Over the years we’ve featured hundreds of sights claiming to be the “World’s Largest Something“, and when we featured the World’s Largest Dump Truck last week, I wondered if we were finally running out. However our loyal readers came through with some classic “World’s Largest” material – replete with the usual controversy of course!

Yes, we’re truly scraping the bottom of the “World’s Largest” barrel – because it’s time for the World’s Largest Barrel!

Bad Dürkheim in Germany is home to the World’s largest wine festival – the sausagey-sounding “Wurstmarkt” – and it’s also the location of this absolutely giant barrel, which has a claimed capacity of 1,700,000 litres. Unfortunately they decided to fill it with a restaurant instead of booze.

But does this barrel-restaurant really count, or is it just a building that looks like a barrel?

If we exclude it, then the title may fall to the 220,000 litre Heidelberg Tun: the World’s largest barrel which is actually used as a barrel. Also in Germany, it’s sadly kept in the basement of Heidelberg Castle.

Wikipedia’s article on the World’s largest roadside attractions claims that the world’s largest barrel is neither of these, but is instead found at McWilliams Wines, in Hanwood, NSW, Australia. However I don’t believe the Big Hanwood Barrel was constructed using traditional barrel-making techniques, and anyway doesn’t look nearly big enough…

You’ll be glad to know that the “World’s largest roadside attractions” Wikipedia article has enough silly “World’s Largest” sights to keep us going for another few years at least!

Thanks to Izzy and Flümo.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma you can see the Bank of Oklahoma tower, which is a near-exact half-scale replica of the World Trade Center towers in New York City which were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.

Completed three years after the WTC in 1976, the Bank of Oklahoma was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who was in fact the architect who designed the original.

Like in New York, Yamasaki had proposed a pair¹ of towers, but for some reason only one was ever built.

At 52 stories and 203 metres tall, the Bank of Oklahoma tower it is almost exactly half of the World Trade Center’s 110 stories and 415 metres, but is still the tallest tower in Oklahoma.

Does anyone else have any replicas of famous buildings to share?

Wikipedia has more on the Bank of Oklahoma tower, and believermag.com has the full story of the building. Thanks to Kottke.

Caution arachnophobes, many parts of the world appear to be home to giant spiders, thankfully all in the name of art.

First up, a giant bug on top of a building in Reno, Nevada.

This spider sculpture was created by artist David Fambrough. It consists of the body of a VW beetle / bug (depending where you live) with huge metal legs. Some people wanted to squash the impressive looking bug, but it has been granted a reprieve and will instead be moved to another part of the city.

Controversy can also surround the bronze or steel casts of Louise Bourgeois‘ sculpture Maman, which can currently be found in 8 different location worldwide. In my home town, Ottawa, there’s a 10m tall Maman which cost $3.2millionCAD, though it quickly became a popular local icon.

Maman can also be found outside art galleries in Bilbao, Tokyo and Seoul.

In Kansas City Maman isn’t visible on Google Maps, but Street View reveals that she is happily menacing two women and a (doubtless quite traumatised) baby in a stroller.

Maman also lives in St Petersburg, Paris and Havana, but I can’t track her down on Google Maps or Google Earth. Let me know if you can!

Finally, giant spiders must spin giant webs … like this one in Colorado, which appears to be at least a couple of hundred metres wide.

Thanks to Steve and Bleij.

Google’s Street View service continues its spread across the globe with today’s launch in New Zealand.

Skycity in Auckland

Spotted any famous, cool or just weird sites in New Zealand? Let us know!

Rising from the waters of Oslo Fjord, Norway, is the absolutely incredible Oslo Opera House. Designed to speak of the sheets of ice that formed the fjords of Norway, the huge white slab of angular building could almost be mistaken for an actual ice floe.

Designed by the architects Snøhetta, and opened in April this year, the Opera House features a huge sloping roof that runs past either side of the foyer, tapering all the way down to the water’s edge. Best of all, visitors can climb all over it (possibly thanks to Norway’s refusal to join the fun police – Er, I mean the European Union).

Italian marble and granite account for the striking whiteness of the exterior, but some sections are also clad in aluminium punched with spherical forms, and the interior is awash with dark, sculpted oak.

Unfortunately the Opera House wasn’t completely finished in these satellite images, so it’s worth having a look through this Flickr pool – as the building is truly stunning now that it’s done.

Arcspace.com has a good photo tour of the whole building, The Times did a story about the launch event, and there’s more at Wikipedia of course.

Thanks to James McKay.