This Dutch multi-millionaire had tons of extra money sitting around. Unsure of what to do with his massive wealth, the man had a vision that changed everything. Suddenly, he went to work on a full-scale replica of Noah’s ark. The interior is absolutely mind blowing and the reason why he started this project in the first place will shock you.
20. Netherlands
Image: Scribol
Sitting on the Merwede river in the Netherlands is a structure that is beyond huge. The ark that floats upon the river is a staple piece of the area. But, who would want to build something like that and for what reason?
19. Millionaire
Image: Daily Mail
Our story begins back in 1992. Multi-millionaire and creationist Johan Huibers woke up from an apocalyptic nightmare. In the nightmare he envisioned the Dutch coasts getting swallowed up by the sea. The nightmare stayed with him forever…
18. Ark
Image: Scribol
As a firm believe of the Bible, Huibers believed that his dream was a sign from above. Consulting with the story of Noah in Genesis, Huibers began to build a real-life ark in 2005. The ark is roughly 230 feet long and Huibers sailed around in it for three and a half years.
17. Not Good Enough
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Although he enjoyed the first ark he created, Huibers wanted to create one that was exactly like the Biblical account. In 2009, he set off to create an ark that is an exact replica of the one Noah built in the Bible. This would be no cheap project…
16. Pricey Project
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The entire project took three years to complete. Overall, it cost Huibers around $1.6 million dollars. Huibers, however, was not concerned with the money aspect of things.
15. Huge Project
Image: Slip Talk
When the project was finally finished the ark was truly gigantic. Huibers followed all of the guidelines in the Bible and created an ark that is 430 feet long, 100 feet wide and 75 feet high. You won’t believe how much this thing weighs!
14. Enormous
Image: Scribol
The enormous ark features a flood-proof exterior that also allows it to stay afloat. This meant that the boat required tons of material to complete. The finished product weighs in at 2,500 tons with the entire ark featuring five whole decks.
13. Carpenter
Image: scribol
Believe it or not, Huibers is actually a carpenter. Thanks to his nifty skill, he was very hands-on with his ark project. He was in charge of a lot of the building and when the ark was finally completely he couldn’t believe the finished result.
12. Finished
Image: Scribol
Huibers finally completed the project in 2012. He was incredibly excited to show the world what he created. After all, the ark could house around 5,000 people on it so finding space would not be an issue. Still, Huibers was not able to follow Biblical instructions completely…
11. Different Wood
Image: Pinterest
In the Genesis account of Noah, it was stated that the ark was built from “gopher wood.” However, Huibers was not able to do this. Instead, he made use of metal hulls to create the ark and then covered it with a beautiful Scandinavian pine wood.
10. Amazement
Image: Worldation
Eventually the project was over and Huibers had only one thing left to do. He wanted to amaze everyone by his hard work and he wanted to inspire them with the Biblical story. So what was his next move?
9. The Story
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If you know anything about the story of Noah’s ark, you’ll know that Noah was commanded to bring two of every animal onto the ship. Huibers decided that he wanted to follow the same course of action and you won’t believe how he managed to do it…
8. Animals
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So Huibers set off to fill the ark up with two of every kind of animal and he succeeded. He created life-size plastic sculptures of every animal Noah had on the ark. It wasn’t cheap either…
7. Expensive
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As you can imagine, it wasn’t cheap to create all of the plastic animals. Overall, it cost Huibers $11,000 to have all of the animals installed into the ark. Talk about a high price to pay for accuracy. There are however, some real animals inside as well.
6. Real Animals
Image: Scribol
Although Huibers doesn’t have any enormous animals on the arks like an elephant or a giraffe he does have some small ones that he houses. On the ark you can find various types of birds such as parrots, peacocks, and pheasants. He even has some rabbits roaming around too…
5. Entertainment
Image: Inhabitat
Inside of the ark, Huibers has installed some pretty cool entertainment areas. Visitors that come to see the ark are also welcome to partake in the restaurant and two cinemas inside. There is also tons of info on the flood available for reading.
4. Docked
Image: Daily Mail
For now, the large ark is docked at the town of Dordrecht in the Netherlands. However, Huibers doesn’t plan on leaving the ark there for good. In fact, he has some pretty big plans.
3. Summer Sailing
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Huibers has plans to sail the ark in the summer of 2016 over the Atlantic to Brazil. He wants to make it in time for the Olympic and Paralympic games. His end goal is to provide “practical support for the underprivileged” living in Brazil.
2. United States
Image: Scribol
Huibers also has plans to make some stops in the United States, particularly in San Francisco and Seattle. The trip would require a lot of hard work and despite being a multi-millionaire, Huibers still doesn’t have the funds to make the trip happen.
1. Big Dreams
Image: CNN.com
Despite his lack of funding, Huibers hasn’t given up hope just yet. He believes that since he was able to create an ark of such great proportions that anything can be possible if you just dream it.