Pripyat Ferris Wheel

The Pripyat Ferris wheel is the most recognizable symbol of the abandoned city of Pripyat and the entire Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine's Kyiv Oblast. The 26-metre-tall ride stands in the city's amusement park, next to the Energetik Palace of Culture and the Polissya Hotel, right in the center of Pripyat. Coordinates: 51.4082° N, 30.0565° E.

History before the disaster

The amusement park was built as a gift to the residents of this young town of nuclear power plant workers. The Ferris wheel, officially named "Circular Overview," was installed by the autumn of 1985. The park's grand opening was planned for 1 May 1986, the Soviet Labour Day holiday. But five days before that date, on 26 April, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster struck, and the park was never officially opened. Even so, test runs of the rides had taken place before the accident: some residents of Pripyat managed to ride the wheel during its installation and commissioning.

Attempts to restart it after the disaster

Over the decades of standstill, there have been repeated attempts to get the Ferris wheel moving again. In September 2017, tourists from Poland filmed a video that appeared to show the wheel turning without electricity. Ukraine's State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management called the footage questionable, stating that the rotation mechanism had been destroyed by corrosion and that turning a structure weighing several dozen tonnes by hand is practically impossible. Later, the well-known Ukrainian blogger Kreosan made another attempt to start the wheel, including with electric bicycles and generators, but could not achieve stable rotation: the mechanisms had rusted too badly over the decades.

Condition today

The Pripyat Ferris wheel has not collapsed or fallen, despite rumours that periodically appear online. The structure still stands in place, its cabins long since faded and its metal covered in a thick layer of rust. The park grounds are among the most contaminated spots in the city: elevated radiation levels are recorded near a drainage grate, because in 1986 vehicles that took part in the disaster cleanup were washed there. Despite this, the Ferris wheel remains the main stop on Exclusion Zone tour routes and one of the most photographed sights in Pripyat.