Miniature park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A miniature park is an open space that displays miniature buildings and models and is usually open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models. They have been developed as traditional recreational and tourist attractions in different parts of the world, with possible roots in Japanese miniature gardens.
Most examples are located in landscaped outdoor spaces, but the definition has widened in recent years to encompass large scale miniature landscapes indoors.
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[edit] History
There is evidence to suggest the existence of private model villages and miniature parks since the 19th century, but it was only in the 1930s to 1950s that the genre became known as tourist attractions. Early examples include Bekonscot in the UK and Madurodam in the Hague.
[edit] Variations on a theme
Much of the interest in model villages lies within the concept of differential in scale between "real life" and the model version depicted. Most model villages and parks are built to a consistent scale; varying from 1:72 as used by the intricately-detailed "Pendon" in England up to the 1:9 scale of Wimborne Model Town.
Continental Europe and Asia have tended to favour the metric scale of 1:25, whilst North American and UK examples have been based upon 1:12 and other variants using the imperial measurement system.
There has been a distinct move away from the "model village" concept since the mid-late 20th Century towards a "miniature park" concept. Model villages are typically larger-scale, sit in a cohesive miniature landscape and allow viewing and physical interaction with the exhibits, such as publicly-accessed streets and urban areas. Miniature parks however, are primarily concerned with the display of exhibits in their own right, viewed from a distance. Model railways, rivers and roads may provide a continuation between miniature parks exhibits.
[edit] List of miniature parks
- Bekonscot, Buckinghamshire, England
- Catalunya en Miniatura, Catalunya, Spain
- France miniature, Élancourt, France
- Legoland, California - Billund - Deutschland - Windsor
- Madurodam, The Hague, Netherlands
- Mini Israel, Israel
- Mini-Europe, Belgium
- Miniaturk, Istanbul, Turkey
- Minicity, Antalya, Turkey
- Minimundus, Klagenfurt, Austria
- Model World, Wicklow, Ireland
- Mundomágico, Santiago, Chile (closed)
- Pasión Mudejar, Olmedo, Spain
- Swissminiatur, Melide, Switzerland
- World Park, Beijing, China
Other sites around the UK include Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, Godshill on the Isle of Wight and Merrivale in Great Yarmouth. Examples elsewhere include Legoland (various sites in Europe and the US) and Woodleigh Replicas in Canada.
