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By Jens Hoyer.
Döbeln. Karls Touristik-GmbH is in the starting blocks for the start of construction on Karl's adventure village in Döbeln. Work is scheduled to start in the spring so that the amusement park can open at Easter next year. However, Robert Dahl, head of Karls, is not yet able to name an exact date. Although the city of Döbeln completed the planning process last year, the administration is currently working at full speed on the building permit for the buildings to be erected.
Karls pulls Trump out of his sleeve
In the first construction phase, the actual leisure park with shopping facilities, gastronomy and attractions is planned. A hotel with 200 beds is to be added later in the second phase. A constellation that also exists at other Karls locations. This attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. In Rövershagen near Rostock about 1.5 million a year. To better manage the influx of visitors, Karls is pulling a trump card out of his sleeve there.
Because the Rostock - Graal-Müritz railroad line runs past Rövershagen, the adventure village is getting its own train stop. This is currently under construction, said Dahl. The railroad and Karls share in the costs, the operator of the leisure park spends over 500,000 euros on it. Profitability calculations assume an additional 80,000 rail passengers per year.
Railroad line offers perspective
In Döbeln, too, Karls has a railroad line right outside its door. Outside the back door, to be more precise. The Riesa-Chemnitz line runs on two tracks directly past the 170,000 square meter site.
Dahl can get excited about the idea of creating a rail connection in Döbeln as well. "That would be a dream and would be fully in the spirit of the times. We would also contribute to the costs."
It would also be an advantage for employees if they could reach their workplace cheaply by train, says Dahl. In addition, families who do not have a car would also find it easier to get to the adventure village.
So far, bus services to Karls in Döbeln North are planned and a cycle path is also planned. At the end of March, the city of Döbeln plans to start upgrading the A14/B169 intersection for car traffic.
However, Dahl also knows that the project of a dedicated rail stop is not quick and easy to implement. "It's a long process with the railroad. We've been working on it for six or seven years. The line in Rövershagen is heavily traveled. The train schedule had to be adjusted. But we are already in the 2023 timetable," Dahl said.
But Karls already had good experiences on the island Usedom collected. In the adventure village in Koserow, up to a quarter of visitors arrive by train. The Usedom Bäderbahn, which is heavily used by tourists, stops right on the village's doorstep.
Company expands towards the south and west
The construction department of Karls Touristik GmbH currently has work to do not only with Döbeln. The company is currently in the process of expanding throughout Germany. It is also moving far south in the process. In Plech, a place on the A9 between Bayreuth and Nuremberg, the first adventure village on Bavarian territory is planned.
"I asked in the local council: does anyone know Karl's experience village? Half the hands raised. We got a lot of positive responses," Dahl said. Karls plans to use the site of the former Fränkisches Wunderland amusement park in Plech.
Two further locations are in Loxstedt near Bremerhaven and in the Ruhr area in Oberhausen planned. Near the North Sea, it is to be an adventure village on the 4.5-hectare site of a former retail chain. In Oberhausen, a former amusement park is also to be used. "We are keen to make the Karls brand known throughout Germany," Dahl said.
One reason: The possibility of visiting adventure villages everywhere would also increase interest in Karls' annual pass. "For three euros a month, you can use everything we have with it. Even the ice worlds and the corn maze." said Dahl. Plenty of 100,000 customers currently have such a subscription, he said.
