Mini-Europe

Mini-Europe viewed from the Atomium
Location	Avenue du Football / Voetballaan 1, B-1020 Laeken, City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Coordinates	50°53′38″N 4°20′20″E / 50.894°N 4.339°E / 50.894; 4.339
Status	Operating
Opened	1989 (1989)
Operating season	March–October
Website	Official website

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.^[1] Mini-Europe receives 350,000 visitors per year^[2] and has a turnover of €4 million.^{[citation needed]}

Mini-Europe is the brainchild of Johannes A. Lorijn, who founded similar miniature parks in Austria and Spain.^{[citation needed]} 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 24,000 m² (300,000 sq ft). The initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its inauguration by then-Prince Philip of Belgium.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[3] Three of the monuments were made out of natural 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/Grote Markt model cost €375,000 to make.^[4] 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