With a replica of the principality of Monaco on a scale of 1:87, Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland has a new attraction. Complete with yachts and Formula One cars racing through the model landscape, it's much like the real thing.
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00:00 This is the world's largest model railway, with new things constantly being added.
00:06 We had this vision of recreating the Monaco Grand Prix with real little Formula 1 cars racing in it.
00:15 You can't install any tech into these tiny cars, it's impossible.
00:20 Some 1,200 trains zip through Germany, Europe and the world.
00:26 All of this is down to a childhood dream of these twins.
00:30 And they've just opened up a brand new area.
00:35 Stay tuned as we answer the most frequently asked questions about Hamburg's miniature wonderland.
00:42 For example, would you guess that employees have hidden little surprises and stories everywhere?
00:47 We'll show you the best hidden gems later.
00:55 The display has 16.5 kilometres of track.
00:58 There are also around 300,000 figurines,
01:07 5,000 buildings
01:10 and some 500,000 LED lamps that light up at night, which comes every 15 minutes.
01:16 Miniature Wunderland is housed in old warehouses at Hamburg's port.
01:22 It all began in 2001. Since then, the founders have constantly expanded and enlarged their miniature worlds.
01:28 Today, the attraction is around five times its original size.
01:33 Frederik got the idea from our childhood impulse towards play, which we always had.
01:43 We played so much as children.
01:45 I really hope that for many people we can reawaken that instinct for playfulness,
01:50 so that we can perhaps get lost in the problems of everyday life.
01:52 Play is the most important thing there is.
01:55 Realising your dreams is so important and can make you so happy.
01:59 The Principality of Monaco and France's Provence are now also part of Miniature Wunderland.
02:09 As always, in 1/87 scale.
02:12 On one side, the lavender fields in France, and on the other, Monaco's densely built-up bay.
02:19 Everything the city-state is famous for can be experienced here in miniature.
02:22 Luxury, glamour and wealth.
02:25 In addition to the yachts on the harbour, the Formula 1 circuit is also part of the cityscape.
02:31 We have a big team that loves to laugh, that's very creative, that goes through the world with their eyes wide open.
02:39 That all fits with Monaco, a city that is completely crazy, if you want to put it that way,
02:44 with a huge number of stories to offer, good and bad.
02:48 You can visit or dream about it, so it has it all.
02:50 There's every emotion in this city.
02:53 I don't want people to see how it works.
03:01 And I want these little things, 20 of them, to be able to drive as they want, slow down, speed up, really go head to head.
03:07 That vision was always alive for me.
03:11 I have to say, only a year ago, I thought it would be impossible to do.
03:15 Gerrit and his team worked on this dream for 11 years.
03:18 The principle works via magnetic fields that are located under the car and on the track.
03:23 Self-programmed software controls electrical impulses,
03:27 so that attracting and repelling poles direct the cars along the track.
03:31 It was a technical challenge, often on the brink of failure.
03:35 For Gerrit though, giving up wasn't an option.
03:43 We knew how it would look if it worked.
03:45 So you can't bury that idea.
03:48 If you imagine it working, and people standing there in amazement asking themselves,
03:53 "How does it work?"
03:55 Then you can't give up.
03:57 Miniatur Wunderland has 14 different worlds and theme areas.
04:08 One of the most popular is Knuffingen,
04:12 the fictitious city that started it all.
04:14 Equally fascinating, Knuffingen Airport, where 45 different airplanes land and take off.
04:21 There's one country in particular that seems especially popular though.
04:26 We like Switzerland, because we're Swiss.
04:29 The mountains are simply enormous.
04:32 The chocolate factory we just discovered there.
04:35 The miniature Swiss factory produces real chocolate at the press of a button.
04:41 Throughout Miniatur Wunderland, there are hundreds of Easter eggs,
04:44 where the person who built something has in some way brought their own self-expression into it.
04:49 I was looking recently and you can spot some here and there.
04:52 I actually discovered this one by chance.
04:54 I thought, "What's that?"
04:56 Well, the most recent racing car is a tractor.
04:58 Seek and you shall find.
05:00 Whether it's pippi longstocking at home in Villi Villicula,
05:04 or lovers in Venice,
05:07 wherever you look, Miniatur Wunderland is full of surprises.
05:10 wherever you look, Miniatur Wunderland is full of surprises.
05:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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