With the opening of the new section, the bridge and, on the other side, the new exhibition space in Block L of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt will go into service at the same time. The planning and construction work for the extension took over ten years. “It’s been over a decade since we first spoke to HHLA about our expansion dreams. This gave rise to the crazy idea of a bridge that would carry small trains and people across the canal into a new world. The fact that this vision has now become reality still feels quite unreal to me and is simply wonderful,” explains Gerrit Braun.

There was no more room for new worlds in the previous Wunderland facilities. Block L adds 3,000 square meters of exhibition space to the world’s largest model railway layout and the expansion is secured for at least another ten years. The Rio section is the first of four South American parts that the Miniatur Wunderland model makers are building simultaneously with the Martinez model making family in Argentina and Hamburg. A film about this unique teamwork will be released in cinemas at the end of 2022, produced by the makers of the globally successful Michael Schumacher documentary. “We met the Martinez family four years ago in New York and moments later we had the crazy idea of building South America together with South Americans, partly in South America. Obviously there is something like a kindred spirit, because we felt from the very first moment that we were similarly loving, nerdy, crazy and passionate about the cause, and in four years we haven’t had to doubt it once. It was a great adventure, especially because of Corona. But when you stand in front of Rio now, you immediately realize that this co-production has created something fantastically unique – a truly new world,” says Frederik Braun.

Corona was a major challenge for this emotional project. Many Wunderlanders spent the first year of construction together with the Martinez family in Buenos Aires. Due to the pandemic, the Wunderland team had to be flown out head over heels in February 2020. Without further ado, Team Martinez continued building alone and was accompanied by hundreds of Skype calls from Hamburg. Rio de Janeiro then arrived in Hamburg by ship almost a year ago and took Team Wunderland thousands of hours to complete. An intercontinental masterpiece had been created.

With the opening of Rio de Janeiro, the wonderful bridge has now also been opened. At a height of 16 meters above the water, the 25-meter-long Fleet Bridge is the link between the old and the new world. While guests cross the glass bridge, they can also admire the special exhibition “The world from above”. Here the trains from the old sections cross the bridge through the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Visitors can view our beautiful planet like a bird from above before entering the new wonderland world through a temple gate.

Rio will be followed by the Patagonia and Antarctica section at the turn of the year 2022/2023, the rainforest with the Amazon and Andes in 2024, and the Caribbean in 2025. Afterwards, parts of Asia or Africa are planned. These will then be located above South America on the 4th floor of the new warehouse. Until then, the floor will be used for special exhibitions and will offer a spectacular view of the South American sections under construction thanks to a huge opening in the ceiling. In addition, further parts of the storage facility will become accessible in the course of 2022. On the 2nd floor there will be a small cinema, a small restaurant and a passageway to the completely new Wunderland virtual reality world, where you can shrink down and move freely through Wunderland as a small figure with the help of high-tech equipment and experience a wonderful adventure. This is currently being developed together with Europa-Park and is expected to open on the first floor at the end of February under the name “Yullbe”.

Photos and video footage

To download, please click on the right and select “Save target as…”. Credit: Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

Videofootage:

Opening and beauty shots of Rio and the bridge: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Qh6KI1vCfDJWieB1Bwlr5eYC6lELPgSa?usp=sharing

Further Links

How to build South America Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-mnD6Qq_mg&list=PLBXUux9I_ktrpwbI3zi4FfXJTewLXsEKi

Bridge exhibition “The world from above”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YhGYXXa2vU

New virtual reality experience “Yullbe”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NrrEBtXeI8?t=455

Installation of the bridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYsANYtRNm4

Press contact

Sebastian Drechsler

s.drechsler@miniatur-wunderland.de

+49 40 300 68 00

The post Rio de Janeiro becomes part of Hamburg – Miniatur Wunderland opens new bridge and new section first appeared on Miniatur Wunderland.

This August, Miniatur Wunderland will be 18 years old and thus come of age. Time to think about the future. It will be very different from what was planned a few years ago. Somehow typical for almost 18.

In March, a new rental agreement was signed for the expansion of Wunderland in the Speicherstadt. A further 3,000 square meters are to be connected to Wunderland on the other side of the canal.

The Monaco and Provence section is currently being built as the last section in the existing building for the time being. Gerrit Braun and his team are trying to develop a completely new type of technology here. The vision is to create a miniature Formula 1 race using scalable magnetic fields. It remains to be seen whether this will really work. “Next to our airport, a miniature Formula 1 race is the most technically challenging project in the history of Wunderland. We have just got the first cars driving on a test track. However, we still have a long way to go before we can reproduce F1 races with different driving characteristics and overtaking maneuvers,” reports Gerrit Braun. The opening is planned for November 2020.

Even before that, a small but very detailed section of nine square meters will be opened: a new funfair. The previous funfair, which was built in 2001 for the opening of Wunderland, is now being completely overhauled and more than doubled in size. New rides, around 100,000 LEDs and many technical gadgets will be the highlight of one of the original sections of Wunderland. The new funfair will be officially opened in November 2019.

However, the most spectacular project by far is undoubtedly the expansion of the site. England was originally planned on the other side of the Fleet. However, this idea has now been replaced by the biggest adventure in the history of Wunderland: “We have already completed our Brexit, so to speak,” explains Frederik Braun with a wink, adding: “25% of our guests now come from abroad. For many, Europe looks very similar. Old houses, small towns, meadows, fields, forests and the occasional mountain. We have therefore decided to create completely new worlds. We are starting this project with the South America section. The idea came to us in New York when we met a family from Argentina who were completely crazy – in an entirely positive sense.”

In the summer of 2017, the vision was born: to build South America in South America, together with this wonderful family. The South American continent is vastly different from Europe. While Europe is filled with bright lights and civilization, South America offers the exact opposite: the last unexplored regions of the Amazon Delta, myths, breathtaking nature, and vibrant cities. Bringing all this to life authentically, from a workshop thousands of kilometers away in Hamburg, is nearly impossible—especially since, fortunately, there is no Google Maps for the rainforest or Antarctica yet.
That’s why, for the past year, Wunderland has been working in a suburb of Buenos Aires on its boldest project ever, in collaboration with the Martinez family. Wunderland’s model builders and a team of 15 South Americans are constructing this stunning new section. The first phase will cover 200 square meters, featuring landscapes from the Amazon, the Andes, Rio de Janeiro, and even Antarctica.
“The South America project is both an adventure and a fairy tale,” says Gerrit Braun. “The father of the family, Ricardo Martinez, a passionate and slightly crazy model builder and drummer, first discovered Miniatur Wunderland through a documentary on Deutsche Welle in 2002. He recorded it on VHS and played it over and over again for his four children. They practically grew up with this VHS tape and our YouTube channel. They had always dreamed of visiting Wunderland—and now, we’re embarking on an exciting expedition into the unknown together.”

Parallel to the South America section, another very special section is also being built in Hamburg. On the way into the new building, visitors will have the opportunity to travel around the world from a bird’s eye view. In the “The World from Above” exhibition, we will be recreating the most beautiful places in the world from the perspective of a low-flying aircraft. A total of around 10 million euros will be invested in the new sections over the next few years.
“We’re entering an incredibly exciting phase,” says Frederik Braun. “For years, we’ve been expanding Wunderland one section at a time. Now, we’re venturing into completely new territory and embarking on a grand adventure. Will everything turn out the way we imagine? I don’t know yet. But we’ve always strived to outdo ourselves and surprise our visitors. To achieve that, sometimes you have to leave the safe, well-worn paths and explore the unknown. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Press Kit 

In our press kit you will find everything you need to know about Miniatur Wunderland, its history, the people behind it and facts and figures about the attraction.

Press Kit

Video Footage

“How to build South America” – The Documentary

“The future of Wunderland” – The video about the vision

The blog for our new construction section South America

Viva la Miniatura 

Pictures for download

Right-click on an image and select “Save image as…” to download an image in full resolution.

You can find more pictures in the download area of our press page.

Contact person

Sebastian Drechsler 

kontakt@miniatur-wunderland.de

Tel. 040-300 680 0

The post Miniatur Wunderland Builds a Bridge Over the Fleet and Crosses the Atlantic first appeared on Miniatur Wunderland.