Le Bioscope is a former

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Ungersheim Ungersheim (; gsw, Ungersche) is a Communes of France, ''commune'' in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, ''department'' of Grand Est in eastern France. It forms part of the Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération, the inter-communal local government bo ...

, in the Upper Rhine (the

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'') of France. The 12½-hectare(31 acre) park – described in a

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

2004 press releaseCommission authorises State cofinancing of theme park project in Alsace
a September 2004 press release from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

website as a place where visitors learn about health, life and the environment "whilst having fun" – is laid out in concentric circles, a design by Frédéric Jung meant to evoke the shockwaves caused by the impact of the

Ensisheim meteorite The Ensisheim meteorite is a stony meteorite that fell on November 7, 1492 in a wheat field outside the walled town of Ensisheim in then Alsace, Further Germany (now France). The meteorite can still be seen in Ensisheim's museum, the sixteenth- ...

, which struck nearby in 1492. The

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

region first proposed the park in 1994. Bright White, a

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

-based firm, was responsible for "development, engineering and project management of the design phase", with the idea of meeting the park's goal to educate people "to take responsibility for their own actions with respect to equilibrium with the environment." The park closed in September 2012.

Operation

Bioscope was built and is operated as a public-private partnership, with government financing the purchase of the land and part of the construction, and a private company being granted a 30-year concession to build and operate the park. In exchange, the concession holder pays a fee based on turnover. In July 2001, the Alsace region and the General Council of the Haut-Rhin announced their decision to grant the concession to Grévin & Cie, the company that operates facilities such as

Musée Grévin The ''Musée Grévin'' (; ) ( en, Grévin Museum) is a wax museum in Paris located on the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, at 10, Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, France. It is open daily; an admission fee ...

Parc Astérix Parc Astérix is a theme park in France based on the comic book series ''Asterix'' by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. With around 2.3 million visitors yearly, Parc Astérix is France's second largest theme park, behind only Disneyland Paris wit ...

, and the Dolfinarium in

Harderwijk Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands. It is served by the Harderwijk railway station. Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden. Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The south ...

.Comprehensive information on Grévin & Cie
, from that company's website

References

External links

Official website
archived at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Bioscope, Le Amusement parks in France Defunct amusement parks in France Amusement parks opened in 2006 Amusement parks closed in 2012 Parks in France Buildings and structures in Haut-Rhin Compagnie des Alpes Tourist attractions in Haut-Rhin 2012 disestablishments in France 21st-century architecture in France