The first photos and footage of the assembly and lifting are here. Time-lapse shots and drone images will follow around midday.
To download, click on the photo/video on the right and select “Save target as”.
Videofootage:
File 1 – Transportation and assembly – time lapse
File 2 – Bridge installation part 1
File 3 – Bridge installation part 2
File 4 – Bridge installation time lapse 1
File 5 – Bridge installation time lapse 2
File 6 – Bridge installation time lapse 3
File 7 – Bridge installation time lapse 4
File 8 – Bridge installation time lapse 5
After 14 years, the time had finally come this morning at 06:04. One of the largest cranes in Europe lifted a 25-meter-long pedestrian bridge 40 meters above the Miniatur Wunderland warehouse, which was then attached to the warehouse opposite at a height of around 16 meters. A spectacular event at dawn – and the starting signal for the future of Wunderland.
It wasn’t clear whether it would work until shortly before the start. It rained all night and even one wind force more would have made the single-rope act too dangerous. Everyone was all the more relieved when crane operator Alexander Lorenz received the start command shortly after six o’clock.
It was an incredibly emotional moment for Wunderland founder Frederik Braun: “I have been waiting for this day for 14 years. I remember the exact day when I stood at the hatch of our warehouse and said, rather jokingly, that we would one day build a bridge and create new worlds on the other side. The idea never left me and I struggled for many years to make it a reality. For me, this moment at this uncertain time is incredibly emotional, makes me happy and strengthens my belief in the future.
For more than a decade, Miniatur Wunderland has been working together with HHLA and the monument preservation authorities to develop a vision for the future of Germany’s most popular attraction. In future, the bridge will connect the warehouse block opposite and thus build a bridge between the old Wunderland and the new world. From 2022, small trains and visitors will be able to cross the bridge and land on another continent on the other side of the Fleet.
Over the next 10-15 years, completely new and spectacular sections will be created on the additional 3,000 square meters. South America will be the first to open in 2022. Together with the Martinez family, the Miniatur Wunderland model makers are building a spectacular model of the Andes continent with all its beauty and hidden treasures right in Buenos Aires. The first part, Rio, has already been completed and will soon cross the Atlantic and find its home in the new Speicher L.
When the bridge crossed Block L shortly after seven o’clock and the crash-proof specialists fastened the first bolt to the bridge, Gerrit Braun’s relief could be read on his face. “The future of Wunderland begins today. In our minds, the course of the day has actually been fixed for years. We imagined a huge event with grandstands, a show program, popcorn and thousands of spectators. We would have loved to share this spectacle with the whole of Hamburg. Unfortunately, due to the corona rules, we had to go through with it in a quiet room. I am all the more pleased to see visitors crossing the bridge in two years’ time and hope that they can enjoy this phenomenal view in a similar way,” explains Gerrit Braun.
In the coming months, the warehouse opposite will be extensively renovated before South America, Asia and parts of Africa can get ready in the brick building.
You can download this press release here.
You can download the press kit here.
