Rio de Janeiro comes to Hamburg

There is a Carnival atmosphere in Hamburg amid the opening this week of the Miniatur Wunderland's model of Rio de Janeiro, covering 46 square meters (6,940 square feet). The model "Sambodromo" — the world-famous arena where the annual Carnival competition between samba schools takes place — is probably one of the most extravagant projects ever undertaken by the Wunderland.

The Sambodromo scene features more than 11,000 figures. At the push of a button, dancers and three colorful Carnival floats come to life. The lovingly fashioned figures of spectators and dancers convey a true sense of the gaudy Carnival atmosphere. Wunderland co-founder Frederick Braun says the Rio section took 60,000 hours of work and cost €1.5 million ($1.7 million).

The beach in Copacabana in Rio epitomizes the Brazilian way of life. Now, it can be seen in small scale in Hamburg. Just looking at the reconstructed scene gives you itchy feet. Or, as Brazilians might say, a feeling of "saudade" — the melancholy, nostalgic feeling of remembering and yearning for something or someone that is absent.

"Santa Marta" is one of the many favelas, or shanty towns, in Rio. It covers the slopes of a hill in the southern Botafogo district. With almost 8,000 residents, it is one of the biggest. Its huts, which have here been meticulously reconstructed in model form, have become a tourist attraction.

Soccer is the national sport of Brazil. Here, we see an exciting match being played in the middle of a favela. Rio's favelas are often associated with violence and crime, but they are also cultural and sporting hubs for a section of the population that struggles for survival on an everyday basis.

Santa Teresa is situated on a hill above the city. Idyllic gardens and villas from the colonial era give the district its character. Today, many artists live there. The "Escadaria Selaron," a set of world-famous steps, connects the districts of Santa Teresa and Lapa and is depicted authentically in the model.

The Rio de Janeiro model is the biggest project to date by the Miniatur Wunderland — and the famous Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado mountain was, of course, a must. The section was built in a first-time collaboration with the Martinez family of model-builders in Buenos Aires. This made it possible to combine South American and European perspectives.

The founders of the Miniatur Wunderland, Gerrit Braun and Frederik Braun, are delighted with the new Rio section. "Working across continents and time zones was a big gamble, especially in the middle of a pandemic, which made personal communication on site impossible for a long time," they said. But they are more than satisfied with the results of the last few years' work.