reaching a new level.”

So what makes this a Cornwall-themed coaster? Well, the concept art shows how the design team has paid attention to detail.

The station that riders will embark on their Cornish adventure is inspired by the original St Austell train station, with a distinctive white coat of paint and red roof.

(Concept Art of the Launch Station, from Hansa Park)

The train that will take riders through the track is designed to resemble a vintage steam engine. And on the side of the train, the ride’s logo, which takes clear inspiration from the Cornish coat-of-arms.

(Concept Art of the train design, from Hansa Park)

As the train exits the station, it will shoot past a replica of Roche Rock, the iconic ruined church carved into the side of a rock near St Austell. As the train takes them around the track, riders will have a clear view of the Minack Theatre, which will act as a terrace space for when park-goers need a break.

Smaller details show just how thorough the ride designers were to truly emphasise Cornwall in the attraction. The ride incorporates elements such as Cornish dry-stone walls around its perimeter, a Brunel-like Great Western Railway viaduct that the train will run over, and, above all, St Piran’s flag proudly displayed atop the railway station.

The park's positioning right on the German coastline also means riders will get fleeting glimpse of the beach and the Baltic Sea, exemplifying the Cornish experience.

Why Cornwall?

I asked Claudia why the design team chose Cornwall as a theme: “Because it’s so pretty. That’s why we chose it. We want our guests to be able to enjoy the beauty of the area where you live”.

The Germans are no strangers in their admiration for Cornwall. Hundreds of thousands of Germans make the trip to our county every year, many of them inspired by the novels of Rosamunde Pilcher, which have sold more than 12 million copies. It then inspired a hit television programme on Germany’s national broadcaster Wie Verhext.

Claudia downplayed the role Pilcher played in choosing Cornwall for the theming. Although, undoubtedly, it will be the reason many Germany tourists will be looking to visit the new ride.

However, she did mention that Hansapark’s namesake has a historic link to Cornwall and its mining industry. ‘The Hansa’ or ‘Hanseatic League’ refers to network of merchant guilds and towns in Northern Europe, centred in Germany.

As Claudia described it, “The Cornish connection to the Hanseatic League can be found in the Robartes Family of Lanhydrock.” The Robartes family, as merchants of Cornish tin, formed a lucrative trade route between Cornwall and The Hansa and provided the economic and cultural linkage that inspired the ride’s theming.

Where is it?

Hansa Park is a family-run theme park on the northern coast of Germany, operating since 1977. The 113-acre park receives more than a million visitors each year.

Beautiful Britain is one of 11 areas in Hansa Park. It already features two rollercoasters, both themed around Scotland, a bumper-cars ride called ‘1903 Somerset Traffic’ and an indoor ball pit.

Claudia said the Cornwall Coaster was the perfect addition for the area and park as a whole. She said she felt it would “come to a point where we cannot imagine what it was like when we didn’t have that [the Cornwall Coaster]. It’s already unthinkable for us not to have that coaster”.

When will it open?

I asked Claudia if she could provide us with an opening date: “I wish I could. We announced that the opening will take place sometime throughout the 2026 season, but we are not able to publish a date yet”. She explained the park is still on track to open the ride later this year, despite facing a colder-than-expected winter that hindered the ride's development.

However, she did mention the theming around the ride won’t be finished until next winter, but that the ride will operate in the meantime.

Claudia said that the park “would love to welcome the Cornish people… Hansa Park is always worth a trip.”