Miniatur Wunderland

Miniatur Wunderland (German for 'miniature wonderland') is a model railway and miniature airport attraction in Hamburg, Germany, the largest of its kind in the world. The railway is located in the historic Speicherstadt district of the city.

Miniatur Wunderland GmbH
Limited liability company
(Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)
IndustryModel railway
FoundedDecember 2000 (2000-12)
Headquarters
Hamburg, Germany
Key people
Frederik & Gerrit Braun, Stephan Hertz
Number of employees
360[1]
Websiteminiatur-wunderland.de

In October 2016 the railway consisted of 15,715 m (51,558 ft) of track in H0 scale, divided into nine sections: Harz, the fictitious city of Knuffingen, the Alps and Austria, Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, Switzerland, a replica of the Hamburg Airport and Italy. Of the 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) of floorspace, the model takes 1,499 m2 (16,135 sq ft).[2]

By 2020, the exhibit is expected to have reached its final construction phase, including at least a total of ten new sections in a model area of over 2,300 m2 (24,757 sq ft).[2] The exhibit includes 1,300 trains made up of over 10,000 carriages, over 100,000 moving vehicles, ca. 500,000 lights, 130,000 trees, and 400,000 human figurines.[3] Planning is also in progress for the construction of sections for Central America and the Caribbean, Asia, England, Africa and The Netherlands.[4]

History

The construction of the first part started in December 2000 and the first three parts: Knuffingen, Central Hamburg and Austria,[5] were completed in August 2001. The project was created by twin brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun.[6]

In 2012 the Wunderland also completed a series of diorama representing social conditions and life in various periods of German history. [7]

For Christmas 2018, Miniatur Wunderland teamed up with Airbnb to raise money for Hanseatic Help.[8][9] As part of holiday miniature figurines will fly in to Knuffingen Airport, catch a special Christmas train to Knuffingen station and tour around Knuffingen town.[10] The guests will stay in a chalet, hosted by Mini, Mayor of Knuffingen, equipped with stockings (size of a pencil tip), a rocking horse (size of a paperclip), a (4 cm high) Christmas tree as well as a fireplace.[8][9]

Overview of the different sections
SectionNameCompletion dateSize
1Harz/Central GermanyAugust 2001c. 120 m2 (1,300 sq ft)
2KnuffingenAugust 2001c. 120 m2 (1,300 sq ft)
3AustriaAugust 2001c. 60 m2 (650 sq ft)
4HamburgNovember 2002c. 200 m2 (2,200 sq ft)
5United StatesDecember 2003c. 100 m2 (1,100 sq ft)
6ScandinaviaJuly 2005c. 300 m2 (3,200 sq ft)
7SwitzerlandNovember 2007c. 250 m2 (2,700 sq ft)
8Knuffingen AirportMay 2011c. 150 m2 (1,600 sq ft)
9ItalySeptember 2016c. 190 m2 (2,000 sq ft)
9 a.Venice (as part to the Italy section)February 2018c. 10 m2 (110 sq ft)
10 Fun Fair June 2020 c. 9 m2（97 sq ft）
11 a.Monaco (with Formula-One-Circuit)November 2020 (Under construction)c. 36 m2（390 sq ft）
11 b. Provence November 2020 (Under construction) c. 27 m2（290 sq ft）
12South AmericaNov-Dec 2021 (Under construction)c. 200 m2 (2150 sq ft)
13Central America and the Caribbean2023 (planned)c. 140 m2 (1500 sq ft)
14Asia2026 (planned)c. 150 m2 (1610 sq ft)
15England/The Netherlands/Africa2028– (planned)unknown
  • View of the Hamburg section
  • Ships sailing in real water in the Scandinavia layout
  • A football stadium based on Volksparkstadion
  • Las Vegas Strip night scene
  • Control room
  • In The Alps
  • Railway bridge
  • Railway in Norway
  • Rome in the Italy section
  • Venice model under construction

See also

References
  1. "Facts & Figures". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  2. "Wunderland Facts – The Wunderland in Numbers". Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  3. "Live Like A German". Toy Train Exhibition (Miniatur Wunderland). Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  4. "The Future of Wunderland - Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg".
  5. "Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg - model building - model railway Hamburg".
  6. "Train Trip". Kidzworld.com. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  7. "the History of Civilization - Special Exhibitions - model railway Hamburg".
  8. Morris, Natalie (2018-12-13). "The world's tiniest home is now on Airbnb - but you won't be able to fit inside". Metro. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  9. airbnb.co.uk (2018). "World's Tiniest Airbnb Hamburg". airbnb.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  10. "The World's Tiniest Home on Airbnb Now Available for Bookings". Airbnb Press Room. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2018-12-16.

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