Mini-Europe has reproductions of monuments in the European Union and other countries within the continent of Europe on display, at a scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented.Mini-Europe receives 350,000 visitors per year and has a turnover of €4 million.
The park contains live action models such as trains, mills, an erupting Mount Vesuvius, and cable cars. A guide gives the details on all the monuments. At the end of the visit, the Spirit of Europe exhibition gives an interactive overview of the European Union in the form of multimedia games.
The park is built on an area of 24,000 m2 (300,000 sq ft). The initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its inauguration by then-Prince Philip of Belgium.
The monuments exposed are chosen for the quality of their architecture or their European symbolism. Most of the monuments were made using moulds. The final copy used to be cast from epoxy resin, but nowadays polyester is used. Three of the monuments were made out of stone (e.g. the Leaning Tower of Pisa, in marble). A computer-assisted milling procedure was used for two of the models. After painting, the monuments are installed on site, together with decorations and lighting.
Many of the monuments were financed by European countries or regions. The Brussels Grand Place model cost €350,000 to make.The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela required more than 24,000 hours of work.
Gardens:
Ground cover plants, dwarf trees, bonsais and grafted trees are used alongside miniature monuments, and the paths are adorned with bushes and flowers.
Austria
Melk Abbey
Belgium
Grand Place / City Hall, Brussels
The Belfry, Bruges
Town Hall, Leuven
Castle of Vêves, Celles
Citadel and Notre-Dame Church, Dinant
Berlaymont building, Brussels
Graslei street and the Rabot, Ghent
Alden Biesen Castle, Rijkhoven
Main square of Antwerp (City Hall, Brabo statue, guild houses)
Curtius House, Liège
Bulgaria
Rila Monastery, Rila Mountain, part of UNESCO World Heritage
Croatia
St. Mark's Church, Zagreb
Cyprus
Ancient Greek theatre, Kourion
Czech Republic
Prague Orloj
Denmark
Viking ring fort
Nyhavn waterfront, Copenhagen
Børsen (old stock exchange), Copenhagen
Estonia
Great Coastal Gate and Fat Margaret Tower, Tallinn
Finland
St. Olaf's Castle, Savonlinna
France
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Arc de Triomphe, Paris
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, Paris
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp
Clos Vougeot, near Dijon
Château de Chenonceau, Loire Valley
Royal Saltworks, Arc-et-Senans
Germany
Speyer Cathedral
Eltz Castle
Holstentor, Burgtor and Salzspeicher, Lübeck
Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Wall, Berlin
Bonngasse (street) with Beethoven's birth house, Bonn
Wies Pilgrimage Church
Porta Nigra, Trier
Osthofentor, Soest
Jahrtausendturm, Magdeburg
Greece
Acropolis, Athens
Traditional village, Santorini
Hungary
Széchenyi Bath
Ireland
Glendalough monastery, County Wicklow
Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary
Gallarus Oratory, County Kerry
Italy
Piazza dei Miracoli (Leaning Tower, Duomo, Baptistry), Pisa
Trevi Fountain, Rome
Doge's Palace and St Mark's Campanile, Venice
Palazzo Pubblico, Siena
Villa Capra (La Rotonda), Vicenza
Trulli of Alberobello
Mount Vesuvius
Latvia
Freedom Monument, Riga
Lithuania
Vilnius University campus, Vilnius
Luxembourg
Adolphe Bridge, Luxembourg City
Malta
Mnajdra temple
Netherlands
Mint Tower and Montelbaan Tower, Amsterdam
Town Hall, Maastricht
Hoensbroek Castle, Hoensbroek
Church and houses, Ootmarsum
Abbey and Kloveniersdoelen, Middelburg
Museum village of Orvelte
Weigh House and Tax Tower, Alkmaar
Windmills, Kinderdijk
Hoofdtoren and Oude Doelenkade street, Hoorn
Town Hall, Veere
Poland
Artus Court, Gdansk
Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers, Gdansk
Portugal
Belém Tower, Lisbon
Castle of Guimarães
Ribeira, Porto
Traditional village of the Algarve
Oceanarium, Lisbon
Romania
Mogo?oaia Palace, near Bucharest
Slovakia
The Blue Church in Bratislava
Slovenia
Prešeren Square with Tromostovje in Ljubljana
Spain
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
El Escorial
Plaza de Toros, Seville
Christopher Columbus monument, Barcelona
Landscape with windmills, La Mancha
Sweden
City Hall, Stockholm
United Kingdom
Houses of Parliament / Big Ben, London
Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birth house, Anne Hathaway's cottage, etc.)
Longleat House, Wiltshire
Royal Crescent and Circus, Bath
Dover Castle
Arlington Row, Bibury
Other
Ariane 5
Pride of Dover ferry
An airport
A Ferris wheel
A North Sea oil platform
TGV train
Calypso (Jacques Cousteau's ship)
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