The Plopsa Group started a new chapter in Poland when it opened its first theme park in the country on Saturday, September 29. Majaland Kownaty, in the village of the same name, is dedicated to the cartoon character Maja the Bee.

The €20 million ($23m) project was built in partnership with Dutch investor Momentum Capital and features both indoor and outdoor elements. Numerous international guests attended the official opening event, which concluded with a firework display.

“We have been looking forward to this moment for a long time,” said Plopsa CEO Steve Van den Kerkhof. “The result is wonderful, we are therefore extremely proud of what our investment and construction team has accomplished.”

Martijn van Rheenen, CEO of Momentum Capital, was also satisfied: “The opening of Majaland is a team performance in which the local authorities and community, the team in Poland, the great expertise of Plopsa and Studio 100, Momentum Capital and its co-investors all have made their contribution. Moreover, we are going to serve a market with the first real theme park in Poland.”

As well as Maja, the park also features other characters from the catalogue of Studio 100, Plopa’s parent company. “Maja the Bee is immensely popular in Poland,” notes Studio 100 co-founder Gert Verhulst. “The opening of Majaland Kownaty fits perfectly with our ambition to continue to grow.”

An €7.5 million expansion of the park has already been confirmed in the shape of a wooden rollercoaster, the first in Poland. The Plopsa Group already operates indoor parks in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the Belgian theme parks Plopsaland De Panne and Plopsa Coo, plus Holiday Park in Germany. The latter opened a new indoor area this summer, Holiday Indoor.