Madurodam
Madurodam, has been Holland's smallest city for more than 50 years. We’re open all year round. The canal houses of Amsterdam, the Alkmaar cheese market and parts of the Delta Works, are all replicated in minute detail on a 1:25 scale. All are set in beautiful gardens.
See the miniature art in the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam. Watch windmills turn, ships sail and modern trains traverse the city on the world's largest model railway.
History
Madurodam was opened officially on 2 July 1952. As far as amusement parks go, Madurodam's history is a fascinating one, intended as it was to be both a war memorial and a charitable organisation.
The joint initiators were Mrs B. Boon-Van der Starp and Mr and Mrs J.M.L. Maduro.
Mrs Boon-Van der Starp was a member of the Society for the Support of the Dutch Student Sanatorium (N.S.S.). The sanatorium was founded in 1947 and offered students suffering from tuberculosis the opportunity to recover, while at the same time continuing with their studies. The costs of construction and patient care were high, and the initiators were looking for a way of acquiring financial support. Mrs Boon-Van der Starp took Bekonscot in England as an example. Its revenues were so high that the owner was able to make large annual donations to hospitals in London.
Although new scale models have been added each year, the general lay-out of Madurodam has not changed since 1952. However, it became clear that the continuous addition of new scale models would inevitably lead to a lack of space. Therefore, the decision was made to enlarge the surface of the town. After a process that took several years, the renewed Madurodam opened its gates on 1 April 1996.
Apart from a new entrance, consisting of two dykes and a large lighthouse, Madurodam was also extended with features such as a large second port, a city of the future and scale models of various bridges such as the Rotterdam Erasmus bridge and the railway lift bridge near Dordrecht.