The House of the Five Senses is the impressive main entrance of amusement park

Amusement park

thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...

 Efteling

Efteling

Efteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands, and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand, and has received over 100 million visitors....

 in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven

Ton van de Ven

Ton van de Ven is a Dutch industrial designer. He is best known as the creative director at the Efteling theme park.Van de Ven was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where he also studied at the Design Academy.- Work at Efteling :...

 and went operational in 1996, a year later than planned due to a general strike

General strike

A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...

 in the construction sector.

Details

The architecture is based on the Indonesian Rumah Gadang

Rumah Gadang

Rumah gadang - or more correctly called by Minangkabau people rumah bagonjong - are the traditional homes of the Minangkabau. The architecture, construction, internal and external decoration, and the functions of the house reflect the culture and values of the Minangkabau...

 style of the Minangkabau ethnic group.

The 52- meter high wooden construction has the largest reed roof

Thatching

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...

 (48437 square feet/ 4500 square meters) in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.


The five peaks of the roof symbolize the Five senses, which stand for experiencing the Efteling. Besides the entrance, customer service

Customer service

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...

, a souvenir shop and a toilet group are located in the building.

The story

“A long time ago, there ruled a king, but who got too old and sick to stay in power. He had five sons, who were meant to rule the country, each contributing with their special ability (one of the Five senses). But they grew apart and the kingdom started falling apart. The old king’s court jester

Court jester

A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically for a European monarch. Jesters are stereotypically thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern...

 “Pardoes” (today’s park mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

) tried to get them together, and doing so requested an audience with each of the five sons.

To the first one he asked: “Can you hear what I’m thinking?”... –“No, only my brother can do that!... I see what you mean!!!”

To the second one he asked: “Can you see if people are honest?”…-“No, only my brother can do that!…I hear what you’re saying!!!”

Asking such questions to all the sons, he made them realize their interdependent relationship and brought them together, and the people built the House of the Five Senses, with the five peaks referring to the sons’ abilities, for them to rule together. It so happens that the park’s entrance passes through this building nowadays.”