In May 2011, the Knuffingen Airport at the Miniatur Wunderland (German for Miniature Wonderland) was completed and is currently the world’s largest model airport. But the airport is only part of the Wonderland attraction. The exhibit started as a model railway attraction in Hamburg, Germany and is the largest of its kind in the world.
The model railway consists of seven sections: Harz (fictitious city of Knuffingen), Hamburg, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the Alps and Austria, and America. The model railway takes up approximately 1,150 m2 of floor space. Each section has unique landscapes and the railway exhibit showcases details that the specific regions are known for in the real world. For example, the ‘America’ section has highlights such as Las Vegas with over 30,000 lights, the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, Area 51, Miami, the Everglades, and so on. When you watch the promotional video below, you will also find funny interactive scenes such as people having sex in a van or a not so funny scene such the police investigating a crime scene.
The Miniatur Wunderland is a long term project and new sections are added every year with completion expected in 2020. When the entire exhibit is completed, the floor space will be 10,000 m2 while the exhibit will take up over 2,300 m2 of space. There will be 1,300 trains, 15,000 wagons, and 20 kilometers of track. There will also be over 50,000 lights, over 300,000 figurines, 10,000 cars, and 330,000 detailed trees. So far, there has been over 580,000 work hours put into the project but by 2020 – it will be approximately 850,000 hours. Cost of the project to date is over 12,000,000 € while the finally tally is expected to be approximately 20,000,000 €.
Future sections are rumored to include England, Africa, and a futuristic landscape. Check out their website, Miniatur Wunderland for more details.
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