Switzerland in miniature
Switzerland in Miniature is a delightful miniature museum located in a small Swiss village called Melide. About one and a half thousand people live in this unusual village. Italian, Portuguese, and German can be heard here. Every year, many tourists come here, because the fame of the local Switzerland museum in miniature has gone far beyond borders.
The Miniature Park in Melida was opened in 1959 and brought the country worldwide fame. The total area of the museum is 14,000 m2, with close to 120 exhibits. It contains all the famous sights of this country, including various houses, castles, cathedrals, as well as other architectural structures that were built on a scale of 1:25. A railway with a total length of 3.5 km has also been built here, along which 18 trains run, which delights both adults and children. The open-air miniature museum houses an airport, an autobahn, cable cars, as well as miniature seas and lakes on which ships sail. "Switzerland in miniature" can genuinely delight gardening enthusiasts, because thousands of different flowers and dwarf trees are planted here.
Switzerland exists in miniature thanks to Pierre Vinier, who decided to create it more than 50 years ago. Vinier was inspired to build such a beauty in Switzerland by Madurodam Park, which is located in the Netherlands. At the time of planning the park, he was 32 years old, he led a quiet life, having a small shop. But, Vinier is a man of action, if he decided to build a miniature park, he will certainly do it. Without thinking twice, he moved to the village of Melide, which seemed to the inventor to be just the perfect place where he could realize all his ideas. Here he shares his plans with local officials who agree to help him. Thus, with the help of great enthusiasm, the first attractions were erected on a scale of 1:25, among which is a steam locomotive. The Switzerland in Miniature Park was built at a fairly rapid pace and the revenue from the first visitors was not long in coming.
There is also a miniature map of Switzerland, where all the objects of the park are plotted. All the miniature buildings in the museum are numbered, which makes it very convenient to navigate here, and it is also easy to determine where its original is located in Switzerland.
A walk in the park is very exciting, because it is here that you can feel like a real giant. It will certainly appeal to those who are already familiar with Switzerland, as well as those who have not been there yet.
