Luna Park was an amusement park near Leipzig, Germany that existed from 1912 to 1932. It was built around the Auensee lake, a former gravel pit

Gravel pit

Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...

. The park featured a scenic railroad ride, a hippodrome

Hippodrome

A hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words "hippos and "dromos"...

, a dance hall

Dance hall

Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...

, restaurants, and a public beach. Immensely popular prior to the onset of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Luna Park's fortunes waned in the latter 1920s and early 1930s as the effects of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

encircled the world. The park ceased operating as a commercial enterprise 13 January 1932.

The main restaurant stayed open, even after the close of the park, which eventually became (1941) property of the city of Leipzig.