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The Historical Changes of the Miniature City of Madurodam

Madurodam Theme park in the Hague, Netherlands

Madurodam is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments. Wikipedia

Madurodam in The Hague is a 1:25 scale Holland, where you can see typical buildings and sights of the Netherlands, whether it is the Akma Cheese Market, the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam, or Ute From the Dome of Recht, the Amsterdam Canal Houses and the Delta Project, every famous sight in the Netherlands can be found here.

The miniature city of Madurodam is the main attraction in the Netherlands. It opened on July 2, 1952, covering an area of ​​1.77 square kilometers. More than 10 million tourists have come here.

Miniature Madurodam has an amazing history that ordinary amusement parks don’t have. The purpose of its establishment is to serve as a war memorial on the one hand, and a charitable foundation on the other hand, and its co-founders are Ms. B.Boon-van der Starp and Mrs. Maduro.

Opening hours: April-June: 9:00–20:00; July-August: 9:00–21:00; September-October: 9:00–19:00; November-December : 9:00–17:00; Ticket price: Adults 14.50 euros; 3-11 years olds 10.50 euros.

Madurodam Miniature City was conceived by Ms. van der Stahlp, a member of the Dutch Student Sanatorium Foundation, which offers students with tuberculosis a chance to recover. But because of the high cost of construction and medical care, another kind of financial support is needed. Using the example of the tiny village of Beaconsfield, England, built in 1929, she planned to build a miniature park, the annual proceeds of which would go to the nursing home’s foundation.

The city in miniature is named after the famous George Maduro, a law student from the Caribbean island of Curacao. During World War II, Madero joined the Dutch Revolutionary Army to resist the Nazis’ attack and achieved outstanding results. He died in Dachau concentration camp in 1945.

In 1946, Madero was posthumously awarded the honor of the fourth degree of knighthood, the highest honor in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and his parents, the Madero couple, donated their honorary prize to the construction plan of the Maderodam Miniature City.

Architect SJ Bouma, who was the director of the South China Sea Museum in Enkhuizen at the time, was interested in participating in the construction of the model city. After visiting Gensfield, he followed the development of the century and set out to design the Dutch city, which was replicated at a scale of 1:25, with the theme of “Smile Town”. With their plans and blueprints, a number of large-scale entrepreneurs were invited to provide financial support. The overwhelming response of most of them enabled the successful construction of gas stations, cranes, highways, railway stations, and airports.

The mayor of The Hague is also happy to be involved in the project and has agreed to lease a piece of land in the Scheveningen Forest on a long-term basis for student buildings in Delft. These developments were carried out with the support of the Dutch Student Nursing Home Foundation and a number of experts. The miniature city of Madurodam has always had a unique relationship with the Dutch royal family. In the past, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands had agreed to make the 14-year-old Princess Bieltrix the mayor of the model city, which caused a great sensation at the time. The latter held the post of mayor until she became queen in 1980.

The design of the Miniature City of Madurodam has not changed since 1952. After years of deliberation, Madurodam completed the expansion in 1996. In addition to the entrance consisting of two embankments and a large lighthouse, two new multi-purpose halls and a model building for an exhibition hall have been added.

Since its opening, Madurodam Miniature City has donated its net profit to the Dutch student sanatorium every year. The hospital was later closed in 1964 because the students no longer suffered from tuberculosis. Since then, Madurodam Miniature City has been combined with the Madurodam Charitable Foundation, a socio-cultural organization that financially supports young people, resulting in countless healthy and disabled young people.

All model buildings, railways and decorations of the Miniature City are made by the Miniature City of Madurodam. Before each building can be placed in the model city, it has to go through very complicated engineering. The Madurodam crew had to calculate the dimensions of the model based on the architectural drawings, in addition to taking accurate photographs of the original building, then using a cutting machine to cut the plastic (formerly wood chips) to the desired appearance and size, and finally add the decoration and technical finish.

Model buildings stand outdoors for an average of 30 years and must therefore be regularly maintained. In order to make the Dutch street scene more realistic, the surrounding environment of the model building also had to be carefully planned, so tree planting became an important part. The Madurodam Miniature City mainly uses coniferous trees and shrubs, and must be pruned frequently so that the general 15-meter trees can be maintained at a height of less than 60 cm. Some trees in the park have been erected since the park opened.

The largest model building project after the opening of Miniature City is the reconstructed Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport, which was fully rebuilt in 2003.