Mini-Europe

Mini-Europe is a miniature park located in Bruparck, at the foot of the Atomium, in Brussels, Belgium. Mini-Europe has reproductions of monuments in the European Union on display, at a scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented.[1] Mini-Europe receives 350,000 visitors per year and has a turnover of €4 million.

Mini-Europe

LocationBrussels, Belgium
Coordinates50.894°N 4.339°E / 50.894; 4.339
Opened1989
Operating seasonMarch–October
Websitewww.minieurope.eu

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.

Exhibits

Building the monuments
Site from the Atomium

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 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.

List of models
Grand Place (Brussels)
Houses of Parliament (London)
Arc de Triomphe and Sacré Cœur (Paris)
Eiffel Tower (Paris)
Brandenburg Gate (Berlin)
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (Santiago de Compostela)
Maestranza (Seville)
Mogoșoaia Palace (Mogoșoaia)
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also
  • Mini-Europe official website
  • Mini-Europe in Brussels
  • Koshy, Yohann (27 April 2016). "These Photos of a Crumbling Pro-EU Theme Park Show a Europe in Existential Crisis". Vice. Retrieved 29 April 2016.

References
  1. "Description - Mini europe". Mini europe. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
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