What I really like about the two founders is that they seem to really want as many people as possible to see what they created. So they announce special days from time to time where you get free entry if you can't afford it otherwise. On these days instead of paying the entrance fee you can say "I can't afford the fee." and get a free ticket, no questions asked. Shows that they love what they do and want to share it with others, even if it means potentially less profit for them.
The only issue I had was the sheer number of visitors, it was difficult to take everything in when you are but one of a million people (well it felt like that) crammes inside at the same time... But it was still amazing. 😀
@@backdraft1902 Seen it in a german documentary a while ago, and it's just mind blowing how they are going to implement this, because the aim is to make every race unique - different overtaking maneuvers, different rankings etc...
I highly recommend their RU-vid channel. Most of the videos are obviously in German, but they often have English subtitles. Currently (since 7 years 😱) attempts are being made to build a functioning Formula 1 race in Monaco. There are many interesting videos about this. BTW: I was already there, many years ago.
I’m 56 and that place brings my inner child out. There is only the first time to visit but never the only time. There is always something new and it is mind blowing experiences after one another. Just a wonderful place for men, women and children.
They already expanded, it sadly is an old video. Now it covers another building via bridge, new continents, Rio de Janeiro, they even got their F1 Monaco race track working I heard, finally! The racing cars don’t have motors or batteries, they are guided by circuit boards which are continuously switched on in segments as the cars are pulled along and there even are overtaking maneuvers possible now, which took 9 years to develop! Those other miniature cars follow hidden magnetic coils and are docking recharger stations autonomously….. thanks for your video, mate!
it has grown IMMENSELY over those many many years... I remember being in Hamburg with my school class back in the day when it was "just" a rather impressive mini railroad. Was cool back then, but no comparison to what it is now... they have many videos on their channel, often going into detail of the various systems.
Visiting it 1 day is not enough. You CANNOT see everything/every detail in one day. It is amazing. Thank you brothers Frederic and Gerrit Braun, their father Jochen and Stephan Hertz starting the bussiness and for giving this to the world. Thank you to all modellmakers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Even this video is outdated. Monaco is there, Rio was added, a few dasy ago Patagoina was added. The Wonderladians added another neighbour building, build a bridge to that building and they will add more, things like Rain forest and so on. Plan a whole day for visit, if possible book the "behind the scenes" tour. It's worth it.
From what I heard, one of their latest projects is a AI controlled F1 race. Meaning the F1 cars drive a race on a race track, but not as slot cars, instead they can use the track freely. So each race is different, not with a preprogrammed script. They can pass other cars and all depending on the situation, like in a real F1 race. It was very difficult to build and took them a long time and lots of money, but they seem to have succeeded finally now.
One funny element - in other tourist attractions, they tell you not to take photos. In this place they ask you to take photos and share them with others. Nice idea..
They recently opened the south America theme... in another building... separated by a canal... connected by a walkway bridge... used by model trains to pass from one side to the other !
The Warehouse City called Speicher Stadt in Hamburg Germany is worth a Visit including the Miniature Wonderland of Course and the City of Hamburg is truly amazing
It all began when Frederik Braun was walking through zurich and found himself in front of a toy store watching a model railway. He felt transported back to childhood memories. So he called his twin brother Gerrit with the idea to build the largest model railway in the world. Gerrit who is by nature rather rational and skeptical, initially had serious doubts about Frederik's state of mind and the seriousness of this idea. But after Frederik called him again and again and again on the same day Gerrit realized how serious his brother was about this idea. This is it how it all started. It is heartwarming to see how lifelike and how everything is done to the same scale. Kits are no longer bought for buildings, but are rebuilt using photos. Even buildings and the small figures are made in their own workshops. It is quite simply absolutly crazy.
Model making is a serious business in Germany. This could already be seen in the movie "The Flight of the Phoenix" from 1965 where Hardy Krüger played the model engineer Heinrich. In this exhibition, all the reins were loosened and the model builders and engineers were allowed to realize every imaginable idea.
The miniatur Wunderland has a great RU-vid channel where they report about their developing, construction and troubleshooting. Very interesting to have look behind the scenes.
Here are some more actual facts about the Miniatur Wunderland since the video is from 2018 and dont have the Facts from 2022. They rented a 2nd building behind the first warehouse and connected it with a bridge, so today the Miniatur Wunderland has 10.000 m² rental area and the total size of the model area is 1.545 m² with already more than 1 million working hours and 10 finished Areas. Over 16km of tracks with 3517 Railroad switches,1120 locomotives, more than 10450 wagons, the longest model train is 14,51m (47,6 feet). 4340 houses, more than 497000 LEDs, 289000 figures and 137000 trees, 52 airplanes and over 10250 model cars. Today, more than 300 employees work in all areas of Miniatur Wunderland and the costs already amount to 37.2 million euros. The whole facility is controlled by 53 computers.
@@Sheppart92 I wouldn't worry about any discrepancies. As in any other company staff "moves" all the time. If I'm not mistaken one of the videos is about a retiring employee. And they hired a whole South-American familiy to build the Rio de Janeiro scene. They made a few videos about that too, especially about how to get the scene intact from Brasil to Germany.
In April 2021, the longest medley of classical music was played by a model railroad in the Miniaturwunderland. For this, a shunting locomotive drove past glasses filled with water with several beater poles.
Yep, they were after another Guiness record. The usual size is what miniature train lovers call H0, but this attempt was made with a train that was size 1. That's a size that may work better in a garden than the small version. The size is customary but NOTHING there is bought from the shops and used there. They make anything themselves, because they need stronger engines that last longer (remember it is moving ALL the time). The 2 brothers (owners) have used much of the 2 storey space they had. But now they bridged over to a second house across the canal, in order to build even more attractions.
@@mflax4331 There's a small error in your comment: They buy all the trains, cars and figures - if possible, cause it would be too expensive to build them themself, but they have to change or ad many parts. But like you said: They have to move about 10 hour a day, so they have to change the engines and connectors. Every light on the cars is added to existing modells and are controlled by a self-made software, so the light on a firetruck or policecar look a realistic and b blink only when they rush to an emergency, and not when they on their way back. The cars even "know" when their battery needs juice and they drive to special loading stations. They started with modell kits for the houses, too, but they build them for years now.
I've been there twice once in 2008 and again in 2013. You could spend the whole day there if you wanted to and still find new things. The control room is massive. They had Iron Maiden's Plane at one stage.
started small, i think with one million loan and a handful of workers, growing over to current and still growing, investing in its own... and its working force...
This place is so magical. I was there years ago and they added so much new stuff. I really wanna go again. Its kina my number one recommondation to see in germany if you have some kind of intererest in stuff like that! Please do some more vids on it!
I’ve been to this museum, you literally need like a whole day to fully appreciate this. It’s absolutely breathtaking. They change it every now and then so it’s not the same thing. When I visited they literally had a freaking miniature airport. The best thing about it is also the sound effects when there’s movements.
Almost any time visiting Hamburg, I try to take a day at Miniature Wunderland. They are constantly expanding the railways and updating existing ones. So there's always something new to explore. If going to Hamburg to visit the Miniatur Wunderland you should try to get a slot as early as possible for entry. The first hours it's not so crowded and you may have a chance to inspect the exhibition more in detail.
if you had the time i recommed visiting it by day as normal, and additional buy one of the special evening events called "Culinary Trip around the World". tickets are not that cheap, but its worth it! because the entry is limited, so you have enough space for your own. And there are special menues in each world section (not even beard meets food or joel hanson could eat that much), and even the guided tours are inclusive.
They are even open hearted. They let visitors in for free when they claim that they can't afford a regular visit and Kindergarden Groups are also free ❤️
The wonderland is indeed absolutely incredible. I was there for over 16 times now, and i still find new details where i ask myself: "Was this already there before???" Because you simply cant find everything. And they are still not done building it. Since more than 20 years now. And when there is something, that doesnt exist, they build it. Like the Formula 1 in Monaco. Yes, they build the Grand Prix of Monaco with REAL races and everything. If you want to know more about the wonderland, check their website, they make videos in english as well and show some "behind the scenes" stuff and all this.
When you visit the place you see the "serverroom" near the entrance and the big control center where you can view them over the shoulder and see how everything is controlled and then there is even trains in the floor with thick glass on top so you see crossing the trains below your feed because the whole system is ONE BIG connected trainsystem
2 young man , the Braun brothers wanted to create a big thing and they did ... supported by the town of Hamburg they were given a big area in the Speicherstadt to begin . they started with a small area and same grew and grew and grewuntil they had to include another big area in the next block now connected by a bridge ... the most populare sightseeing point in Germany of today ... you will love it - like so many millions before ! Visit Hamburg !
Also watch their videos about Monaco and the Formula 1 races. It's incredible the difficulties they solve to show realistic random races with overtaking in their time. Just solving the problems to have circuit boards made to have the cars realistically move forward and overtake is crazy.
I have been there several times, but my last time was before covid... When vistiging you need multiple days to see it all and then you haven't seen it all. Also the behind the scenes tours they have are amazing, also the things regular vistiers can't see without these tours are very detailed. You really should watch some of their newer and more detailed videos.
I've been there at least half a dozen times, 3 of those for a full day, and I still discover new details and easter eggs every time... very excited to go back once the new section is done
4:45 In 2012 a had a guided tour, and when I saw the A380 of Thai Airways I said: "Oh so you are ahead of your time a bit". Guide: "Why???" "In real life Thai Airways will have the A380 not before November". The guide reacted: " Oh, well, I better not tell the bosses, because they would take it out until then, and that would be a shame because it is soooo beautiful". There also is little gas station that always has the correct gas prices because a computer downloads them from time to time from the homepage of the oil company and forwards them to the tiny display. Now THAT'S perfection!!
I've been there myself. It is just absolutely insane. So many details and funny easter eggs wait to be discovered. But it's als very educational... one of my favorite displays was basically a time travel through the centuries of a evolving town. Starting with a few farmers' huts growing into a medieval village and into a renaissance city...
I've been there multiple times about 10 years ago, it was amazing though back then it was not even half as big as it is now. If you really wanna go there you better make a reservation in advance, cause tickets are often sold out one and a half months in advance.
Better plan several days for the visit - otherwise you would be overwhelmed realy fast and can't see and enjoy it all. Greetings from Hamburg / Germany
'This is like a REAL operation' - Yeah, when germans blow things out of proportion due to being passionate about it, they REALLY blow it out of proportion. Have you ever heard of r/place? It's an april fools event of reddit, and it came back last year, for being the public favorite from 2017. And the germans liked it. EVERYONE and their grandma organized this time to create something, but no one could beat the germans to it. They made an ORGANIGRAM of how they organized on the official german r/place reddit page. Everyone was thankful, that not a single big german streamer cared for it, except for 2 or 3 of them with around 1-2k viewers. And that the germans were eager and happy to cooperate with other communities (as long as they applied for that properly with the german diplomat group over discord). Otherwise, this whole canvas would have turned into a giant german flag with very few exceptions.
the owners still are kids,same the mechanics.most of the cars and buildings have no lights when they are bought,then everyone has to figure out,how to put these tiny lights inside.u need a week of vacation ,stay in a close by hotel and go there every day for a couple of hours,you may can see everything then,but for sure not all hidden details.
I am a huge fan of the MiWuLa and believe me, it is worth to visit. The attention for details is unbelievable. 360 people are working there to keep it running and there is not one day without new ideas. It´s just fantastic.
If you visit, try to get a time-slot-ticket early in the morning, so you can stay till the evening. And you still would have not seen everything. It is truely amazing, I have been there September 2022, and for sure it was not my last time there.
you have to visit this miniature wonderland in HAMBURG. I've been there XX times myself and there's something new every time. if you are in germany this is a must for everyone. even as an adult you can't stop being amazed. I'm glad that it only takes me an hour to get to Hamburg. so see you soon in hamburg. greetings from germany
History of Wunderland It took only five months from the initial idea in July 2000 until the construction of the first section started. Just eight months later, in August of 2001, the Miniatur Wunderland opened with its first three theme worlds. Here you can read how an idea, which at first appeared impossible to realize, turned into a major success. In July 2000, Frederik Braun was visiting the alpine city of Zurich, Switzerland. Strolling through the alleys of Zurich’s center, he came across a railway model shop, which at once evoked childhood memories in him. Inspired by this reminiscence, the idea to make a long forgotten childhood dream come true became more and more prominent within hours after seeing the railway model shop. On the very same day, Frederik called his twin brother Gerrit, taking him by surprise by saying: “We are going to build the world’s largest model railway”. Gerrit, rather sceptic by nature, thought Frederik had gone mad and doubted the sincerity of his idea. But after receiving at least another six calls that day, with Frederik enthusiastically proposing new ideas on the topic, Gerrit realized how serious his brother was about the idea. He started considering the project from an economical and technical point of view. He came to the conclusion, that the project would be a technological challenge, the economic aspect would be very risky, from an entrepreneurial point of view it would be plain crazy, but overall it should be possible. Thus, Gerrit was infected by this idea as well. At that time, the two brothers, together with their business partner Stephan Hertz, had been running a night club in Hamburg and wanted out of the nightlife scene for a while. The following days and weeks Frederik, Gerrit and Stephan spent their time substantiating their mutual dream, in spite of all doubts and skepticism from people around them. Shortly after the “Zurich Epiphany”, all three of them felt that they would commit themselves to this risky adventure. Before their dream could come true, they had to secure one thing: This adventure should not destroy the existence that had been built up over the years as owners of a night club and music label. Therefore they had to make sure, that the dream could be financed, that enough visitors would come, that the technical side of things could be realized, and whether there was a location in Hamburg to accommodate the biggest model railway of the world. n order to find out whether enough visitors would come to cover the substantial capital outlay, the three of them decided to do a survey. More than 3,000 people with different characteristics were interviewed online and asked to decide which, mostly fictional, touristic places of interest they would want to see when visiting Hamburg. Male survey participants voted the idea of the “Miniatur Wunderland” to number 3, whereas with female voters it fell into last place. Despite this controversial outcome the founding team decided: “WE ARE GOING TO BUILD THE WORLD’S LARGEST MODEL RAILWAY”.
We lived in Germany for 10 years and visited Hamburg 2 times just to go visit the miniature wonderland with the kids. They are just fascinated with the German trains and bahns. We just moved back to Chicago 2023 and definitely we miss Germany and all the activities.
Yes, the miniature wonderland is extremely impressive, but it has to be said that Monaco is finished with the landscape and the houses. But the operators definitely want to simulate the Formula 1 race there and that can take another 2-3 years. For a long time no circuit board manufacturer was able to produce the circuit boards for the track. Even the Chinese have capitulated! The problem with the whole thing is that you can't get batteries and motors into the Formula 1 racing cars in 1:87!!So you have to think of something else and then they found so-called Hallbach magnets. You can stick them under the cars and the cars are then pulled along the track with magnetic fields. This makes it possible for the cars to overtake and a real race can be simulated. And without a Formula One race in Monaco, they won't open the section. and they've been there for 8 years!! This shows that the people in Wonderland are crazy but in a positive way.
Now the cars are running quite well and also the cameras at the track are working fine. The new video about it looks sensational, as the movements of the cars look just like footage from a real race.
I have seen it, and the video doesn't do it justice, It is that awesome! And I'm not a "train" guy, was dragged along with my friends but we ended up wondering around the whole day :D There is so much to see, so if you are even remotely close by, it is worth it to spend a day out to visit it.
Ian, today, in 2023, Soul America is mostly finished, the next step is Antartica, then Asia and Africa. The founders Frederik and Gerrit Braun announced this on their channel "Miniatur Wunderland" ou can use CC so you understand what they say. I dearly hope, that you and your family can come to Germany. The Miniatur Wunderland is situated in the Speicherstadt, former warehouses and UNESCO World Heritage. If you come, try to come early, as there is lots to see. You and your family, be safe and happy. Elmar from Germany.
I'll be visiting Hamburg this summer for a few days primarily for a concert (The Boss!), but this already was on top of list of other things to visit while we're there!
This is an older video. In the meantime they bought a new building on the other side and build a bridge (Where also trains ride from one to the other side). South america is now finished. They are working now on Patagonia. The formula 1 in Monaco will still need quite of time because of the programming difficulty. The "Miniatur Wunderland" has an own youtube channel with a lots of videos how théy build the airport or south america and how challenging the formula 1 is. With english subtitles of course.
Rio de janeiro is already a thing :D They've built a bridge across the water to the next building (In 1:1 scale) for that. Been there a couple of times. Seen something new everytime :3
I was there more than ten times! And each and every time I will find new things. I always plan for a hole day starting relativly early, because you can leave know and then, but can't stay longer. And they often have long opening hours up to 22 hours.
Yes, such a great place to visit. And it's in northern Germany, making it one of the many good reasons to visit this somewhat underrated part of Germany.
The owners are two twin Brothers who made their money with a night club in Hamburg and create the Miniatur Wunderland to follow their childhood dream, the rest is history.
There is a series called "Gerrits Tagebuch" where you see all the background stuff. He even showed the 3-4 years that it took to build the Airport and now they will bring the F-1 in Monaco alive ;)
Hey IWrocker, have You ever been in Europa..? If not, I seriously think it's about time and sure, You will have plenty people to support a trip.., I would....! Cheers from Germany...
The Last time i visited the Miniaturwunderland was like 2008... We got free ice cream because of the long waiting time and temperature there. May its a good idea to do it again. So much new stuff to see and even 2008 the Automation of the system was insane.. they had a whole room of Computers and screens to control that.
I was there actually in Thursday for the 4th time. Like you said: the video does not do it justice. You can spend hours there and not see every detail. And not only tourists visit but also locals which is always a sign for something incredible
We tend to love model railways in the UK too, but this is on another level. Definitely something I want to visit one day. If you ever plan a tour of Europe and include Germany and the UK, then another to consider is the pendon museum, it is much more of a authentic approach to recreation of a location without the lights and sound, another way of approaching it really.
True. The Pendon Museum is still on my bucket list! UK modelers take a more calm approach and tend to focus on a specific era. In Germany, the emphasis is clearly on entertainment and overengineering 🙂
Frederik, Gerrit and their brilliant teams have done a tremendous job over the years. The facility is absolutely amazing. This year I will make my third visit and I will again discover many things that I have not seen before
You need to look about special videos from the miniaturwunderland from Monaco. They buildung Monaco with the real Formula1 track, cars and races. That is amazimg. You will love it.
The "Wonderland" is more than magnificent and fascinating. You shouldn't go in if you don't have much time, you should set aside a whole day to explore and, above all, enjoy the "wonderland". It's not just called Wonderland, it's a "WONDERLAND"!!!! I can only recommend every visitor to Hamburg to take a look at this marvel. You can't stop being amazed. 😳😃
and now you have a second section where south america is represented. So far, rio and soon patagonia will be finished. in addition, the amazonas and central america. to get there, you have to cross a bridge into another building.
How it came to be? Two brothers got feed up with their job and remembered their childhood fun with model trains. They took all their savings and a loan to start the project. If i remember correctly one was a lawyer and the other an engineer.
as a german, i have to say that even as germans, the inventors overengeneered it in a good way. I am very happy about that, so I can show the miracle from Hamburg's Speicherstadt to my son.
Hello Ian, can you react to "Vivez l'expérience Puy du Fou 2019" ? Puy du Fou is a french theme park about history (mostly medieval) with great shows that the world envies ! It is one of the greatest theme park in the world, for kids and adults, and I'm sure you'll love it !
I was there two weeks ago, outstanding doesn’t really cover it. And they are still building new sets. I just caught the end of the Falcon as it came through…. Well worth a visit.
I was there a few years ago and I can tell it is really impressive! Also they are even bigger then now. They have a bridge to another building across the water where also trains are running. You should go there and take a whole day to visit that.
