On Germany’s Baltic coast stands a 73-meter brick tower that looks more like a medieval fortress than a roller coaster. Inside it hides one of the most disorienting tricks in the coaster world. The Oath of Kärnan (German: Der Schwur des Kärnan) at Hansa Park in Sierksdorf is Gerstlauer’s biggest coaster ever built — the manufacturer’s tallest, fastest, and longest creation — and its signature moment happens in total darkness, moving backwards.
Key Stats
| Height | 240 ft (73 m) |
| Drop | 220 ft (67 m) |
| Top speed | 79 mph (127 km/h) |
| Length | 4,052 ft (1,235 m) |
| Inversions | 1 |
| Duration | approx. 3:37 |
| Manufacturer / model | Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster |
| Opened | July 1, 2015 |
| Park | Hansa Park — Sierksdorf, Germany |
The Backwards Freefall Nobody Sees Coming
The ride is themed to the Kärnan, the medieval tower of Helsingborg in Sweden — a fitting story for a park built around Hanseatic history. Trains ascend a vertical lift inside the enclosed tower, and near the top, in complete darkness, the train is held… then released to freefall backwards down the lift shaft before being caught and hauled up again. First-time riders have no idea it’s coming, and the moment has become one of the most talked-about coaster elements in Europe.
The Ride Experience
After the backwards fake-out, the real drop delivers: 67 meters at a near-vertical angle, partly enclosed, reaching 127 km/h. From there the layout stretches across 1,235 meters of sweeping turns, airtime hills, and a single inversion, hugging the Baltic shoreline. At about three and a half minutes gate-to-gate, it also ranks among the longest ride times at any theme park for a coaster of this class, and its plunge holds its own among the biggest roller coaster drops in the world.
Records and Context
When it opened on July 1, 2015, The Oath of Kärnan instantly became the flagship of Hansa Park and the crown jewel of Gerstlauer’s catalog — the German manufacturer had never built anything close to this scale before, and still hasn’t surpassed it. Its combination of hyper-coaster statistics, dark-ride storytelling, and that one-of-a-kind backwards tower drop makes it a bucket-list ride for European coaster enthusiasts.
FAQ
How tall is The Oath of Kärnan?
The tower stands 73 meters (240 feet) tall, with a 67-meter (220-foot) main drop and a top speed of 127 km/h (79 mph).
What is the backwards drop on Kärnan?
During the vertical lift inside the dark tower, the train is released and freefalls backwards down the shaft before being caught and lifted again — a surprise element unique to this ride.
Where is The Oath of Kärnan?
It’s at Hansa Park in Sierksdorf, Germany, on the Baltic Sea coast about an hour northeast of Hamburg.
Photo: Tobiasi0 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
