From the Amazon rainforest to the Andes and the Atacama Desert, a new South America exhibit at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg takes visitors on a journey across the continent.
Image: CNTV/ABBfoto/picture alliance
Four years of construction, 180,000 hours of work and €6 million ($6.7 million) have gone into the new South America zone, “The Rainforest — Amazon, Andes, and the Atacama,” at Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. Some 30,000 handcrafted trees, waterfalls and model-building techniques — such as those used at Machu Picchu — have been designed to bring the landscape to life.
Image: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/picture alliance
The centerpiece is the Iguazu Falls, over which 20,000 liters (about 5,300 gallons) of water rush every hour. Fog and lighting are designed to create a realistic effect. With this expansion, Miniatur Wunderland — the world’s largest model railway — has opened its most elaborate and expensive construction phase to date.
Image: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/picture alliance
About 13,000 figures populate the new miniature world. In addition to capybaras, boas, jaguars, flamingos and guanacos, there are numerous inhabitants in the settlement of Manaus — built on stilts — the former gold-mining town of Ouro Preto, and the colorful city of Valparaiso in Chile. Deep in the rainforest, visitors can also discover an Indigenous Yanomami community.
Image: CNTV/ABBfoto/picture alliance
The exhibit also aims to simulate a night in the rainforest with “moonlight” and animal sounds. It also draws attention to the threats posed by deforestation, illegal gold mining and wildfires, with glowing trees intended to highlight the environmental destruction caused by the flames.
Image: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/picture alliance
More than 1,200 trains, including one around 14.5 meters (nearly 50 feet) long, roll through the miniature worlds. Every 20 minutes, night falls as more than 500,000 LEDs bathe the landscapes in moonlight. Around 1 million people visit the exhibition each year, more than any other attraction in Hamburg.
Image: CNTV/ABBfoto/picture alliance
Even the world-famous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro has its place in the miniature world. The tiny floats and dancers are designed to bring the atmosphere of the Brazilian street carnival to life.
Image: Antonia Sawallisch/dpa/picture alliance
A floating gold-panning station symbolizes a mining operation in the Amazon region. In the search for the precious metal, river sediments are dredged up and washed. Illegal gold mines, in particular, threaten the rainforest, pollute the waterways and destroy valuable habitats.
Image: Antonia Sawallisch/dpa/picture alliance
The founders of Miniatur Wunderland, twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun, as well as Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher, attended the grand opening of the new exhibit on Monday, together with representatives of the former Inca Empire.
Image: CNTV/ABBfoto/picture alliance8 images1 | 88 imageshttps://p.dw.com/p/5PIJj
