After eleven years of work, over 150,000 working hours and more than 5,000,000 euros in construction costs, the new Monaco section of Miniatur Wunderland was opened on April 25, 2024 in the presence of Prince Albert II, Princess Charlène, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella. The 70-square-meter installation, including the Provence landscape, adds a spectacular attraction to Wunderland. The absolute highlight is the Formula 1 track, a version of which has been in the works for eleven years. As in the large original, the Formula E race in Monte Carlo is also held on a scale of 1:87.

“Gerrit and I probably visited Monaco ten times during our childhood. It was always a highlight of our annual trip to France for us to go to Monaco and watch the hustle and bustle at the marina in the evening. It was great fun for us to keep a tally with our father and get all the French cars and sports cars together on vacation. And Monaco was always a particularly great opportunity.”, says Frederik Braun.

In Monaco-Ville, the old town of the dwarf state, there is still little sign of the hustle and bustle of the Formula 1 race. The buildings are lined up close together, from the famous Ozeaneum to St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Prince’s Palace. Scenes designed with great attention to detail show everyday life along the Mediterranean coast.
A few streets further on, the view opens up onto the harbor with 175 luxurious yachts, while other large superyachts are docked in front of the city.

“Everyone knows the panorama of Monaco from the sea,” says Frederik Braun. “Monaco is mytos. I grew up in the days of Grace Kelly, Rainier and death-defying racing drivers. That naturally shaped my childhood image. Monaco certainly caters to many clichés and the construction has taught us once again that the truth and the cliché are not always congruent. But sometimes they do.” Monaco certainly caters to many clichés and the construction has taught us once again that the truth and the cliché are not always congruent. But sometimes they do.”, tells Frederik Braun.

As a guest, you can watch the Grand Prix racing action from the water’s edge. From the start and finish straight, up to 14 racing cars race around tight bends, past the Café Paris, the city’s casino and through the Congress Center tunnel. Thousands of spectators on eight grandstands follow the action with excitement and a flurry of flashbulbs as soon as the racing cars race past them.

‘I always thought it was impossible to drive Formula 1 cars in Wunderland in a realistic race in continuous operation, and that’s exactly what made the idea so appealing. We tried it out for several years and didn’t know whether it would ever be successful. It really is a miracle that it actually works today,’ reports Gerrit Braun.
‘When we realised it could work, we would have expected it to take 3-4 years.
Looking back on 10 years of development, I’m amazed that we hadn’t given up already. But today, pure joy prevails.”

The underlying principle of Formula 1 technology is based on so-called Halbach arrays. 24 track boards, 90 control boards and 90 locating boards are the heart of the hardware – a 22 meter long race track. In fractions of a millisecond, electronically generated, punctual magnetic fields move on it, allowing the racing cars to be controlled individually. Over 100,000 lines of programming code were required to develop the software – also to guarantee that the race would always run differently. Around 39,000 meters of cable are concealed beneath the system. They not only connect 5,700 Hall sensors and 2,800 temperature sensors, but also a live camera system at the side of the track.
Cameras measuring 29 millimetres in size were integrated along the track and transmit spectacular live images from a familiar TV perspective to several miniature screens on the spectator grandstands – as well as for the larger visitors at the edge of the track.

“Showcasing Formula E in Monaco was clear early on. All the drivers have the same technical requirements here, and good tactics from the drivers often decide the race. That makes it incredibly exciting,” said Gerrit Braun.

In contrast to the glamorous principality, including various parties on the city’s rooftop terraces and the rich engine noise surrounding the Formula 1 race, is the subsequent model section of Provence. Time seems to have stood still in this rugged yet lovely landscape, evoking nostalgic memories. The lavender fields around Senanque Abbey are a real eye-catcher. Typical local vegetation makes the viewer feel the scorching heat. Just a little further on, the crystal-clear blue water at the foot of the Verdon Gorge provides a visual cool-down.

Prince Albert II and Charlène of Monaco and their twins Jacques and Gabriella traveled from the Principality to the opening of the new section and were the first people to take a look at the small world of the Principality in 1:87 scale. At the push of a button, they started the first Formula 1 race in Wunderland with their children. At the push of a button, they started the first Formula 1 race in Wunderland together with their children.

When asked about his favorite motif, Prince Albert II summarizes: “It’s hard to pick out anything, everything is so incredibly well done. Some of the details of the yacht club and the harbor and the Malizia sailboat, but also around the Formula 1 track. It’s all so detailed and done with such incredible precision.”

Monaco and Provence will be followed by the rainforest with the Amazon and Andes at the turn of the year 2025/2026 and the Caribbean in 2027. Subsequently, parts of Asia are planned. These will be located above South America on the 4th floor of the neighboring building, which will open in 2021. 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.

Click here for an interview with Gerrit Braun on Formula 1 (5 GB)

Click here for an interview with Prince Albert II (1.7 GB)

Click here for the recording of the first race (1.8 GB)

Click here for video footage of the Monaco section:

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Pressekontakt

Niklas Weissleder

n.weissleder@miniatur-wunderland.de

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco are expected to honor the opening ceremony. “There is probably no one better than Prince Albert II and Charlene of Monaco themselves to be able to comment on the result of six years of construction. It’s a great honor, but of course it also increases the excitement all the more,” reports Frederik Braun.

The Principality’s new highlight on a scale of 1:87 will be a Grand Prix racetrack with highly complex magnet technology for staging realistic Formula 1 and Formula E races.
24 track panels form the heart of the 22 m long race track. Over 100,000 lines of programming code were required to allow the vehicles to drive around the track realistically and always with a new outcome using specially developed software. On completion of the section, the construction costs for the 40 m² section will total over 5 million euros.

Wunderland will close for the opening on April 25 from 2 p.m. and the Monaco section will be open from to all guests from April 26.
We ask for your understanding that only a very small number of journalists can be accredited for the opening. If you have any questions about accreditation, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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After four years of work on two continents, over 50,000 working hours and almost 2,000,000 euros in construction costs, the new Patagonia section of Miniatur Wunderland was opened today at 1:50 pm. The 65 square meter installation complements the neighbouring Rio de Janeiro in the South America World and adds a wonderful attraction to Wunderland.

“I personally had the good fortune to travel to Patagonia almost 20 years ago. I have never been able to get this breathtaking and beautiful nature out of my head. The endless expanses make you feel very small as a human being. Since then, I have always dreamed of having Patagonia in Wonderland at some point. Now it is a reality and the almost impossible has been achieved. We have been able to capture the beauty and vastness of this landscape on these 65 square meters,” says Wunderland founder Frederik Braun.

A storm is brewing, the sea is getting rough and the sky is darkening. The sun disappears at one end and rises at the other end of the Andes mountain range, bathing the vast land in golden light. That’s how beautiful Patagonia is and it has now been immortalized at least as beautifully in Wunderland.

With the new section, the team has scaled new heights of model-making skill and technology and impresses with incredible scenery that you could almost forget isn’t real. One of the highlights is the infamous Drake Passage. The strait between Antarctica and Cape Horn has already brought many sailors to their limits or even to their end due to the temperamental swell. This natural spectacle is recreated extremely realistically using an elaborate combination of complex wave mechanics and visual projections. The entire mechanical system contains the most technical components ever installed in a Wunderland ride. The play of light, which simulates not only day and night but also a threatening thunderstorm, offers a unique experience. In this moment of the forces of nature, despite their miniature size, you feel very small.

“Perhaps it is precisely because this vastness of the landscape triggers a certain feeling that Patagonia is a unique work of art for me. With the new technologies, attention to detail and boundless creativity, the team has once again outdone itself and it simply makes me happy to stand here and admire the result together with everyone once again. In the last few decades, in which we have reinvented ourselves time and again, this opening doesn’t leave me cold either. Quite the opposite,” says Gerrit Braun, describing his emotional state.

The famous Perito Moreno glacier, on the other hand, gives you a feeling of cold. Every few minutes, blocks of ice crash into the water, accompanied by a realistic soundscape and effects in the water. In the background, the summit of the Fitz Roy rises into the air, which, as one of the main attractions in the Argentinian national park Los Glaciares, is of course also a must in the miniature Patagonia.

Like the Rio de Janeiro section before it, Patagonia was also created in collaboration between the Wunderland team and the Martinez family of model builders in Buenos Aires. The long-awaited end of the pandemic meant that visits were also possible again to perfect the model layout together on site. The end result is impressive and the new technologies that have been developed offer guests an unforgettable experience that has never been seen before.

The opening was also attended by some familiar faces, who were able to take a first look at the world of the Andes, glaciers and penguins. These included Arved Fuchs, German polar explorer and author, and the Second Mayor of Hamburg, Katharina Fegebank.

Patagonia will be followed by the rainforest with the Amazon and Andes at the turn of the year 2024/2025 and the Caribbean in 2025/2026. Subsequently, parts of Asia 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 a huge opening in the ceiling will provide a spectacular view of the South American sections being built.

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