Miniatur Wunderland takes off as a tourist locomotive for Hamburg
Hamburg, 06 April 2006. A creative business idea has made it to the top – Frederik and Gerrit Braun have been named Hamburg’s Entrepreneurs of the Year 2006 with their Miniatur Wunderland. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Selbständiger Unternehmer (ASU) and the Bundesverband Junger Unternehmer (BJU) presented the two winners to the public today.
‘With their original start-up idea – to build the largest model railway layout in the world – Frederik and Gerrit Braun have shown that it pays off as entrepreneurs to implement unusual concepts and break new ground,’ says Christoph M. Kadereit, Deputy Chairman of ASU Hamburg.
Miniatur Wunderland is indeed an entrepreneurial success story. Although the project initially made the house bank chuckle, it quickly approved the initial financing amount. In the meantime, the Braun brothers have invested around six million euros in their Wunderland. Since opening on 16 August 2001, the number of guests has almost tripled – the three millionth visitor is expected soon. Hamburg tourists in particular are drawn to the railway world. 90 per cent of guests do not come from the Hanseatic city. Around 200,000 overnight stays per year are directly attributable to Miniatur Wunderland.
‘Frederik and Gerrit Braun have added a special attraction to Hamburg with their company – Miniatur Wunderland is a crowd-puller and leads the way as a tourism locomotive for the Hanseatic city,’ says Malte Wettern, Chairman of BJU Hamburg, explaining the decision. ‘Alongside the harbour, the tourism industry is the second strongest driving force for Hamburg’s economy and the Braun brothers are making the metropolis of Hamburg a little better known internationally with Miniatur Wunderland.’
On the evening of 6 April 2004, the ASU and BJU officially honoured the two prizewinners at a gala in the Bucerius Law School. 500 invited guests were able to enjoy the laudatory speech by Senator for Economics Gunnar Uldall together with the Brauns. Dr Patrick Adenauer, President of ASU, and Prof Dr Felix von Cube from the University of Heidelberg were the keynote speakers. The evening was hosted by Carmen Schön, member of the board of the BJU Hamburg.06
