Efteling Lifts the Veil on Its New Fairy Tale Library

What is hiding behind the walls of Efteling's new 32nd fairy tale? Right in the middle of the Fairy Tale Forest, the Fairy Tale Library is rising—and the park is finally sharing what guests will find inside: books full of collected stories, seven hardworking gnomes, and a very special guardian of silence.

In the Sprookjesbos, Efteling's Fairy Tale Forest, crews are pushing hard on that new tale. Not far from the former Chinese Nightingale scene, the frame of the nine-meter-high building is climbing skyward, step by step. For the first time, the park is offering a clearer look at what will unfold behind the library walls.

Designer Jeroen Verheij puts the idea this way: "In the Fairy Tale Library, visitors will soon see all the books full of stories that the Fairy Tale Gatherer has collected on his travels. They will also meet seven hardworking gnomes who, over the years, have traveled with the Fairy Tale Gatherer from all corners of the world. They keep the Fairy Tale Library organized, cozy, and as complete as possible, because the Fairy Tale Gatherer himself is often on the road."

Among the residents is the Silence Gnome. Like his colleagues, he brings passion and discipline to caring for the library. A library thrives on quiet so everyone can read in peace—and he is the one who guards that calm.

As the story takes shape, so does the construction. Site supervisor Koen Hellings is on site every day: "Hidden among the trees of the Fairy Tale Forest, a magnificent library is rising on a very small construction site. The location, not far from the former Chinese Nightingale scene, is of course beautiful, but it also brings some challenges. Everything has to fit perfectly, of course. The foundation of the building is now in place, and we are going about nine meters high. The framework is already up! We are building under the watchful eye of the Fairy Tale Gatherer. He stops by every now and then to check whether we are still on the right course."

The team shares more in the podcast "Het Geheim van de Efteling." In the seventh episode, host Paul de Leeuw, Director of Product, Market & Image Koen Sanders, and futurist Deborah Nas talk about the park's future. The conversation turns on questions fans care about: How does Efteling keep innovating without losing its magic? What role do technology, nature, and nostalgia play? And how can growth succeed while stories, wonder, and nature remain central? They also look ahead to the Fairy Tale Forest and new projects—and Sanders reveals more about the Fairy Tale Library, including the encounter with the Silence Gnome.

Episode seven wraps a podcast series devoted entirely to the Fairy Tale Forest. Earlier installments featured, among others, designer Jeroen Verheij and Francine Oonk, great-granddaughter of Anton Pieck, on the forest's origins and future; groundskeeper Mario Dieltjes and forester Arjan Postma on nature; designer Patrick van den Nieuwenhuizen and children's book author Kevin Hassing on the fairy tales; house composer René Merkelbach and opera singer Francis van Broekhuizen on the music; designer Sander de Bruijn and neuropsychologist Margriet Sitskoorn on memories; and landscape architect Ivo Südmeier and behavioral psychologist Fenne Roefs, a wayfinding expert, on finding your path through the forest. All episodes of the Efteling podcast "Het Geheim van de Efteling" are ready to listen to and watch.

For fans, the takeaway is simple: the Fairy Tale Library will be the next big chapter at the heart of Efteling—and every new detail only builds the anticipation for fairy tale number 32.