Miniatur Wunderland

Last updated
Miniatur Wunderland
Company type Limited liability company
(Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)
Industry Model railway
Founded4 January 2001;24 years ago (4 January 2001)
Headquarters,
Key people
Frederik & Gerrit Braun, Stephan Hertz
Revenue40,7 Mio. Euro (2023) [1]
Number of employees
442 (2023) [1]
(~ 300 FTE)
Website miniatur-wunderland.com

The Miniatur Wunderland (German for: Miniature Wonderland) is, according to Guinness World Records, the largest model railway system in the world. [2] It is located at the historic Speicherstadt in Hamburg and is one of the most popular and most visited sights in Germany. [3] [4]

Contents

The exhibition includes around 1,230 digitally controlled trains with more than 12,000 wagons. The Wonderland is also designed with around 5,280 houses and bridges, more than 11,800 vehicles – of which around 350 drive independently on the installation – 52 airplanes and around 290,000 figures. The system features a recurring day-night lighting cycle and almost 500,000 built-in LED lights. Of the 10,000 m2 (107,639 sq ft) of floorspace, the models occupies 1,694 m2 (18,234 sq ft). [5]

As of May 2025, the railway consisted of 16,491 m (54,104 ft) of track in H0 scale with 3,600 switches and 1,400 signals, divided into twelve sections: Harz mountains, the fictitious town of Knuffingen, the Alps and Austria, Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, Switzerland, a replica of Hamburg Airport, Italy, Rio de Janeiro, Patagonia and Monaco/Provence. Planning is also in progress for the construction of sections for Central America and the Caribbean and perhaps Great Britain. [6]

History

In the summer of 2000, Frederik Braun, one of the four founders of Miniatur Wunderland, was on vacation in Zurich. In a local model train store he came up with the idea for the world's largest model railway. [7] Back in Hamburg, he searched for email addresses online and started a survey on the popularity of real and fictional sights of the city. In the process, the Miniatur Wunderland, which did not yet exist, was ranked 3 by male respondents.[ clarification needed ]

According to Braun and his twin brother Gerrit, the initial idea and business plan for Miniatur Wunderland fit on just two pages. [8] The financial backer was Hamburger Sparkasse. [9] [10]

Construction and expansion

The glazed pedestrian bridge, inaugurated in 2020, connects the two warehouse buildings. Hamburg, Speicherstadt, Block D+L -- 2023 -- 6577.jpg
The glazed pedestrian bridge, inaugurated in 2020, connects the two warehouse buildings.

After construction began in December 2000, the first three sections (Knuffingen, Central Germany and Austria ) opened on 16 August 2001. Since then, several sections have been added. With the completion of the Hamburg, German Coast section in November 2002, Wunderland became the largest model railroad in Europe. The United States was added in December 2003, followed by Scandinavia in July 2005. On 10 September 2015, the Brauns added the final piece of track between the Switzerland section and a new Italy section, extending the track length from 13,000 meters (43,000 ft) to 15,400 meters (50,500 ft). An observing Guinness judge presented the certificate for the newly established world record. [11]

The 190 m2 (2,000 sq ft)Bella Italia section was opened on 28 September 2016 after four years under construction, involving 180,000 man hours and costing around €4 million. [12] Work on the Monaco / Provence section started in August 2019 and, when completed, added another 315 meters (1,033 ft). As of 2019, the total length of 15,715 meters (51,558 ft) therefore corresponded to 1,367.21 kilometres (849.54 mi) in real length, making Miniatur Wunderland the largest model railway layout in the world by all measures. [13]

In 2020, a bridge connected the original Wunderland to a building across the canal. [14] The new space features depictions of Antarctica and South America, including Rio de Janeiro. [15] Construction on Monaco and Provence, featuring a Formula One circuit, was concluded in 2024. [16] [17]

Other future projects include Central America/Caribbean and Asia. The creators say construction on Great Britain will begin in 2028. [18]

Sections

NumberSectionPictureConstruction
time
OpeningSizeSource
1 Central Germany / Harz
Central Germany / Harz (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-1 Mitteldeutschland.jpg
Central Germany / Harz (2025)
Dec. 2000 - Aug. 200116 August 2001ca. 120 m2
2Knuffingen (Fictional town)
Knuffingen (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-2 Knuffingen.jpg
Knuffingen (2025)
Dec. 2000 - Aug. 200116 August 2001ca. 120 m2
3 Austria
Austria (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-3 Osterreich.jpg
Austria (2025)
Dec. 2000 - Aug. 200116 August 2001ca. 60 m2
4 Hamburg
Hamburg (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-4 Hamburg.jpg
Hamburg (2025)
Nov. 2001 - Nov. 200222 November 2002ca. 200 m2
5 America
America (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-5 Amerika.jpg
America (2025)
Jan. 2003 - Dec. 20038 December 2003ca. 100 m2
6 Scandinavia
Skandinavia (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-6 Skandinavien.jpg
Skandinavia (2025)
July 2004 - July 200513 July 2005ca. 300 m2
7 Switzerland
Switzerland (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-7 Schweiz.jpg
Switzerland (2025)
Oct. 2005 - Nov. 200712 November 2007ca. 250 m2
8 Knuffingen Airport
Knuffingen Airport (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-8 Knuffingen Airport.jpg
Knuffingen Airport (2025)
Juni 2005 - May 20114 May 2011ca. 150 m2
4 a Hamburg – subsection Hafencity
and Elbphilharmonie
Hafencity (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-4a Hamburg HafenCity.jpg
Hafencity (2025)
Aug. 2012 - Nov. 201313 November 2013ca. 9 m2
9 Italy
Italy (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-9 Italien.jpg
Italy (2025)
Feb. 2013 - Sep. 201628 September 2016ca. 190 m2
9 a Italy – Subsection Venice
Venice (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-9a Italien Teilabschnitt Venedig.jpg
Venice (2025)
Dec. 2016 - Feb. 201821 February 2018ca. 9 m2 [19]
1 a Central Germany / Harz – Subsection Kirmes
Kirmes (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-1a Mitteldeutschland Kirmes.jpg
Kirmes (2025)
April 2019 - June 202030 June 2020ca. 9 m2 [20]
11 bThe World From Above (Bridge
between the two storage buildings)
The World From Above (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-11b Die Welt von oben.jpg
The World From Above (2025)
March 2021 - Dec. 20212 December 202114 m2 [5]
11 a Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-11a Rio de Janeiro.jpg
Rio de Janeiro (2025)
Nov. 2017 - Dec. 20212 December 202146 m2 [5]
12 Patagonia
Patagonia (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-12 Patagonien.jpg
Patagonia (2025)
June 2019 - May 20233 May 202365 m2 [5] [21]
10 a Monaco
Monaco (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-10a Monaco.jpg
Monaco (2025)
May 2018 - April 202425 April 202440 m2
10 b Provence
Provence (2025) 2025-Miniatur-Wunderland Hamburg-10b Provence.jpg
Provence (2025)
May 2018 - April 202425 April 202430 m2 [5] [22]
13 Rainforest (Under construction)
(1st half of the year 2026)
ca. 107 m2 [23]
14 Andes / Atacama Desert (Under construction)
(1st half of the year 2026)
ca. 38 m2 [24]
15 Central America & The Caribbean End of 2027 (planned)ca. 67 m2 [25]
16 Asia End of 2028 (planned)ca. 150 m2
17 Great Britain 2029/2030 (planned)

System

The control room Leitstand Miniatur Wunderland.jpg
The control room

Visitors explore different rooms throughout a long corridor. Trains run along the walls of the rooms and on peninsula-like protrusions. The layout consists (as of September 2016) of nine completed sections of 60 to 300 m2 (650 to 3,230 sq ft). [26]

Special features

Part of the factory Werkstatt Miniatur Wunderland.jpg
Part of the factory

Special features include a simulated daily routine where twilight, night and day repeat every 15 minutes. This includes an automatic lighting control system that activates more than 300,000 lights to match the time of day.

The 120-square-metre (1,300 sq ft) fantasy town of Knuffingen, with a population of about 6,000, is equipped with more than 100 moving model cars, including numerous fire engines, which are used to simulate a firefighting operation in Knuffingen every 15 minutes on average. Traffic simulation is made possible by a modified car system that is also used in the USA, Scandinavia and Knuffingen Airport sections. In the America section, an Interstate Highway is equipped with a dynamic Traffic Control System, which uses variable-message signs with 2x16 characters, lane use control lights, and 4 different speed limits to control traffic. [29]

Intricate details include a changing scoreboard in the Volkspark Stadium, speeding cameras and a crashed cheese wheel truck. There is also a Jet gas station displaying the real current gasoline prices of its prototype in Hamburg's Amsinck street. [30]

Visitors can control operations on the system through about 200 push-buttons, including options to start a mine train, turn wind turbines, trigger a goal in the football stadium, launch a helicopter or the Space Shuttle, or elongate Pinocchio's nose. One button allows visitors to watch the simulated production of a small chocolate bar in a factory, resulting in a block of Lindt chocolate dispensed for the visitor to sample. [31]

Certain tours also include a behind-the-scenes look at detailed figures that cannot be seen from the normal public area. [32]

Knuffingen Airport

After six years in planning and under construction, Knuffingen airport was officially opened to visitors on 4 May 2011 as a special section of the facility. Its buildings resemble Hamburg Airport. As in the fictional main town of Knuffingen, there is also a simulation of a fire department with a large fleet of vehicles, including four airfield fire engines. On the 14-meter (46 ft) runway, aircraft models accelerate to scale on an invisible sled, and by means of two guide rods can lift off the ground and disappear into a wall. Depending on the launch phase, the guide rods allow a horizontal tilt of the aircraft that approximates reality.

The section features a wide variety of standard commercial aircraft, including Boeing 747, Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Airbus A380, in the liveries of active and defunct airlines from around the world. There is also a Concorde in British Airways livery, a Space Shuttle, a bee (named "Bummel") and a model of the Millennium Falcon spaceship from Star Wars.

The movement of the aircraft on the ground is realized with the help of technology based on the car system. The vehicles in the airport tell their own little stories with coordinated refueling, loading and unloading before and after landing starting from the aircraft parking positions.

A real-time live timetable is displayed on screens and online, synchronizing the miniature airport's aircraft movements with scheduled arrivals and departures. [33]

Unlike the other landscapes, the railroad at the airport is hardly visible. There is only an airport station underground.

According to the operators, the 150-square-metre (1,600 sq ft) space cost around 3.5 million euros, in addition to 150,000 man hours. The area is equipped not only with many rolling aircraft models, but also with hundreds of cars, passenger boarding bridges, parking garages, airport hotels, a subway and individual figures.

Visitors

On 5 December 2012, the ten-millionth visitor came to Miniatur Wunderland, [34] on 2 December 2016, the fifteen-millionth. [35] and on 23 August 2021, the twenty-millionth visitor. In 2023 alone, 1,525,000 visitors came. [1] Around three quarters of visitors come from Germany, while the remaining quarter hail mainly from Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, England, the US and China. [36]

Awards

In 2010, founders Frederik and Gerrit Braun and Stephan Hertz were awarded the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for their social commitment. [37] The Miniatur Wunderland also holds the Guinness World Record for "longest melody played by a model train." [38]

Presence in the media

Several times following completion of the various expansion stages, the Hamburg section was visited by a team of reporters from Eisenbahn-Romantik from SWR. Numerous television stations, magazines and newspapers have reported on Miniatur Wunderland. [39]

In May 2009, rapper Samy Deluxe filmed a portion of the music video for the song "Stumm" in Miniatur Wunderland. About 100 sequences were recorded in which a miniature figure "runs" (stop-motion) through the layout. [40]

On 5 December 2009, the outdoor betting section of the German television show Wetten, dass..? took place at Miniatur Wunderland. [41]

The plot of several episodes of the Hamburg crime series Großstadtrevier takes place at Miniatur Wunderland. [10]

In 2015, together with singer Helene Fischer, a campaign for Ein Herz für Kinder was launched in which over 450,000 euros (as of 01/2016) were collected. The campaign was presented, among others, in the Ein Herz für Kinder Gala. [42]

In January 2016, Miniatur Wunderland partnered with Google MiniView – a miniature version of Google Street View. [43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 http://bundesanzeiger.de: Annual report of the fiscal year 01.01.2023 - 31.12.2023, access-date 26. July 2025.
  2. "Largest model train set". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records Limited. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  3. "The TOP 100 sights and attractions in Germany". germany.travel. Germany Travel. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  4. "Germany's 10 most visited attractions". dw.com. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Facts & Figures about Miniatur Wunderland" . Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  6. "The Future of Wunderland – Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg". Archived from the original on 2020-07-05. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  7. "Die Idee" [The Idea] (in German). Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  8. Meyer, Simone (February 17, 2006). "Ein Märchen im Maßstab 1:87" [A fairy tale in 1:87th scale] (in German). Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2020 via www.welt.de.
  9. "Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg GmbH" (in German). Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  10. 1 2 "Über das Wunderland" [About the wonderland]. Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg (in German). Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  11. "Newsmeldung Anlage - Modellbau Modelleisenbahn Hamburg". Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  12. "Newsmeldung Anlage - Modellbau Modelleisenbahn Hamburg". Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  13. "Miniatur Wunderland wächst immer weiter". NDR (in German). 14 August 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  14. "Speicherstadt: Warum das Hamburger Weltkulturerbe eine neue Brücke bekommt". July 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2023 via www.welt.de.
  15. "Rio de Janeiro". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  16. "Monaco Highlights - 2024 Miniature Grand Prix - Miniatur Wunderland". Youtube (in German). 25 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  17. "Monaco & die Provence". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  18. "Die Zukunft des Wunderlandes". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  19. "Venedig im Miniatur Wunderland". February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020 via www.welt.de.
  20. "Kirmes". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  21. "Patagonien". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  22. "Monaco & die Provence". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  23. https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exchange/about/facts-and-figures
  24. https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exchange/about/facts-and-figures
  25. https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/exchange/about/facts-and-figures
  26. "Welten". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  27. "MiWuLa TV Report - Die kleine Elbphilharmonie: Der Tag der Eröffnung - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  28. "Bella Italia 2.1 | der 9. Bauabschnitt des Miniatur Wunderlandes". Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  29. "Wochenbericht Nr. 191". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  30. "JET Tankstellen : Schlauer ist das". www.jet-tankstellen.de. Archived from the original on 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  31. "Knopfdruckaktionen". Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  32. Die Nordreportage: 24 Stunden im Wunderland - hier anschauen (in German). Retrieved 2024-12-06 via www.ardmediathek.de.
  33. "Live timetable Knuffingen Airport". Miniatur Wunderland. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  34. "Zehnmillionster Besucher im Miniatur Wunderland". NDR (in German). 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  35. Hamburg, Hamburger Abendblatt- (December 2, 2016). "Miniaturwunderland feiert den 15-millionsten Besucher". www.abendblatt.de. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  36. "Miniatur Wunderland erwartet 15. Millionsten Besucher | Miniatur Wunderland". December 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  37. "Miniatur Wunderland-Macher für soziales Engagement ausgezeichnet - hamburg.de". Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  38. "Longest melody played by a model train". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  39. TINY WONDERS ; BIG IMPACT: Miniatur Wunderland Unveiled | WELT Documentary . Retrieved 2024-03-30 via www.youtube.com.
  40. "Modelleisenbahn meets Hip-Hop: Samy Deluxe || Hertz-lich gebloggt..." www.stephan-hertz.de. 7 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  41. Goy, Martina (December 6, 2009). "Miniatur Wunderland: Modellbahn-Spektakel bei "Wetten dass...?"". Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2020 via www.welt.de.
  42. "Presse Mitteilungen anzeigen - Modellbau Modelleisenbahn Hamburg". Archived from the original on 2016-07-24. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  43. "Google Maps: Miniatur Wunderland Street View". Google Maps: Miniatur Wunderland Street View. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-12-20.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Miniatur Wunderland at Wikimedia Commons

53°32′38″N9°59′20″E / 53.54389°N 9.98889°E / 53.54389; 9.98889