Lunapark Sto Pociech

Description

Lunapark Sto Pociech operated on the right bank of the Vistula in Warsaw from 1928 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It originated when the Warsaw Zoo leased part of its grounds to generate additional revenue, with both venues sharing a common wooden entrance gate from Ratuszowa Street. By 1933, the fairground had expanded to reach what is now Aleja Solidarności and was rebranded under its better-known name, Sto Pociech. The centrepiece of the complex was a roller coaster installed in 1930, laid out on an L-shaped track with its longer arm facing towards the Vistula embankment. It was prominent enough to be visible from the Kierbedź Bridge and drew comparisons in the contemporary press to an aerial railway. Alongside it, the park offered electric cars, carousels, a Ferris wheel, a cone-shaped labyrinth, and small food stands. A parachute tower, owned by the Railway District of the Air and Anti-Gas Defence League and standing 20 metres to the jump platform, was also erected on the grounds and served both club members and general visitors. The venue drew large crowds from across Warsaw, particularly families with children, and became sufficiently embedded in local culture to feature in the 1930s song Choć na Pragę, regarded as an unofficial anthem of the Praga district, with lyrics by Tadeusz Stach and music by Artur Gold. A portion of the fairground's profits was channelled back to the Zoo, and when part of the site was eventually scaled down, the reclaimed land was used to create the zoo's first ungulate enclosures and a seal pool before the war. Some structural remnants of the complex survive in the western part of Praski Park near Wybrzeże Helskie street.