The Ferris wheel is one of the most popular attractions in our country. Today you can ride on such a carousel in almost any city. What is the height of the largest Ferris wheel in Russia and in what region is it located?
The history of the "damn" wheels
Even in the XVII century, an attraction was invented, which is a prototype of modern Ferris wheels. This device had a slight overall height and was set in motion by the impact of human strength. The first large-scale surveillance attraction was designed in 1893 by engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. The diameter of the wheel was 75 meters, and at the same time 2160 people could ride on it. His full turn made the attraction in 20 minutes. In our country, the first such carousel was commissioned in 1912, in St. Petersburg. At that time there was still no debate about where the world's largest Ferris wheel is. This type of rides was then considered a symbol of progress in engineering thought. Gradually such carousels became more and more popular. For a long time, the Moscow attraction was considered a record holder in our country. It was opened to the 850th anniversary of the founding of the capital in 1995. The height of the largest Ferris wheel in Russia was 73 meters. This record was beaten only in 2012.
Attraction in Lazarevsky Park is an absolute record
In 2012, a new giant was opened in Sochi, in the village of Lazarevskoye. The main engineer of the project was Vladimir Gnezdilov, who previously specialized in the construction of attractions of this category. Due to its amazing size, the carousel immediately got the title of the highest in our country. At the same time, the attraction is made in accordance with modern safety standards. The height of the largest Ferris wheel in Russia is 83.5 m. If you want to ride, you can choose an open or closed booth, on an attraction they are equal, for 14 pieces of each type. The carousel makes a full turn in 8 minutes. From the upper levels there is a picturesque panorama of the sea and mountains. The largest Ferris wheel in Russia in Sochi enjoys incredible popularity among locals and tourists. That is especially pleasant, the skating session costs from 250 rubles.
The biggest Ferris wheel in Russia and its competitors
In any major city of our country there is a Ferris wheel. Interestingly, in many parks there are also children's mini-versions of this attraction, designed for skating kids. The largest Ferris wheel in Russia is in Sochi. In what other cities can you ride at very high attractions of this type? The second in the ranking of the largest-scale carousels is in Rostov-on-Don. This is a modern building height of 65 meters, with the romantic name "One Sky". In Ufa, everyone can ride on a sightseeing attraction, the height of which is 60 meters. The main highlight of the giant carousel is year-round operation. There is a high-altitude observation wheel in Kazan, its height is 55 meters. All these amazing figures seem to be insignificant in comparison with the sizes of the largest in the world of attractions of this category.
World records
To date, the most extensive survey attraction in the world is in Singapore. The name of the giant carousel is Singapore Flyer, and its height is 165 meters. For comparison: the height of the largest Ferris wheel in Russia is almost 2 times less. The Singapore giant was built in 2008.
One of the most famous wheels in the world is in London (UK). This is the London Eye, whose height is 135 meters. What is noteworthy, the "London Eye" is more of an observational wheel than a Ferris wheel. Its main feature is the fixing of the cabins outside the rim, while in the classical version the cabins are suspended from the moving part. But this attraction is not the most unusual in its class.
In 1999, an auto-Ferris wheel was built for the exhibition in the Netherlands. Instead of the usual booths, it was equipped with special platforms for securing cars. The attraction struck the imagination of the observers, but for some reason this version of the design did not become as popular as the classic one.