#MiniView in Hamburg: World´s biggest model railway digitalized for Street View

As of now, Google-Maps user can explore in Hamburg the world´s biggest model railway in Street View. For the first time, miniature Street View cameras have been developed to be able to get unique insights into Hamburg´s Miniatur Wunderland model railway.

For those looking to relive their childhood dreams of being a conductor of their own railway and playing with dollhouses, Google has a Street View surprise: Hamburg’s famed Miniatur Wunderland, the world’s largest model railway, has come to Google Maps. Boasting 13,000 kilometers of track and more than 200,000 tiny citizens, the museum includes tiny replicas of a variety of German provinces, famous places in America and even a fully-functioning airport.

Street View cameras have floated on gondolas in Venice, ridden on camels in the Liwa Desert and soared on snowmobiles on Canadian slopes. But to capture the nooks and crannies in Miniatur Wunderland, the Hamburg tourist attraction and Google worked with their partner at Ubilabs to build an entirely new—and much smaller—device. Tiny cameras were mounted on tiny vehicles that were able to drive the roads and over the train tracks, weaving through the Wunderland’s little worlds to capture their hidden treasures.

Touring the marvels of Wunderland, you must first begin in its oldest section: Knuffingen, a fictional town situated squarely between the Alps and Harz. Become one of this tiny city’s 10,000 inhabitants: Stop by the city’s rustic farmer’s market, witness the local fire department spring into action when a building catches fire and even see a plane lift off from Knuffingen’s airport. Also a variety of real places designed with an eye for accuracy: a soccer match in Hamburg’s stadium, a traditional town center in central Germany, a rowdy Oktoberfest celebration and a replica of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, and even the ski slopes of Austria can be seen. You can also glimpse the everyday lives of thousands of miniature citizens, as they bike, camp and dance their way around the Wunderland. 

Then it’s a (very) short hop over to the U.S., where you can zoom through the valleys of the Grand Canyon, gambol down the strip in Las Vegas, and even stop by Mount Rushmore to salute past U.S. Presidents. Because this imagery at “street level” we captured within the Wunderland itself, you can observe many tiny details in Street View that are not visible even to visitors to the museum -- deep sea divers at a county fair, farmers riding a broomstick, a newly-married couple on the steps of the courthouse and the dancing crowds at an outdoor concert.

The world’s largest model railway in Hamburg

Here’s a landscape model of superlatives, with eight sections on a total area of 1,300 square metres, approximately 930 trains with 15,000 railcars, 228,000 trees, 215,000 figures, 9,000 cars, 13,000 metres of track and 3,700 buildings and bridges. Each year, the model railway attracts more than 1.5 million visitors. All train movements are digitally controlled by 46 computers. You can even experience day and night – and all this every 15 minutes. More information: www.miniatur-wunderland.com.

 

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Contacts:

Hamburg Marketing GmbH

Media Relations

Guido Neumann

Wexstrasse 7, D-20355 Hamburg / Germany

Phone: +49(0)40 300 51 580

Cell: +49(0)160 97298302

guido.neumann@marketing.hamburg.de

www.mediarelations.hamburg.de

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