A miniature park is a display of miniature buildings and models, usually as a recreational and tourist attraction open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models.

History

There is evidence to suggest the existence of private model villages and miniature parks since the 19th century, but it was only in the 1930s to 1950s that the genre became tourist attractions. Early examples include Bekonscot in the UK and Madurodam in The Hague.

Variations on a theme

Most model villages and parks are built to a consistent

scale Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

; varying from 1:76 as used by the intricately detailed

Pendon Pendon Museum, located in Long Wittenham near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, is a museum that displays scale models, in particular a large scene representing parts of the Vale of White Horse in the 1920s and 1930s. The scene, under construct ...

in England up to the 1:9 scale of

Wimborne Model Town Wimborne Model Town, situated on the edge of the town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, is one of the largest and most established model towns in England. It depicts the town of Wimborne as it was at the time the model was originally mad ...

. There has been a move away from the model village concept since the mid- to late 20th century towards a miniature park concept. Model villages are typically larger-scale, sit in a cohesive miniature landscape and allow viewing and physical interaction with the exhibits, such as publicly accessed streets and urban areas. Miniature parks however, are primarily concerned with the display of exhibits in their own right, viewed from a distance. Model railways, rivers and roads may provide a continuation between miniature parks exhibits.

List of notable miniature parks

Europe

Austria

* Minimundus,

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Belgium

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 and other countries within the continent of Europe on display, at a scal ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Denmark

Legoland Billund Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the par ...

, Billund (the original Legoland) Many danish towns also have extensive miniature towns from historic periods (normally 1900s). Some of the most significant include: * ,

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in ...

(circa 1849) * , Køge (circa 1865) * , Varde (circa 1866) * ,

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial compani ...

(circa 1860-1870) FranceMiniature

France

* France Miniature, Élancourt * Mini World Lyon * Storybook Land Canal Boats, Disneyland Park (Paris)

Germany

* Legoland Deutschland, Günzburg,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

* Miniatur Wunderland,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

(indoor)

Italy

Italia in miniatura Italia in Miniatura (Italy in miniature) is a leisure and miniature park in Viserba, a part of Rimini (Italy). The park displays 273 miniatures of famous Italian and European buildings in scale 1:25 and 1:50. The area is surrounded by ''Arcobalen ...

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Arimin ...

Netherlands

* Madurodam,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

Portugal

* Portugal dos Pequenitos,

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

Russia

Grand Maket Rossiya Grand Maket Rossiya (russian: Гранд Макет Россия) is a private museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a model layout designed on a scale of 1:87 (HO scale) and covers an area of . In this area, collective images of regions of th ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(indoor)

Slovakia

Park miniatúr Park miniatúr is a miniature park in Podolie, Slovakia. It displays 32 miniature models of architecture from Slovakia, built at a ratio of 1:25 and 1:50. The park was established on 25 October 2003. In the final form of park, there will be 80 mi ...

, Podolie

Spain

Catalunya en Miniatura Catalunya en Miniatura (, in English "Catalonia in miniature") is miniature park inaugurated in 1983 in Torrelles de Llobregat, 17 km from Barcelona. The park is 60,000 square meters, 35,000 of them devoted to the scale models, it is one of ...

, Catalunya

Switzerland

Swiss Vapeur Parc The Swiss Vapeur Parc is a miniature park in Le Bouveret, a village on Lac Léman , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

Ukraine

Kyiv in Miniature Kyiv in Miniature ( uk, Київ в мініатюрі) is a park of miniatures, situated in Kyiv in the area of Hydropark. There are exposed models of Kyiv architectural sightseeings, in the scale of 1:33. The park's area is . It was opened on ...

United Kingdom

* Babbacombe Model Village,

Babbacombe Babbacombe is a district of Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable for Babbacombe Model Village, the Babbacombe Theatre and its clifftop green, Babbacombe Downs, from which Oddicombe Beach is accessed via Babbacombe Cliff Railway. Frequent bu ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

* Bekonscot, Beaconsfield,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

* Bourton-on-the-Water model village,

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the villa ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

* Haigh Hall Miniature Railway, Wigan * Legoland Windsor in Windsor *

Pendon Museum Pendon Museum, located in Long Wittenham near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England, is a museum that displays scale models, in particular a large scene representing parts of the Vale of White Horse in the 1920s and 1930s. The scene, under construction ...

, Pendon, Oxfordshire *

Southport Model Railway Village Southport Model Railway Village is a tourist attraction located in Southport, England. It is a model village with a focus on trains and railways. History In 1995, Southport residents Ray and Jean Jones were granted permission by Sefton MBC t ...

* Tucktonia,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, closed in 1985 *

Americas

Cullen Garden and Miniature Village, Whitby,ON

Canada

* Canadia

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census. It is part of the List of census ...

, opened in 1966 - closed * Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village,

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. ...

, opened in 1980 - closed in the mid-2000s * Little Canada,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario, opened in 2021 *

Woodleigh Replicas Woodleigh Replicas was a park of miniatures situated in the rural community of Burlington outside Kensington, Prince Edward Island Kensington is a Canadian town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is northeast of the city ...

, Burlington, Prince Edward Island, closed *

Tivoli Miniature World Tivoli Miniature World was a theme park devoted to displaying 1/50 scale miniature fiberglass replicas of over 75 famous buildings from around the world. It was originally located in Jordan, Ontario before relocating to Niagara Falls, Ontario in t ...

, Jordan, Ontario, closed in the 1990s EpcotGermanyMiniRailway

Chile

* ,

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

United States

* Tiny Town,

Morrison, Colorado The Town of Morrison is a home rule municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 428 at the 2010 census. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is located nearby. History This small foothills settlement is named after George ...

, opened in 1921 * Tiny Town,

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estima ...

, opened in 1925 * Miniature Railroad & Village,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

opened 1920s * Ave Maria Grotto, Cullman, Alabama, opened in 1933 * Roadside America,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, opened in 1935 * Storybook Land Canal Boats,

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

opened in 1956 * Palestine Park,

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the Western Southern Tier of New York State. Estab ...

in Chautauqua, New York * Splendid China (Florida), opened in 1993, closed 2003 * Holy Land Experience, Orlando, Florida, the park has a scale model of Jerusalem, Israel *

Forbidden Gardens Forbidden Gardens ( ) was an outdoor museum of China, Chinese culture and history located on Texas Highway 99 and Franz Road in northern Katy, Texas, Katy, Greater Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was funded and opened by businessman Ira ...

, Katy, Texas, opened in 1997, closed 2011 * Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, California, opened in 1971 * San Diego Model Railroad Museum,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, opened in 1981 *

Legoland California Legoland California Resort is a theme park, miniature park, and aquarium located in Carlsbad, California, based on the Lego toy brand. Opening on March 20, 1999, it was the third Legoland park to open and the first outside of Europe. The park i ...

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

, opened in 1999 * Legoland Florida Winter Haven, opened 2011

Asia/Pacific Region

Australia

Cockington Green Gardens Cockington Green Gardens is a park of miniatures, situated in Nicholls, Australian Capital Territory. Doug and Brenda Sarah had the idea to create a miniature village in 1972, and Cockington Green was opened on 3 November 1979. The business is ...

, Canberra

China

* Splendid China,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...

Window of the World The Window of the World () is a theme park located in the western part of the city of Shenzhen in the People's Republic of China. It has about 130 reproductions of some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world squeezed into 48 hectar ...

* Beijing World Park *

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center () is located on People's Square, Shanghai, adjacent to the municipal government building. The Exhibition Center is a six-story building, with two basement levels, which displays Shanghai's urban plan ...

(indoor) * Grand World Scenic Park, outskirts of

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

, closed

Indonesia

* Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta Tobu World Square St Peters Basilica 1

Japan

* Tobu World Square, Kinugawa Onsen, Nikkō, Tochigi * Legoland Japan, Nagoya, Aichi

Malaysia

Islamic Heritage Park The Islamic Heritage Park ( ms, Taman Tamadun Islam) is a famous attraction in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. This park is located at the island of Wan Man. History The Islamic Heritage Park was opened on 2 February 2008. Famous attract ...

, Kuala Terengganu,

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith" ...

* Legoland Malaysia, Iskandar Malaysia,

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime b ...

Tropical Village Tropical Village is a miniature amusement theme park in Ayer Hitam, Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia. The replicas of the structures are built within this theme park that allow visitors to have another memorable experience. The park is ...

, Ayer Hitam,

Thailand

Mini Siam Mini Siam is a famous miniature park attraction in Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand. This park is located 143 km from Bangkok on Sukhumvit Road. Mini Siam had been started to research the project in 1985, and had been constructed in 1986 with mo ...

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi. Pattaya City ( th, เมือ ...

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

* Dusit Thani, Phaya Thai,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, closed

Middle East

Israel

Jerusalem’s Model in the Late 2nd Temple Period The Holyland Model of Jerusalem, also known as Model of Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period ( he, דגם ירושלים בסוף ימי בית שני) is a 1:50 scale model of the city of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period. ...

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Mini Israel The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

, Latrun,

Turkey

* Miniatürk,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

References

External links

International Association of Miniature Parks
Almost all members are in Europe.

The Gauge One Model Railway Association

The Miniature Plant Files Database
at All Things Miniature {{Amusement-park-stub