Following the demolition of the Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel. In 1944 it burnt down, but was rebuilt the following year with 15 passenger cars, and remained the world's tallest extant wheel until its 97th year, when the Technocosmos was constructed for Expo '85, at Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.