Museums, museums, museums ... wherever you go, it’s always recommended to visit one. Usually, metropolitan museums have huge and diverse collection of antiquities and paintings, yet it’s almost impossible to see everything in a day or two. Here, we’re informing you of four extraordinary - in terms of size - museums!
Small model in a big world
Fans of railroad train tracks in miniature form will appreciate the Miniatur Wunderland which is located in Hamburg. Twin brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun built the longest railway model in Europe. Here, you can also enjoy views of the Scandinavian fjords, the Swiss Alps and even Mount Rushmore - all in Germany! The railway today, has total length of 15.5 kilometers and takes over an area of 1490 square meters, all this has been placed on three floors. Within this, there are 1040 trains,130,000 trees and figures and 260,000 people. The Braun Brothers began their work in 2000. The incredible layout even includes scale models of the Rocky Mountains, Mount Rushmore, the Swiss Matterhorn and a Scandinavian fjord with a cruise ship. More than 700 kg of artificial grass and 4,000 kg of steel was required to make this layout. The model is so huge that its maintenance staff is of 160 employees and they still have time to show visitors the whole railroad! The idea of the creators was the creation of the world which surprises and amazes both adults and children. But the brothers Braun are not going to stop here, they’re continuing the layout until 2020 with the creation of new zones and places.
Miniatur Wunderland is open seven days a week. Weekdays from 9.30 to 18.00. Weekends from 8.30 to 21.00. The entrance fee is 12€, but make sure to keep your ticket as you get a 1€ discount on your next visit.
Museum in the hollow of an oak
This is the first and oldest public museum in the town Barzdžiai, Lithuania. Dionizas Poška was a Lithuanian writer, linguist, historian and ethnographer. He created this museum back in 1812 using the hollow of an old oak tree. The writer loved working and realizing things here. They say that the oak is at least a thousand years old and was formerly used as a place of pagan worship. People called this Oak Baublis because the wind howls in its recess (the Lithuanian word "Baublis" comes from the verb "baubti" - means howling). But this oak was not the only one, in 1824 a second tree was found. The tree trunks of the second tree are used in various books, archaeological finds, armour and much more things to do with culture and history of the Lithuanian people. Therefore, this museum is unique and is considered to be small, and even tiny.
The museum is open April 1 - October 31. Everyday from 9.00 to 18.00. November 1 - March 31: Monday - Thursday from 8.00 to 17.00, Friday from 8.00 to 15.45. Entrance fee: 1.45€.
Miniature Book Museum
In the old city of Baku, Azerbaijan, is the world's only museum dedicated to miniature books. Zarifa Salakhova had a private collection of mini books that she had been saving for more than 30 years and it wasn’t until 2002 when the museum opened and she finally shared her collection with the public. Most of the books are provided by a Ukrainian collector as a donation, who presented his collection of miniature books to Salakhova in 2001.
The museum has thousands of tiny books including miniature editions of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol and Chukovsky. The books are collected from around the world and translated into many languages including Azerbaijani, Russian, English and German. The oldest book in the museum is a miniature copy of the Koran which was made in the 17th century. The smallest book is 6mm x 9mm and can only be read with a magnifying glass.
The owner of this unusual museum is an avid lover of books and opened the museum with the intention of sparking the next generation's love and interest for reading and literature. Also among the museum exhibits, there are several published books which are the tiniest in the world and you can only find them at this museum.
You can visit this museum free of charge daily until 5pm - except Mondays.
A tiny contribution to the arts
On one of the most crowded streets in the town Somerville, Massachusetts USA, you’ll find a tiny museum. It’s so small that it doesn’t even have its postcode or house number. The dimensions speak for themselves: 25x20x40. Inside there are six small paintings and light is constant thanks to solar panels. This tiny museum was created by a local artist Judith Klausner back in 2010. The museum even has a certificate “for a tiny contribution to the arts”. This mini art gallery was created in order to attract the attention of people and visitors to the problem of lack of space for exhibitions in high-grade art galleries.
The museum is open daily and a visit is free. Klausner also wanted to speak up about her opinion about exhibitions and museums being free and that’s exactly what she did.
Have you already chosen a miniature museum to visit? Then be sure to use the service on our website to find cheap flights!
