Liechtenstein emerges in Miniatur Wunderland

Liechtenstein is now moving into Miniatur Wunderland between Switzerland and Austria! The principality is one of the smallest countries in the world – so we feel a certain connection to it. After the Vatican and Monaco, another small country is now finding its way into Wunderland.

Statistically, almost 10% of Liechtenstein's population has already visited Wunderland, which is one more reason for us to give Liechtenstein a place in the exhibition by recreating the famous Vaduz Castle as a miniature model.

What particularly excites us about building Vaduz Castle is the connection between ancient history and modern times: old walls, modern architecture, and impressive buildings. A real treat for model builders! Vaduz Castle is located on a hillside with an impressive view over the valley. For our guests, however, it is not the view from the castle that is decisive, but the view up to the castle, which we want to capture perfectly. That's why we thought long and hard about where it would look best in Wunderland. Finally, we built it out of Styrofoam and tested it in several places.

We found the perfect location on the border between our Switzerland and Austria. Strictly speaking, it's a bit mirror-inverted compared to the real world, but we'll allow ourselves that. The hillside location there is ideal, the castle shines far beyond the mini landscape and fits perfectly into the picture.

The construction was not that easy: Liechtenstein is small, but the castle itself is quite large with its keep and old ramparts, which take up a lot of space. Drone flights are not permitted there, and since the castle is inhabited, an excursion and on-site visit have not been possible until now. So we also used Google Earth and Street View to get an overview.

We had to tinker a lot to make sure everything fit into the terrain. Using a digital data set, we were able to try out how it would best fit into the model. A polygon mesh of the region was used to create a model on a scale of 1:100.

And so, with great attention to detail, a small but very special model of the Principality of Liechtenstein was created in Wunderland.