What should one do with an airship hangar whose designated airship never got built? The answer is quite simple; you turn it into an indoor Tropical Island Resort. Located approximately 60 km south of Berlin we have the world’s largest dome that houses an artificial tropical resort. The structure itself is 360 meters long, 210 meters wide, 107 meters high and makes use of 14,000 tons of steel to remain erected. To give our readers a little perspective here; it can house 8 soccer fields and the Statue of Liberty can be easily placed inside it. The building has a volume of 5.5 million cubic meters. There are no supporting pillars inside the hall. This structure was designed and built back in 2000 for the CL160 which was never completed and eventually the company went bankrupt in 2002 and two years later emerged the Tropical Island Resort.
Once you enter the dome, you’ll be stepping into the world’s largest artificial rainforest. There are around 30,000 tress, groundcover and bushes. One can very well find some carnivorous plants, coffee bushes, banana trees, jungle creepers and many other exotic plants. There is a one km long path that goes through the forest and then we have a bridge right above the mangrove swamp which gives quite a view to its users. The dome makes use of real sunlight to provide nourishment to 500 species of plants that are planted within it.
All the visitors are welcome to enjoy the 200 meters long artificial beach where they can even go for a swim in the artificial sea and enjoy 26 degrees Celsius all the time. The sea has been outlined with sandy beaches and has some small tropical islands which have been decorated by employing grass hunts. You’ll also find many re-creations of some of the very famous architectural work from Asia; Angkor Wat, the Balinese Temple Gate etc. You can find Buddha statues in abundance and there are ponds and canals running through the site.
This facility is open 24/7 all year long and has a lot of activities to keep attracting visitors. For instance; a swimming pool with a capacity of 8,000 persons at a time, 25 meters high water slide, restaurants, mini-golf course and many other highlights. Let’s not forget the overnight camping on Paradise beach.
The dome enjoys some really cool environment friendly features as well. The recycled water from the pools is used to water the plants. Owing to the humidity inside, every now and then water condensation gathers and then falls resulting in spontaneous rain showers which are really cool!
So if you’re planning to visit Germany, do take a trip to this wonderful place.
