Miniatur Wunderland

Twin brothers Gerrit and Frederik Braun opened the first section in 2001 and the layout has grown continuously since, now covering well over sixteen hundred square metres of model with more than sixteen kilometres of track and hundreds of thousands of figures. Sections represent Hamburg, the Alps, Scandinavia, America, Italy, Venice, Monaco and others, each on a day and night cycle every fifteen minutes. Knuffingen Airport is a working model with aircraft that taxi, accelerate and lift off, disappearing behind a screen, then return. Construction on new sections continues in view of visitors, and the layout is expected to keep expanding for years.

History

In the summer of 2000 Frederik Braun, on holiday in Zurich, had the idea for the world's largest model railway in a model shop there; the business plan he and his twin brother Gerrit drew up fitted on two pages, construction began in December 2000, and the first three sections opened on 16 August 2001. With the Hamburg and German coast section in November 2002 it became the largest model railway in Europe, America followed in December 2003 and Scandinavia in July 2005, and on 10 September 2015 the track linking Switzerland with a new Italy section extended the track from 13,000 meters to 15,400 meters; Bella Italia opened on 28 September 2016, a bridge across the canal to a new building opened in 2020, and Monaco and Provence were completed in 2024 (Wikipedia, Miniatur Wunderland).

Highlights

• The working airport - model aircraft that take off and land on schedule.
• The day-night cycle - lighting changing every fifteen minutes across the layout.
• The regional sections - Hamburg, the Alps, Venice, America and more.
• The ongoing build - new areas under construction in view of visitors.

When to go

Year-round; it is among Germany's most visited attractions and booking a timed slot is close to essential. Early morning and late evening slots are quieter.

Before you go

Without a booked slot the wait can be hours. It is crowded and noisy. Individual sections close briefly for maintenance during the day.

Nearby

The Speicherstadt surrounds it; the Elbphilharmonie is west.

Key facts