Franz Mack

Franz Mack was born in 1921 as the fourth son of Heinrich and Theresia Mack^[1] in Waldkirch, Weimar Republic. Franz Mack was married to Liesel Mack from 1948 until her death in 2004 and has two sons, Roland and Jürgen.^[2] He died in the night of October 3, 2010 in Rust at the age of 89.^[3]

After completing his compulsory education (Volksschule), Mack learned the profession of coachbuilding and later qualified as a certified master craftsman.^[2] At the age of 16, he started working as a design engineer in his parents' carriage and carousel factory in Waldkirch, Mack Rides, formerly known as Heinrich Mack GmbH & Co. KG.^[4] The origins of the factory date back to 1780.^[3][5]

His professional career was interrupted by the Second World War. Franz Mack spent several years as a prisoner of war. In August 1947, he and his brother fled from a camp in Alsace, France. After his father had hidden him for a year with a showman in the American Zone in Frankfurt, he returned to Germany. In Frankfurt, he returned to his native town of Waldkirch after the German currency reform in 1948.^[4]

In 1958, Mack and his brothers Hermann and Willi took over the carriage and carousel factory from his father.^[6][7]

In July 1975, Mack opened Europa-Park with his son Roland. Originally, the purpose of the park was to showcase the products of the carousel factory.^[3][8][9] Mack developed several roller coasters, like Eurosat, built in 1989, as well as the high-speed roller coaster from 1997, Euro-Mir.^{[4][7][10][11]}