As of: March 13, 2024, 9:01 a.m
By: Christoph Gschoßmann
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In Lower Saxony there is competition for the “Miniatur Wunderland” Hamburg.
Because that's where the company claims to be the world's largest facility.
Bispingen – The most famous model railway in Germany is in Hamburg – the “Miniatur Wunderland” in the Speicherstadt.
But it is not the largest facility in the country: “Modellbauwelten Bispingen” has leased this title since spring 2020.
At least the makers of the model railway claim it as their own, because according to their own information, the tracks in the new area are 600 meters longer than in Hamburg.
The “Bavaria” section in the Bispingen Model Building Worlds.
© imago
Lower Saxony: Indoor ski hall near Bispingen becomes a model railway
The Snow Dome indoor ski hall near Bispingen was used for the gigantic facility.
500 trains roll through various themed worlds on an initial 20 kilometer track.
The facility is located under the part of the ski hall on stilts on the A7 motorway between Hamburg and Hanover.
Due to the corona pandemic, the original opening date had to be postponed.
Surname |
Model building worlds Bispingen |
Location |
Bispingen |
district |
Heath Circle |
Federal State |
Lower Saxony |
Opening year |
2020 |
Track network |
20 kilometers |
Exhibition space |
12,000 square meters |
“Miniatur Wunderland” holds the Guinness World Record - even before Bispingen
But is Bispingen really bigger than the “Miniature Wonderland”?
According to the makers of the new railway, yes.
But not everyone sees it that way.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Wunderland is still the world's largest model railway.
The book is based on the track length of 15,400 meters.
The wonderland refers to 1,367.21 kilometers of “real length” of tracks.
Egyptian pyramids tower above even the visitors to the model building worlds in Bispingen.
© imago
If you take the number of trains (1040 in Hamburg and 500 in Bispingen), you can follow this assessment.
But Bispingen beats Hamburg in other categories, such as the number of square meters of exhibition space (1,545 in Hamburg and 12,000 in Bispingen) and the number of different worlds (14 in Hamburg, 50 in Bispingen).
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Modellbauwelten Bispingen uses a different scale: significantly larger trains than in Hamburg
The key difference between the two systems is the track width and thus the scale.
In Hamburg the H0 gauge (16 millimeters) is used, in Bispingen the G gauge (45 millimeters) is twice as wide.
Both are the tallest in their respective classes.
The advantage of the larger scale (1:22.5 - Hamburg: 1:87) is obvious: In Bispingen, children in particular can recognize the trains better.
The trains are also correspondingly longer, up to 30 meters.
In any case, the visitors also seem to have a clear favorite: out of almost 1,000 Google reviews, Bispingen only achieved a rating of 2.6 (out of 5) stars.
The Miniatur Wunderland shines with a rating of 4.8 (out of 5) from over 83,000 reviews.
Unsurprisingly, the cheaper tickets are also available in Lower Saxony.
Bispingen is only open in the summer months as the route is partly open-air.
The oldest building in Hamburg is not in the city center - but on a small island.
(cgsc with dpa)