1949), he visited the United States in 1972 and was inspired to open a theme park in Germany, as an exhibition site for his company's products.

It was named "Europa-Park" after Breisach's nearby Europaweiher, a small artificial lake that commemorates a historical pilot poll in Breisach held in 1950, in which 95.6% of voters were in favour of European unification.

The Breisach site was deemed unsuitable because of flooding hazard, and the project was moved 30 km north, where the Macks bought the park of the historical Balthasar castle in Rust.

[citation needed] Europa-Park opened in 1975 with an area of 16 hectares.

[citation needed] As of September 2024, Mack Rides has built 173 roller coasters around the world.