Inside the world's largest miniature airport and railway model

A soft hum of planes landing fills the air as luggage is loaded onto aircraft. In the terminal, travelers enjoy coffee, await their flights, and greet loved ones at arrivals.

An Emirates A380 speeds down the runway, lifting off before vanishing into the clouds. The crowd watches in awe as the massive jet disappears from view.

No, these aren't aviation enthusiasts – at least not in the usual sense, because this is no real airport. The planes are models, and the clouds are painted. The entire airport measures just 1,614 square feet.

Welcome to Miniatur Wunderland, home to the world’s largest model railway. This incredible attraction features not just a working miniature airport, but also tiny recreations of famous landmarks like Venice, Machu Picchu, and Las Vegas.

Located across multiple floors of a historic warehouse in Hamburg, Germany, Miniatur Wunderland is an engineering marvel and one of the city's most cherished attractions.

At the heart of it all lies the airport – a meticulous replica of Hamburg's actual transport hub, featuring 52 moving aircraft, each painted to match their real-world counterparts.

Miniatur Wunderland is the brainchild of twin brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun. Previously nightclub owners, the two were inspired by childhood memories of playing with model trains, which led Frederik to reignite the idea in 2000.

Frederik vividly remembers calling his brother and saying, 'I've got the best idea.'

Gerrit was instantly on board with the plan.

“We dreamt of creating a vast miniature world when we were kids, but as we got older – with girls, cars, and everything else – that dream faded,” Gerrit shares with Dinogo Travel.

As soon as Frederik voiced the idea, the childhood vision immediately returned to Gerrit's mind.

“It only took a moment. All the images from our childhood – and the possibilities we could achieve today – flooded my mind,” he recalls. “And these images weren’t static. They were alive. Lights flickering on and off, trains chugging along, planes taxiing and soaring…”

Within weeks, the brothers began sketching their plans. Within months, they had secured a lease on a building in Hamburg's bustling port area.

Frederik and Gerrit were certain their vision was feasible, but many others doubted their dream.

“A lot of people around me said, ‘No, this won’t work. Model trains? That’s something for old men,’” Frederik recalls.

But Miniatur Wunderland captured widespread interest, quickly becoming a sensation by word of mouth when it opened in August 2000.

“It’s an exhibition for everyone – from young children to seniors, men and women alike,” Frederik explains.

Crafting a miniature version of our world

Before opening the doors to Miniatur Wunderland, Frederik, Gerrit, and their third co-founder, friend Stephan Hertz, sat down to brainstorm a list of all the scenes they wanted to see in miniature form.

The next step was to find a skilled model maker who could turn their vision into reality. After an online search, they discovered talented German model builder Gerhard Dauscher.

Initially, Dauscher declined the offer as his schedule was fully booked for the next two years.

“Two days later, he called me back,” Frederik recalls. Unable to shake the idea, Dauscher rearranged his commitments and joined the team.

In a conversation with Dinogo Travel, Dauscher shares that Miniatur Wunderland drew him in because of his lifelong passion for railways. He was also thrilled by the idea of creating fantastical versions of the world we live in.

In the two decades since its inception, the Miniatur Wunderland team has expanded to over 250 employees, including a talented group of model builders who are constantly devising new ways to amaze and entertain visitors.

“Everyone has contributed to some part of the layout, and each person feels like a piece of their heart is in the project,” says Dauscher.

The team also includes electricians and a group of technicians who monitor the daily operations from an on-site control room.

Frederik and Gerrit’s younger brother, Sebastian Drechsler, is also part of the team. A decade younger than the twins, he fondly recalls his childhood spent inadvertently ruining his brothers' model railways.

Currently, Drechsler oversees the marketing of Miniatur Wunderland. Meanwhile, Frederik is the visionary, and Gerrit is the hands-on executor.

“Freddy always had the big ideas, and I was the one who found the solutions to bring them to life,” explains Gerrit.

Constructing a miniature airport

Unlike most of the landscapes in Miniatur Wunderland, which are inspired by real-world locations, the airport is a precise replica of Hamburg's actual aviation hub.

Gerrit explains that this was partly because it was simpler to replicate the airport’s layout and scale it down than to 'learn everything about aircraft, how they move on the ground, and what space they need.'

Gerrit dedicated four months to frequent visits to Hamburg Airport, engaging with workers and taking thousands of photos to serve as his reference.

Creating lifelike aircraft and simulating takeoffs and landings was a major priority, but Gerrit also consulted with the airport’s fire brigade, cleaning crew, and the team responsible for de-icing the planes.

“We wanted to capture the true atmosphere of the airport,” says model builder Dauscher. This meant replicating every detail of the transport hub.

During Dinogo Travel's visit, a simulated 'fire' erupted at the airport, and the airport's fire trucks rushed to the scene – all part of the experience, of course, but it was a bit alarming to see a plane engulfed in smoke.

The Miniatur Wunderland fleet includes everything from A380s to Cessna private jets, all designed to take off and land in a manner that feels as realistic as possible.

“They drive to the runway, and two pipes emerge from beneath the structure to lift the plane and accelerate it. It’s a highly technical and complex process,” explains Dauscher.

A lot of the action in Miniatur Wunderland, including the airplane takeoffs, landings, and the automatic lighting changes to simulate the transition from day to night, are all automated.

Dauscher explains that the technicians in the control room mainly focus on identifying and correcting any errors. The most frequent culprit? Dust.

“The more dust we have on the surfaces, the trains won’t run, and the planes won’t fly,” Dauscher says.

More than a decade after its opening, the airport continues to be a standout feature of Miniatur Wunderland. The only challenge, according to Gerrit, is when changes occur at Hamburg Airport – even something as minor as shifting the position of the taxi rank – the team feels compelled to update their model to reflect the change.

Yet, nothing at Miniatur Wunderland remains static – it's an attraction that continuously evolves.

The South America expansion at Miniatur Wunderland is steadily progressing and is expected to be completed within the next five years, with additions like a miniature Amazon rainforest and the Andes mountain range. Plans are also in place to expand into another building to accommodate future growth.

In addition to holding the Guinness World Records for the largest model railway and the largest model airport, Miniatur Wunderland set another record in 2021 for the longest melody played by a model train.

Discovering new worlds

Miniatur Wunderland stays open until 1 a.m. on select summer days. When Dinogo Travel visited at 8 p.m. on a summer weekday, the attraction was bustling with visitors who were eagerly pointing out small details and marveling at the various miniature worlds.

Gerrit believes the charm of Miniatur Wunderland lies in the fact that it's not just the realization of the Braun brothers’ childhood dreams. It's the model world that many of us fantasized about building as children.

“Visitors can spend two or three enjoyable hours reminiscing about their childhood,” says Gerrit.

Walking through the building is a complete escape from reality. The magic comes from the combination of imaginative design and technical brilliance.

There are over 1,000 trains, each with varying speeds and sizes depending on their location. You’ll find mining tunnels, cruise ships sailing across actual pools of water, and even a hot air balloon. Thousands of tiny figures and intricate details are scattered throughout. No matter where you stand in the building, there’s a thrilling sense of seeing the world from a bird’s eye perspective.

That’s Frederik’s favorite part of the experience: standing and gazing down at the world below.

“As night falls and you close your eyes for a moment, it almost feels like flying through the mountains,” he says.