Miniature park

Part of the one-ninth scale model of Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England

Cockington Green, miniature village in Canberra, Australia

Model of Jerusalem in the Late 2nd Temple Period, Israel Museum, Jerusalem

A miniature park is an open space that displays miniature buildings and models, and is usually 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. They have been developed as recreational and tourist attractions, with possible roots in Japanese miniature gardens.

Most examples are located in landscaped outdoor spaces, but the definition has widened in recent years to encompass large scale miniature landscapes indoors.

History

A model of a burning house at Bekonscot

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

"Mini-Tapiola" is a miniature version of the centre of Tapiola, Espoo, within the centre itself.

Most model villages and parks are built to a consistent scale; varying from 1:76 as used by the intricately-detailed Pendon in England up to the 1:9 scale of Wimborne Model Town.

Continental Europe and Asia have tended to favour the scale of 1:25, whilst North American and UK examples have been based upon 1:12 and other variants.

There has been a move away from the "model village" concept since the mid-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.

Other forms of miniature exhibitions

Some exhibitions are displayed indoors. The most common forms are model railroads and dollhouses.

List of miniature parks

1:25 replica of Michalska Gate (Bratislava) in Miniuni, Ostrava

Replica of the Hillbrow Tower at the Santarama Miniland, Johannesburg, South Africa

Europe

Austria

• Minimundus, Klagenfurt

Belgium

• Mini-Europe

Czech Republic

• Miniuni, Ostrava

Denmark

• Legoland Billund in Billund (the original Legoland)

France

• France Miniature, Élancourt
• Mini chateaux park, Amboise

Germany

• Legoland Deutschland, Günzburg, Bavaria
• Minimundus Bodensee [1], Meckenbeuren
• Miniaturenpark Kleiner Harz, Wernigerode
• Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg
• Klein-Erzgebirge, Oederan, Sachsen, www.klein-erzgebirge.de
• Miniwelt [2], Lichtenstein, Saxony

Ireland

• Clonakilty Model Railway Village[3] Clonakilty, West Cork
• Model World, Wicklow^{[citation needed]}

Italy

• Italia in miniatura[4], Rimini
• Minitalia Leolandia Park[5], Capriate ,Bergamo
• Sardegna in miniatura[6], Tuli

Netherlands

• Madurodam, The Hague

Norway

• Lilleputthammer[7], Hafjell, Oppland

Slovakia

• Park miniatúr[8], Podolie

Spain

Model of the Sagrada Família temple at Catalunya en Miniatura

• Catalunya en Miniatura, Catalunya
• Pasión Mudejar[9], Olmedo

Sweden

• Miniland[10], Halmstad

Switzerland

• Swissminiatur[11], Melide, and Swiss Vapeur Parc, Valais

Poland

• Park Miniatur Zabytków Dolnego Śląska in Kowary
• Park Miniatur "Świat Marzeń" in Inwałd

Portugal

• Portugal dos Pequenitos in Coimbra

Turkey

Hagia Sofia at Miniatürk

• Miniaturk, Istanbul, Turkey
• Minicity[12], Antalya, Turkey

Ukraine

Kyiv in Miniature

• Kyiv in Miniature

United Kingdom

An overview of the Babbacombe Model Village

• Bekonscot, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
• Blackpool Model Village [13]
• Anglesey Model Village [14]
• Pendon Museum, Pendon, Oxfordshire
• Wimborne Model Town
• Tucktonia, Dorset, closed in 1985
• Legoland Windsor in Windsor
• Old New Inn[15], Bourton-on-the-Water, the Cotswolds
• The Model Village, Godshill, Isle of Wight
• Merrivale Model Village[16], Great Yarmouth
• Babbacombe Model Village[17], Babbacombe, Devon
• Miniatura Park[18], Cornwall
• Land of Legend, Polperro, Cornwall
• Usher Miniature Village, [19], Coniston, Cumbria
• Lakeland Miniature Village[20], Cumbria
• Corfe Castle Model Village[21], Swanage, Dorset
• Southsea Model Village[22], Southsea
• Southport Model Railway Village[23],
• Bondville Model Village[24], Bridlington
• Forest Model Village, Gloucestershire
• Haigh Hall[25], Wigan
• Skegness Model Village[26], Skegness
• Wistow Rural Centre[27], Wistow, Leicestershire
• Ramsgate Model Village[28]
• Hastings Model Village[29]
• Eastbourne Redoubt Model Village[30]
• Fred Slaymaker's Wonder Village[31], Polegate

Blenhiem Palace (Woodstock)

Little Italy, Corris, Wales

Vauxhall Model Village, Vauxhall Park, London

North America

Canada

• Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village (closed) - Whitby, Ontario
• Woodleigh Replicas (closed) - Burlington, Prince Edward Island

United States

• Tiny Town, Morrison, Colorado opened in 1921, is the oldest miniature village and railroad in the USA
• Roadside America, Pennsylvania, opened in 1935
• Storybook Land Canal Boats, Disneyland, California opened in 1956
• Forbidden Gardens, Katy, Texas, opened in 1997
• Legoland California, Carlsbad, California, opened in 1999
• Miniature Railroad & Village, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Ave Maria Grotto Cullman, Alabama, opened in 1933
• Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum of Art

Asia/Pacific Region

Australia

• Cockington Green Gardens[32], Canberra
• Tudor model village [33] - Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne

Japan

1:25 scale replica of St Peter's Basilica in Tobu World Square, Japan

• Tobu World Square[34], Kinugawa Onsen, Nikkō, Tochigi

Malaysia

• Islamic Heritage Park, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

Taiwan

• Window on China[35]

China

• Splendid China, Shenzhen
• Window of the World
• World Park[36], Beijing
• Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Elsewhere

Africa

• Santarama Miniland [37] in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Durban Mini Town, South Africa

Middle East

Israel

The Shrine of the Book, at Mini Israel

Model of the Second Temple of Jerusalem at the Model of Jerusalem in the Late 2nd Temple Period

• Mini Israel[38]
• Jerusalem’s Model in the Late 2nd Temple Period, Israel

Turkey

Hagia Sofia at Miniatürk

• Miniaturk, Istanbul, Turkey
• Minicity[39], Antalya, Turkey

See also

• Model Village
• Doll house
• Model railway
• Model (physical)
• Scale model
• Gauge 1

External links

• The Gauge One Model Railway Association
• The Miniature Plant Files Database at All Things Miniature

References

• International Association of Miniature Parks
• Agilitynut feature