Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Vulcania was born from a project designed in 1986 by volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft, who proposed creating an educational attraction in the heart of the Puy de Dome. After their death in 1991, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, then chairman of the Regional Council of Auvergne, revived the idea in 1992 as an international park. The site chosen, a former 57-hectare military depot in Saint-Ours-les-Roches, arouses strong opposition from environmentalists and local associations, denouncing a "massacre" of the classified natural landscape. Despite 30 legal remedies and a petition of 16,000 signatures, the project is advancing, with delays and additional costs (from 360 million francs to 800 million francs).

The architecture of the park, entrusted to the Austrian Hans Hollein after an international competition, favours an buried design to limit visual impact, with only an emerging symbolic cone. The work started in 1997 was slowed down by technical problems, including the collapse of a slab in 2000 due to defective concrete. Inaugurated on 20 February 2002, Vulcania struggles to meet its attendance targets (1 million visitors/year), with only 626,000 admissions in the first year. In the face of deficits, the park is shifting to more fun attractions from 2007, while maintaining its scientific vocation.

Since its opening, Vulcania has diversified its offer with interactive exhibitions, a planetarium (the largest in France in 2023), and dynamic attractions such as the roller coaster Namazu (2021). Despite the difficult beginnings, the park has been able to renew itself, attracting 341,000 visitors in 2010 and consolidating its position as a major extension site for Earth sciences. Its economic model, supported by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, remains, however, dependent on public subsidies. Future projects include thematic lodges (2028) and a new blockbuster (2029).

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