Europa-Park founder Franz Mack passed away at the age of 89

Franz Mack was born on 7 March 1921 as the fourth son of Heinrich and Theresia Mack. His career path started as a cartwright and coachbuilder. In 1948 he took over the responsibility of his father´s company together with his brothers Hermann and Willi. The company, which was founded already back in 1780 and famous for the construction of stagecoaches and carousels, was then relocated to a new and spacious area in the beautiful Black Forest town Waldkirch/Germany.

The product range of the company not only included caravans and vending trailers, but also special vehicles that are needed for carousels, go-kart tracks and multi-storey haunted houses. Numerous innovations among the fairground rides, such as the “Wild Mouse” or the “Swiss Bob Run”, made by the successful family company, were sold all over the world.

Today the Mack company combines various technological top performances, which have been developed due to the ingenuity of the entrepreneur Franz Mack, who was considered a great visionary in the industry. In the course of time the entrepreneur has entered the European, Anglo-Saxon and North American markets. Today Mack Rides has also established in China and the whole of Asia.

Franz Mack and his son Roland are the founders of Europa-Park, which opened its doors in 1975 in Rust/Germany. During his numerous business trips abroad, he and Roland Mack had the idea to build a leisure park. Still today, many of the attractions and rides which attract visitors from all over the world are conceptions of Mack Rides. Meanwhile, Europa-Park is one of the leading theme parks in the world and the market leader in Germany. Today the Mack companies have over 3,100 employees.

Thanks to his passion for technology numerous rides at Europa-Park bear the hallmarks of Franz Mack. Among others he has designed the dark coaster “Eurosat” (opened in 1989) and the high-speed coaster “Euro-Mir” (opened in 1997). Already in old age, he has designed and developed the model himself.

In addition to his entrepreneurial tasks, Franz Mack has accepted a number of honorary posts. For example he was a member of the standards committee of fairground rides of the TÜV (German Association for Technical Inspection) and a conciliator in the German Association of Amusement Parks (VDFU). Moreover, he supported numerous clubs and associations in Rust/Germany and Waldkirch/Germany.

Franz Mack was honoured by the German Federal President with the Federal Cross of Merit (1984) and the Order of Merit (1997). For his exemplary commitment for the public welfare, Franz Mack was appointed honorary citizen of Rust/Germany in 2001. Morevoer, he was honoured with the Golden Medal of Merit by the city of Waldkirch/Germany.

In 1948 Franz Mack has married Liesel Mack who passed away in 2004. He was a proud grandfather of five grandchildren. The change of generations within the company was very important for him already at an early stage: Today his two sons Roland and Jürgen together with his grandsons Michael and Thomas manage the Mack companies Europa-Park and Mack Rides.

Europa-Park´s managing partner Roland Mack: “Our father was a great role model for all of us until the last days of his life. He has “lived” character attributes such as humbleness, diligence, endurance, sincerity, emotionality and frankness and thus deeply influenced our family and our company.”