<p>The quest for hydrological hyper-resolution modelling is already on-going for more than a decade. While global hydrological models (GHMs) have seen a reduction in grid size, thus far they never have been consistently applied at hyper-resolution (<= 1km) at the large scale. Here, we present the first application of the GHM PCR-GLOBWB at 1 km over Europe. We thoroughly evaluated simulated discharge, evaporation, soil moisture, and terrestrial water storage anomalies, and subsequently compared results with the ‘established’ 10 km and 50 km resolutions of PCR-GLOBWB. Subsequently, we could assess the added value of this first hyper-resolution version of PCR-GLOBWB as well as understand model and data requirements for future improvements.</p> <p>We found that for most variables epistemic uncertainty is still large. Merely for simulated discharge we can confidently state that model output at hyper-resolution improves over coarser resolutions. This first large-scale hyper-resolution modelling attempt shows that applying a GHM consistently is by now feasible with improved data availability and computer power. Also, simulated discharge improves due to better representation of the river network at 1 km. However, currently available observations are not yet widely available at hyper-resolution or lack sufficiently long timeseries, which makes it difficult to assess the performance of the model for other variables at hyper resolution. At the model side, hyper-resolution applications require improved parameterization and implementation of physical processes to be able to resemble the dynamics and spatial heterogeneity at 1 km.</p> <p>With this first application of PCR-GLOBWB at 1 km, we contribute to meeting the ‘grand challenge’ of hyper-resolution modelling. As such, it should be seen as a modest milestone on a longer journey towards locally relevant model output which requires a community effort from both model developers and data providers.</p>