Status: 05/05/2023 10:23 a.m
From the Elbphilharmonie to Antarctica: the huge model railway system in Hamburg includes eleven imaginatively designed mini-worlds. Now the Miniatur Wunderland has grown to the South Pole.
A rock concert, a couple in love in a field of sunflowers, beach life on the Copacabana or even the legendary Atlantis – the Hamburg Miniature Wonderland sends visitors on a wondrous journey through an ever-growing number of regions, countries and cities in miniature format.
In the Hamburg section, for example, the huge model railway system takes you to the Landungsbrücken, Volksparkstadion and Elbphilharmonie, in the America section the lights of the gambling city of Las Vegas and the mysterious Area 51, inhabited by UFOs and extraterrestrials, tower. In Switzerland, the Matterhorn towers six Meters high, in the Scandinavia section, freighters cross over the real water of the so-called North Baltic Sea. More than 1,000 trains – the longest is 14.50 meters long – run through the now eleven mini worlds. When night falls about every 20 minutes in Miniatur Wunderland, around 480,000 lights illuminate the landscape – and in the Italian section a natural disaster takes its course: Mount Vesuvius erupts and spews red-hot lava.
New section Antarctica and Patagonia
In the latest section, Patagonia and Antarctica have been added: you can see blocks of ice crashing into the water, a menacing thunderstorm at Cape Horn or penguins enjoying a scoop of ice cream at a stand to cool off – an allusion to global warming.
Miniatur Wunderland – a magnet for visitors since 2001
The glittering gambler’s paradise of Las Vegas is one of the attractions of the Americas section.
Well over a million people visit the exhibition every year – more than any other sight in the Hanseatic city. On the opening day in August 2001, it didn’t look as if the facility would develop into a magnet for visitors: Only 200 visitors came. “I would have preferred to lock myself up and cry,” remembers Frederik Braun, who founded Miniatur Wunderland together with his twin brother Gerrit. But soon the guests came in their thousands and the brothers continuously expanded the model railway system.
From the Harz to Italy to Rio
A Hamburg section followed the Harz Mountains and Knuffingen, followed a year later by America. Scandinavia, Switzerland and the “Airport Knuffingen” were added later, a faithful replica of the Hamburg Airport with mini planes taking off and landing. Hamburg was expanded to include Hafencity with the Elbphilharmonie. Then came Italy. You can see there, among other things, the capital Rome with St. Peter’s Basilica, Pompeii, Venice and well-known seaside resorts on the coast.
The Copacabana, the famous beach, cannot be missed in the Rio section.
Since 2021, Rio de Janeiro has also been represented in the wonderland. The Brazilian samba metropolis with Copacabana and Sugar Loaf in miniature is located in a second storage building, which was connected to the old exhibition via a specially constructed bridge and has since expanded the exhibition space.
The new Patagonia section will not be the last either. The Amazon and the Andes are to follow in 2024, and the Caribbean in 2025. Then parts of Asia or Africa are planned.
Virtual reality journey in Yullbe Wonderland
Another attraction is the one that opened in 2022 Yullbe Wonderland, for which separate tickets are required. With the help of VR glasses and other VR equipment, adventure seekers can move through a virtual world – and are just as tiny as the figures of Miniatur Wunderland.
Reservation saves a long wait
Since the rush in the Miniatur Wunderland is usually relatively large and there are regular waiting times, it is advisable to buy the tickets to reserve online. Visitors are then given a date and time of arrival and can enter the exhibition without having to wait. If you come without a reservation, you should try it first thing in the morning or in the evening. Then the waiting times are usually shorter. In summer, the exhibition is also much emptier when the sun is shining than when it is raining.
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