Mini-Europe

Mini-Europe is a part of Heysel in Brussels, Belgium that contains replicas of famous buildings from countries in the European Union, presented at a scale of 1 to 25. The buildings on display are famed for their exquisite detail, which took over €75,000 per model to reproduce.

Making the Models

In 1987, several art historians selected over 100 European buildings of cultural importance; it was from this list that many of the models at Mini-Europe come. On-site work to take detailed photographs of the buildings cost over €200,000, and sometimes it took multiple trips to garner enough details to make and appropriate 1:25 scale model.

To build the models, 55 workshops from 9 member states collaborated to construct pre-models out of a variety of materials. These pre-models were then used to create molds, which led to the final model, cast from epoxy or polyester. Finally, the models were painted. All told, this process was extremely labour-intensive, requiring, for example, over 24,000 hours for the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

List of Models

Visitors take in the Eiffel Tower model. Also visible is the model Palace of Westminster and, in the background, the Atomium (life-size).

Austria

Melk Abbey

Belgium

Grand Place with Brussels Town Hall
Belfry of Bruges
Leuven Town Hall
Castle of Vêves
Notre Dame of Dinant
Berlaymont building
Graslei street and Rabot (lockhouse), Ghent
Alden Biesen Castle
Antwerp City Hall
Curtius museum, Liège
La Grande Roue ferris wheel, Walibi World

Denmark

Viking village of Trelleborg
Houses at Nyhavn
Børsen (old exchange building)

Estonia

Great Coastal Gate and Fat Margaret's Tower, Tallinn

Finland

St. Olaf's Castle

France

Ireland

Glendalough monastery
Rock of Cashel

Italy

Campo dei Miracoli with Leaning Tower of Pisa
Palazzo Pubblico of Siena
Vesuvius
Trulli of Alberobello
Venice, with Doge's Palace and St Mark's Campanile
Villa Capra "La Rotonda" of Vicenza

Germany

Greece

Latvia

Freedom Monument, Riga

Lithuania

Vilnius University campus

Luxembourg

Adolphe Bridge, Luxembourg City

Malta

Mnajdra temple

Netherlands

Amsterdam, with Beurs van Berlage, Mint Tower, Montelbaan Tower
Town Hall of Maastricht
Hoensbroek Castle
Church and houses of Oostmarsum
Abbey and Kloveniersdoelen, Middelburg
Museum village of Orvelte
Weigh House and Tax Tower, Alkmaar
Windmills of Kinderdijk
Oude Doelenkade street, Hoorn
Town Hall of Veere

Poland

Artus Court, Gdansk

Portugal

Belém Tower
Castle of Guimarães
der Palast von Ozeane
Ribeira of Porto
community in the Algarve