Rutschebanen, Copenhagen

The slide in Tivoli in Copenhagen is a slide built in 1914 is one of the world's oldest slides. It was built by the Irish engineer Walther Queenland, who also built the slide at Dyrehavsbakken in 1932. The Tivoli roller coaster had its first guest ride in mid-June 1914.

It consists of a wooden track covered with steel fittings, on which slide cars are driven, pulled up to the starting point by a steel wire. It is 625 metres long and has a maximum height of 18 metres. The maximum speed is 58 km/h.

The track and scaffolding are made of wood, while the shell, which represents a mountainside, is made of fibreglass. A special feature of this particular roller coaster is that there is a brakeman on each train to ensure braking before all turns and at the end of the ride. Because of the strenuous working conditions for the brakeman, there are strict rules for working hours and breaks.

The current slide is Tivoli's third. The first one dates back to the opening of the garden in 1843 and offered guests 7 seconds of thrills. It was demolished in 1895 and replaced the following year by a new one, which only lasted until 1901.

During World War II, energy rationing meant guests had to walk to the top, while carriages were pulled up by hand using a winch on the roof of the track. In June 1944, the slide was subjected to schalburgtage, when a section of the slide was blown away.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the slide in 2014, the two "snowy mountain peaks" that originally topped the slide when it opened in 1914 were recreated. In the mid-1920s, they were taken down at the request of the City of Copenhagen. The 40 million kroner renovation also added a 22-metre artificial waterfall - Denmark's largest - to add to the illusion of a real rollercoaster.