Mini Europe: A Small Scale Replica Of European History
Mini Europe is a miniature park where miniatures of important buildings within the borders of the European Union are exhibited in a scale of 1:25.
Mini Europe thematic park was built in 1989 with a huge budget. It is a very pleasant place to visit. Seeing the buildings we have seen in person here increases the pleasure even more. The buildings are very small and it is obvious that a lot of effort was put into their construction.
It is possible to see about 80 cities of the European Union and about 350 important buildings of cultural and architectural value within these cities in a few hours. In a few hours, you can have a short tour of Europe.
Especially the preparation phase of architectural miniatures is quite difficult. Each building has to be photographed in detail from every angle and miniaturized. For this, 55 professional workshops from 9 EU members were contracted and the miniatures, which must be resistant to all weather conditions, were started to be made.
As you enter the museum, you are handed a small booklet. The booklet gives information about the countries where the exhibited artifacts are located and about the buildings themselves. Moreover, it is nice that it is sorted according to the order of your trip. As you turn the pages, you learn about the buildings in order.
What’s not to see on the Mini Europe trip? Trelleborg and Copenhagen in Denmark, Stockholm in Sweden, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius in the Baltics, Amsterdam, the canal city of the Netherlands, Kinderdijk, famous for its windmills, and the squares of Antwerp, Gent, Bruges and Brussels in Belgium…
You can also see the Eiffel Tower, the famous tower of France, scaled down by 1/25. Even the reduced version is 13 meters high and weighs 1,800 kg. They wrote that it weighs close to 2 tons. There are also important artifacts from different parts of France, Portugal and Spain.
Our favorite Maltese temples such as the Temple of Mnajdra, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, the Astronomical Clock Tower in Prague, and buildings in popular centers such as Bratislava, Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Vienna, Zagreb, Ljubljana are not forgotten. Of course, the artifacts in Mini Europe are countless. There are buttons in front of the buildings. When you click on the button, you can listen to the national anthem of the country.
In addition to stationary miniature artifacts, there are trains and boats moving among them. Windmills and Ferris wheels are moving. We can even see Mount Vesuvius, located east of Naples, shaking the ground. A small platform has been built for this.
What are Mini Europe entrance fee and opening hours?
Entrance to Mini Europe is paid, and if you buy your Atomium ticket here, both are discounted together. Opening hours are between 10:00 – 18:00. In July and August, opening hours change and the last entry time is 19:00. The Brussels Card city card is not valid here. For more details visit official web site.
Where is Mini Europe? How to get there?
You can get to Mini Europe by public transportation. If you are coming by metro, you can get off at the last stop Heysel by using line 6 and take a short walk. The park is located next to the Atomium, the symbol of Brussels. You can also take the 84 and 88 bus lines and get off at Heysel station.
