Bobbejaanland

Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. It was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international popularity in the fifties and early sixties. After 15 years he got weary of touring. In 1960 he decided to build his own music theater: he started draining a 30 hectare marsh that he bought in 1959. He built a venue with 1000 places where he could perform as often as he liked. In December 1961, the Bobbejaanland amusement park was born. Bobbejaan and his family sold the park in 2004.

History

Bobbejaan's lifework grew organically from his musical career. His personal manager Jacques Kluger invented the name. For the first decade that it was open the heart of the park was a combination of water fun and show. Numerous artists from the Belgian, Dutch, and German variety scenes performed there. Following the advice of Phantasialand-owner Gottlieb Löffelhard, Bobbejaanland evolved from 1975 onwards in the direction of a regular theme park, with the music show gradually retreating to the background. Encompassing fifty attractions and four hundred employees, the park developed into a huge tourist draw in the Benelux countries, France, and Germany. Thanks to its independence as a family concern, it was also able to bridge the gap with educational and cultural projects. By the end of the seventies, Bob's wife José (a former opera singer and model) opened a museum with authentic works of art from the Hopi and Navajo cultures in Phoenix, Arizona, now one of the most complete private collections of Native American art in Europe.