Madurodam

Mr. and Mrs. Maduro from Willemstad, Curaçao were eager to erect a monument in honour of their only son George, who died as a POW in Dachau in February 1945. For his heroic deeds in the first days of the war he posthumously received the Military Order of William I. Before the war, George J.L. Maduro had been a law student in the city of Leiden. After they met Mrs. Boon-van der Starp, Mr. and Mrs. Maduro decided to donate a sum of money for the construction of a miniature city as a monument in commemoration of their son, instead of erecting a regular monument.

Architect S.J. Bouma, who in those days managed the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen, was happy to contribute to building a miniature city. After visiting Beaconsfield, he worked out a plan to reconstruct a Dutch town as it would have developed in the course of the centuries, on a 1:25 scale. The central theme was: the small town with a smile. Bouma's plans and drawings were used to approach the managers of a number of major companies for financial support. Most of them reacted enthusiastically, so that a petrol station, a nodding donkey pump, a motorway, a railway and an airport were made.

The design of Madurodam has not been changed since 1952. In 1996 Madurodam expended. The entrance, consisting of two dykes and a big lighthouse and some new models were made as also two multifunctional conference rooms and a exhibition hall.

The biggest building project after the opening is the renewed Amsterdam Airpot Schiphol. In 2003 the new airport was opened after a complete renovation. On the platform there is a new induction technique, presented here for the first time. It enables the three-meter long aircraft to taxi along the platform employing a magnetic field, rechargeable batteries and miniature computers.

The queen of Holland, Beatrix van Oranje-Nassau, is the mayor of these little 'Netherlands'.