Gröna Lund, Stockholm

Gröna Lund, or colloquially Grönan, is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden.

Located on the seaward side of Djurgården Island, it is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly because of its central location, which limits expansion.

The 3.8 ha amusement park has over 30 attractions and is a popular venue for concerts in the summer. It was founded in 1883 by James Schultheiss.

History
Gröna Lund’s roots are in the 1880s, making it Sweden’s oldest amusement park. However the area has been used for similar purposes since the early 18th century.

In 1883, a German by the name of Jacob Schultheiss rented the area to erect “carousels and other amusements”. Until 2001, descendants of Schultheiss ran Gröna Lund. Before the amusement park came into being, Gröna Lund was the name of a small park.

The park’s location is unique in the sense that most of the buildings are old residential and commercial structures from the 19th century. The buildings were not built for the park; instead, the park was built around the buildings. The park has three different entertainment venues: Dansbanan, Gröna Lundsteatern and Stora Scenen.

Gröna Lund features most attractions common to amusement parks, such as a tunnel of love, a funhouse and eight roller coasters. Gröna Lund is also known for its rock and pop music concerts; the capacity record is held by Bob Marley, who attracted 32,000 people in 1980; it was his third performance at the venue, after stints in 1977 and 1978.

Since 2006, the park is owned by Parks & Resorts Scandinavia AB, which is wholly owned by the Tidstrand family, which also owns Kolmården Zoo and Skara Sommarland.