Tropical Islands Resort sits inside the Aerium, a colossal former airship hangar in Krausnick, Brandenburg, about 50 kilometers south of Berlin. Built by CargoLifter AG and completed in November 2000, the hangar became the world’s largest free-standing hall without interior support pillars before CargoLifter’s 2002 bankruptcy left the structure searching for a new purpose. Malaysian corporation Tanjong bought it in 2003 for €17.5 million and reopened it as an indoor tropical resort on December 19, 2004.
Since then, Tropical Islands has grown into the world’s largest indoor water park, surpassing Canada’s West Edmonton Mall waterpark in scale. The 66,000-square-meter interior holds a rainforest with roughly 50,000 plants, a lagoon-style pool, sandy beaches, and Germany’s tallest water slide tower, all kept at a steady 26°C regardless of the weather outside. Now owned by Spanish leisure group Parques Reunidos, the resort draws over a million visitors a year and continues to expand with new lodging like the 2024 OHANA Lodge complex.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Krausnick, Brandenburg, Germany
- Opened: December 19, 2004
- Building: Former CargoLifter airship hangar (the Aerium), completed 2000
- Dimensions: About 360 m long, 210 m wide, 107 m high
- Indoor area: About 66,000 square meters
- Interior climate: Held at about 26°C (79°F), 64% humidity
- Daily capacity: Up to about 8,200 visitors
- Operator: Parques Reunidos (since 2018)
A Hangar Reborn
The building’s backstory is as striking as anything inside it. CargoLifter AG raised the Aerium in the late 1990s to assemble giant cargo airships, and its pillar-free interior remains the largest of its kind in the world by volume, holding about 5.5 million cubic meters of space. When CargoLifter collapsed financially in 2002, the empty hangar risked becoming a stranded industrial relic on the site of a former Soviet-era military airfield.
Instead, Tanjong’s 2003 purchase and subsequent redevelopment turned the shell into a climate-controlled tropical world. Visitors pass through what still looks like an aircraft hangar door into a landscape of palm trees, a beach lagoon, and a rainforest canopy, all lit by a translucent roof membrane that lets in natural daylight.
What’s Inside
The centerpiece Tropical Sea lagoon spans thousands of square meters and anchors a network of slides, saunas, and relaxation areas, including Germany’s tallest water slide tower. The Rainforest section houses around 50,000 plants across some 600 species, while the outdoor Amazonia area outside the dome adds camping and lodging space exceeding 35,000 square meters.
Because the entire park sits under one climate-controlled roof, it operates year-round regardless of the harsh Brandenburg winters outside, a rarity among water parks of its scale and a key reason it has kept its title as the world’s largest indoor water park.
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Tropical Islands FAQs
Is Tropical Islands really inside an airship hangar?
Yes. The park occupies the Aerium, a hangar CargoLifter AG built to assemble airships, completed in 2000. It remains the largest free-standing hall in the world without interior support pillars.
How far is Tropical Islands from Berlin?
It’s located in Krausnick, Brandenburg, about 50 kilometers south of Berlin, reachable via the A13 autobahn or by train to the Brand Tropical Islands station with a shuttle connection.
What temperature is it kept at inside?
The interior is climate-controlled to about 26°C (79°F) with roughly 64% humidity year-round, regardless of the weather outside.
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