Mini-Europe is a park located in Bruparck at the foot of
the Atomium in
Brussels,
Belgium.
Mini-Europe has the reproductions of the most
attractive monuments in the European Union on show, at a scale
of 1:25. Roughly 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented.
The park is renowned for the quality of its models, some of
which cost as much as €350,000 to make (the Brussels
Grand-Place). The park contains numerous live action models
(train, mills, eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Airbus, cable cars, etc). 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 European Union in the form of
multimedia games. The park is built on an area of 24,000 m˛. The
initial investment was of €10 million in 1989, on its
inauguration by Prince Philip of Belgium.
Building the Monuments:
The monuments were chosen for the quality of their
architecture or their European symbolism. After this
initial selection process, plans and photos needed to be
found. This stage cost over €200,000 in research. Most
of the monuments are made using moulds. The parts are
made from various types of material, and then copied
using silicone moulding. The final copy used to be cast
from epoxy resin, but now polyester is used. Three of
the monuments were made out of stone (e.g. the
tower of Pisa, in
marble). A new computer-assisted milling procedure
was used for two of the models. After that comes the
painting. Finally, the monument is installed on site,
together with decorations and lighting. The Cathedral of
Santiago de Compostela required more than 24,000
hours of work. Many of the monuments were financed by
European countries or regions.
Simulations:
Simulations make this large miniature park
livelier – trains, mills, sounds, the eruption
of
Mount Vesuvius, the fall of the
Berlin Wall, gondolas in Venice, cable cars,
etc. These live action models are industrial
prototypes designed to stand up to the numerous
exhibition hours and different seasons (frost,
rain, heat).
The Garden:
Ground covers, dwarf trees, bonsais and grafted
trees are used alongside miniature monuments,
and the paths are adorned with classical bushes
and flowers.
