The miniature wonderland or short MiWuLa is the largest model railway system in the world on a scale of 1:87 (H0) in the Speicherstadt in Hamburg. The Miniatur Wunderland can be found in Hamburg's warehouse district Kehrwieder number 2.
getting there
By plane
From Hamburg Airport you can take the S-Bahn line 1 to the St. Pauli Landungsbrücken station.
By train
Several S-Bahn lines run from Hamburg Central Station in the direction of St. Pauli Landungsbrücken. If you get off there, it takes about half an hour to walk (if you take your time). You can also take the underground to the Speicherstadt (one station to the baumall stop). From the Stadthausbrücke stop you can get to the Wunderland faster.
By car
By car you can get to the Speicherstadt via the B4 in the direction of St. Pauli. At Rödlingsmarkt you turn south. Then turn left onto the street Kajen over the Hohe Brücke and then immediately right to the Speicherstadt. There are also a few parking spaces here.
opening hours
The opening times are not uniform and vary according to the season and events. A calendar with the opening times can be found on the website.
history
The idea of the Miniatur Wunderland came to the two operators Frederick and Gerrit Braun in 2000 and has been expanded ever since. The digitally operated system offers space for around 1000 trains, plus the airport, which is based on Hamburg Airport Knuffingen in operation. The planning is not finished yet. Next is the part currently under construction Mediterranean Sea With Italy go into operation. So far, several million euros have flowed into the facility and it already offers 270 jobs and has around 1.4 million visitors per year with an upward trend.
cards
On the website of the miniature wonderland you can reserve tickets, guided tours and much more. You should definitely take advantage of this, because it is actually always very crowded in the Wunderland. If you have not reserved any tickets, you first have to go to a waiting area. You can get something to eat and drink there, but you have to wait here until your personal number is called before you can enter the area of the model layout. Depending on how full it is, this can take an hour. If you have made a reservation, you can enter the model railway area immediately.
The attachment
Of course, the layout is primarily a model railway. In the miniature wonderland, however, some limits have been broken here. So you have on parts of the system (for example in Knuffingen) Cars in motion. Everywhere on the edge of the facility, visitors can use buttons to set up small animations where everything can be set in motion. In the area Scandinavia is a part filled with real water. Here ships are partly controlled manually with remote control. The attention to detail of the builders of the wonderland is particularly popular. In the most remote corners of the facility you can always discover little scenes that make you laugh. Be it a grandma driving a thief away with her handbag or two monks looking under the skirt of a blonde. In addition, the system also switches to night mode, then you can admire the loving lighting of the individual elements. Individual events are also accompanied by sounds, such as the sirens of the rescue vehicles or a landing plane.
The sections
There are trains that travel through several sections of the facility, such as an ICE whose high-speed line runs through the German sections. The transfer routes from one part of the facility to the other, which are partially built into the stairs with Plexiglas, are also nice.
The Switzerland
The newest section of the model railway is the construction section Switzerland, the specialty of which is certainly the representation of the high mountains. They go over several floors and can also be viewed from many different perspectives. In addition to train tracks at dizzying heights, you can see a cable car, an elevator that brings the miniature mountaineer almost to the top of the mountain, a large train station in the valley and much more. A concert by DJ-Bobo in the valley area with the replica stage, a huge camping area with everything that belongs to such a concert is interesting. The concert is of course animated.
Bavaria
In keeping with the theme of Switzerland, the stairs up is the Bavaria area. Here you can also admire the foothills of the high mountains of Switzerland. The center of Bavaria is of course that Neuschwanstein Castle. Of course there is a celebration in Bavaria. For example, tractor pulling can be activated at the push of a button. The part of Bavaria is quite small in contrast to the other parts.
Knuffingen Airport
With Knuffingen Airport, the Miniatur Wunderland ventured into new technical territory, because an airport of this size with realistic air traffic does not exist anywhere else in this form. When taking off, the planes are impaled by two poles and lifted into the air. Rolling operation was implemented using the car system. In addition to flight operations, a fire-fighting exercise was also carried out at the airport. The flight plan is not fixed, but random, so you want to prevent the same processes at the airport from happening over and over again. The model of the airport is at the Hamburg Airport ajar. This can be seen well in the terminal buildings, for example. The underground train station, which can be seen behind plexiglass, is interesting. The display board, which looks like in a real airport, also shows real operations at the model airport.
Knuffingen
In Knuffingen, the railways are not so much the star, because here, above all, road traffic has been implemented using the car system. Many things happen on and off the streets. The police check trucks that actually stop, there is a speed camera here and there and sometimes you get a message showing you how fast you have driven. In Knuffingen, the fire brigade also plays a major role, because from this guard it can move out on various missions. The large train station in Knuffingen, where regional and national trains stop, is also impressive. Knuffingen is the only section that has no real role model. So Löwenstein Castle is only the product of the builder's imagination.
Austria
Opposite Knuffingen is Austria, which is connected to the Swiss construction section on the left. In addition to the actual landscape, you can also take a look behind the scenes and see how the trains can reach the high distances via spiral rails. Of course, all kinds of winter sports are in the foreground in Austria. Whether ski jumpers, ice skaters or other sports that can be carried out in winter on ice and snow, everything is offered. There are also lifts and cable cars available to reach the hangers. Some of the rails are laid for the rack railway, which can also overcome steep gradients. In Austria you can also find the prison of the facility.
Central Germany
Central Germany means the low mountain range. The most important indication of this is the Hermannsdenkmal in the Teuteburg Forest. The new high-speed rail lines with long tunnels and bridges are well known in the low mountain range. One of them has been realized here as a model. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the central German complex is the fair, which shines in thousands of lights, especially at night. 30,000 small lights are said to have been installed here. And of course the rides also have a function. Everything turns, everything moves. The control center is located across from the central German facility. The system is monitored from here. Countless monitors and swiveling cameras are available for this purpose.
Hamburg
Of course, there had to be part of the complex that was inspired by the home of the miniature wonderland, Hamburg. It is certainly more difficult to recreate real existing buildings than to invent ones yourself that you can change as you want. Hamburg has several highlights to offer. For the railroad worker, this is certainly the main train station, where there is a lot of activity. The Imtech-Arena is definitely colossal (sold out) with everything that happens inside. It's unbelievable how many figures are built into the stands here. The Köhlbrand Bridge is another highlight or the depot where ICE trains are repaired. Hagenbeck's zoo with numerous animated activities that can be started at the touch of a button is also a must.
America
Hardly a cliché has been left out on the America layout and by that the USA is meant. Las Vegas is a theme and takes up part of the facility. Right in front of it is the launch pad for the space shuttle, which is known to have been launched from Cape Canavaral. You can actually start here too. But right at Cape Canavaral is geographically better Miami. In America, too, the cars drive on the freeways and roads by means of the car system through the landscape that goes along the Grand Canyon and leads through mammoth trees. As on every part of the facility, there are many little things to see, an alien spaceship has crashed near the Cadillac Ranch and the aliens are looking for help and many other scenes.
The last section for the time being is the Scandinavia section. The most important thing in this phase of construction is that ships swim and move in real water here. At the moment this is still done manually with remote controls, but should sooner or later be taken over by a fully automatic control. In fact, there are ebb and flow of tides in the basin. The seascape is spanned by the gigantic Storebelt Bridge, certainly the largest bridge in the MiWuLa. Also worth seeing is the part opposite the seascape that is covered with snow. Iron ore is mined here and brought to the train station. The ore distribution station is also covered with snow. The railway line leads over the river to the harbor via a bascule bridge.
hustle
Unfortunately it is almost always very crowded in the Miniatur Wunderland. Of course, this is also necessary so that sales are correct and business can hold up, but on the other hand, it can really spoil the enjoyment of the system for some. Due to the relative tightness, of course, two people can quickly collide. Not all people come into the premises with due consideration, the stress factor is quite high.
If you want to avoid the crowd, you shouldn't come here on Saturdays or Sundays and public holidays anyway. It's best to choose a day when the sun is shining and you'd prefer to stay outside. If you are there in the morning, you have plenty of time to enjoy the facility. It will fill up quickly later. In the afternoon it will be emptier again. That could be a better alternative. A look at the MiWuLa website also shows the forecasts, which are very coherent. Here you can get an idea and find the right time to visit.
time
If you want to see everything that the system has to offer, you can't get by on one day. On the other hand, you shouldn't spend too long on the first construction phases, because then you may run out of strength during the last. It is certainly not bad to plan your stay a little bit. In between you can take a break in the restaurant, eat and drink something and exchange a few things, what did you see that the other did not see. Time pressure is not good in Wunderland.
Search game
The search game, in which you have to find certain scenes on the layout, is not only interesting for children. You can use the search game that is offered on the MiWuLa flyer, but you can also put together one yourself, which is certainly even more interesting. However, it is very difficult because the number of scenes is incredibly high. But you can also work with tips.
Tips
Backpacks and bags can be put in lockable cupboards in the entrance area. Then they do not interfere with the tour (not yourself or anyone else). Let the people who come out of one of the many dead ends in Miniature Wonderland go first. Only when someone comes out of these often overcrowded corridors can someone come back in.
Web links
https://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/ - Official website of Miniatur Wunderland
