Mini-Europe is a miniature park located in the Bruparck entertainment park, 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 scale of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented. Mini-Europe receives 350,000 visitors per year and has a turnover of €4 million.
Mini-Europe is the brainchild of Johannes A. Lorijn, who founded similar miniature parks in Austria and Spain. 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 EU in the form of multimedia games.
The park is built on an area of . The initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its inauguration by then-Prince Philip of Belgium.
Exhibits
Building the monuments
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 Leaning 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
Austria
Melk Abbey
Belgium
Grand-Place / City Hall, Brussels
The Belfry, Bruges
Town Hall, Leuven
Castle of Vêves, Celles
Citadel and Notre Dame Church, Dinant
Berlaymont building, Brussels
Graslei street and the Rabot, Ghent
Alden Biesen Castle, Rijkhoven
Main square of Antwerp (City Hall, Brabo statue, guild houses) Curtius House, Liège