Mini-Europe

True to its name, Mini-Europe is a theme park featuring miniature, 1:25 scale models of monuments in the European Union. Located in Brussels, Belgium, Mini-Europe lies at the base of the Atomium which is in the reverse scale, a model of an iron crystal lattice magnified 165 million times.

The park was created in 1989 and features 350 monuments and live action models, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, an erupting Mount Vesuvius, and Big Ben including its famous chimes. The buildings represent roughly 80 cities in the EU, most of which were financed by their respective countries or regions.

Though the buildings might be small in size, much attention to detail has been paid in their creation. With the exception of a few stone structures, most of the monuments were created using a silicone mold and epoxy resin or polyester casts. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela took 24,000 hours to build, and the Grand Place of Brussels cost roughly €350,000 to complete.

Additionally, the park features a new interactive exhibition, the “Spirit of Europe,” which shares EU history through multimedia games.