German tour operator and travel agency Schauinsland-Reisen GmbH has broken the record for the world’s Tallest sandcastle, after building a spectacular 16.68 m (54 ft 9 in) sculpture.

The attempt took place in Duisburg, Germany, where the company was hoping to create a holiday atmosphere in the city as part a brand awareness campaign.

Largest sandcastle

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Using approximately 3,500 tonnes of sand, it took a team of artists almost a month to complete. An entire week was spent just collecting the sand in 168 trucks!

The enormous sandcastle is intricately decorated with images of tourist attractions from around the world, including Athens' Acropolis, Barcelona's Sagrada Familia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Official Guinness World Records adjudicator Jack Brockbank was on hand to verify the record in front of a crowd of onlookers, including lots of excited school children.

After measuring the sand sculpture using laser technology, he announced that Schauinsland-Reisen successfully broke the previous record of 14.84 m (48 ft 8 in), acheived by Sudarsan Pattnaik (India) on the beach at Puri, Odisha, India, on 10 February.

Largest sandcastle details

A certificate was then presented to Gerald Kassner, Managing Director of Schauinsland-Reisen.

"We wanted to organise another exciting event that brings together summer, sun, sand and our slogan – 'Holidays in great hands' – in perfect harmony," said Andreas Rüttgers, Head of Tourism at Schauinsland-Reisen. "The sandcastle world record had all of the above."

"Having won people’s hearts with our previous attempt, we are delighted that we have now been able to bring the official Guinness World Records title back to Duisburg and that the giant sandcastle has been so well received and embraced so enthusiastically by visitors."

Largest sandcastle certificate presentation