Sawt Falasteen - Asterix in Germany: France's irrepressible Gaul to conquer neighbour

An existing theme park called Belantis outside the east German city of Leipzig is to morph into an Asterix theme park by 2030-2031, operator Compagnie des Alpes said.

The new attraction will be a twin of the vast Parc Asterix outside Paris, one of France's premier tourist attractions which opened in 1989.

The change at the park in Germany will take place gradually, with the first area dedicated to Idefix -- the dog of Asterix's burly sidekick Obelix -- opening as early as March 2026, the French group said.

In terms of the numbers sold of Asterix comic books -- originally written and illustrated by the duo of Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo -- Germany is the second largest market, just behind France.

Compagnie des Alpes said that "this park has the potential to eventually welcome nearly 900,000 visitors per year".

The second most visited amusement park in France after Disneyland Paris, Parc Asterix welcomed 2.9 million visitors during the 2024-2025 season. It is currently ranked 8th most visited in Europe.

With the book franchise showing no sign of slowing after the deaths of Goscinny in 1977 and Uderzo in 2020, the latest Asterix cartoon adventure released in October was published in 19 languages and across 25 countries set in ancient Portugal.

"Asterix in Lusitania" was the 41st instalment in the legendary series, taking him to the far reaches of the Roman Empire, in an adventure now created by author Fabcaro and illustrator Didier Conrad.

G.AbuOdeh--SF-PST