Little (and not-so-little) kids (and lots of grown-up kids, too) have been playing with model train sets since the 1840s, and the hobby only became more popular when electric trains made their debut in the early 20th century. Equally as beloved to its enthusiasts, miniature airports have been keeping their foot in the door of models over the years, as well. And one of the biggest, if not the largest miniature airport in the world is in Germany.
Miniatur Wunderland is the world’s largest miniature world. Situated in Hamburg, it has mini models of cities and countries from all over the world, including the USA, Austria, Hamburg, Switzerland, Italy, Venice, Monaco, and many more.
One of Miniatur Wunderland’s most popular models is Knuffingen Airport. An exact replica of Hamburg Airport Fuhlsbüttel, the model takes up 150 square meters of space and features realistic air traffic, complete with takeoffs and landings. Taking nearly 6 years (2005-2011) and 150,000 hours to build, the miniature airport includes:
- 52 planes
- 75 buildings
- 90 cars driving
- 100 km of wiring
- 1,000 meters of track
- 4,000 trees
- 15,000 people figures
- 40,000 LED bulbs (2,465 in the airfield alone)
- 50,000+ program lines
All to show off about 250 flights per day. The way they make their model planes “fly” is ingenious and if you wait around long enough, you may even see the Millennium Falcon take off ;-).
Miniatur Wunderland is open 365 days per year from at least 9:30am to 6:00pm (it’s open later on Tuesdays, as well as on school holidays and public holidays) and some evening hours are set aside specifically for wheelchair users or for special behind-the-scenes tours. Check out their website to see more photos of their miniatures, or maybe even to plan your visit.
** All photos via Miniatur Wunderland
*** Huge thank-you to Michael G. for making us aware of this topic!
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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