7 Surprising Secrets About the Lego Brand
Where to take kids who really enjoy Lego? Besides the attractions listed below, we have advice for you on where to go to avoid boredom during the current Lego exhibitions in 2025—just choose what works for you! And remember, as the founder of the brand said, have fun while you leg godt!
1. The Original Lego Toys
The story of Lego started in 1932 when a carpenter named Ole Kirk Kristiansen (1891-1958) began making wooden toys in his workshop located in Billund, Denmark. He primarily crafted toy cars, moneyboxes, and even yo-yos, which were popular at the time. Later, he added movable wooden animals like dogs, cats, elephants, monkeys, cows, and the beloved ducks with flapping beaks, along with miniature houses filled with tiny furniture. In 1934, he named his company Lego, derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning play well. The business eventually passed from father to son, and now the LEGO Group is managed by the founder’s grandson, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, along with his children.
2. A Single Cube and Endless Possibilities – The First Plastic Bricks
Although the wooden toys were popular and known for their quality, in 1947, Ole Kirk Kristiansen acquired the first injection molding machine for solid plastic in Denmark. Two years later, a factory in Billund began to manufacture plastic toys, including building blocks with protrusions that allowed them to connect. It took another decade for the company to perfect this design so that the blocks would stay connected well. On January 28, 1958, Kristiansen’s son Godtfred applied for a patent for the LEGO® brick, which laid the foundation for all the building blocks that followed. Since then, every Lego piece has been compatible with any other, regardless of when or where it was made.
3. Lego’s First Introduction in the Czech Republic: Museums and Exhibitions
Trying to find a fun family trip that appeals to both kids and adults? The website Where to go from boredom offers suggestions for various Lego museums, many of which feature game rooms or play areas. Where can you find these places?
For instance, you can visit the Lego Museum in Prague on Národní třída, which is the largest not just in the Czech Republic, but in Europe based on size and number of exhibits. There’s also a Lego Museum in Tábor, with another in Kutná Hora. In Lipno nad Vltavou, you can see the permanent Lego exhibition called Czech Repubrick, and there are additional Lego Museums in Poděbrady and Špindlerův Mlýn.
Exploring Lego exhibits and exhibitions in the Czech Republic
4. Lego’s Second Encounter in the Czech Republic: The Kladno Factory
Lego quickly gained popularity around the world, with bricks being manufactured in various countries such as the USA, Canada, South Korea, and Brazil. In November 2000, the Lego factory in Kladno opened its doors. Currently, this factory is the second oldest in the entire world. It covers more than 124,000 m2, which is similar in size to three Wenceslas Squares in Prague. While the Kladno facility handles the processing and packaging of blocks, they also engage in building models, researching, and developing packaging and decoration technologies, alongside a large warehouse. Additionally, the facility has a specialized Lego Model Production area where unique 3D models are created for stores, Legoland parks, exhibitions, and international projects. Approximately 3,300 people work here. Although the Czech Republic has a Lego factory, we still have to travel abroad to experience Legoland.
5. A Visit to Legoland
Everyone loves Lego, and soon after it gained popularity, people began visiting Billund from all over the world. But just showing finished models was not enough to keep people interested, so they used thousands of tons of clay to transform the local landscape into Miniland, featuring a rolling terrain with houses built entirely from Lego bricks. This became the foundation for the massive Legoland, which first opened and attracted 625,000 visitors in its inaugural season.
People from the Czech Republic visit Legoland in Billund, as well as the Legoland located in the German town of Günzburg, which opened in 2002. Additionally, there’s Legoland in Windsor in the UK and a special Legoland Water Park at the Gardaland Resort in Italy. Other Legolands exist in the USA, including locations in Florida, California, and New York, while more recent openings have occurred in Malaysia, Dubai, Japan, and Korea. Plans are underway to build additional Legolands in China, with twenty more theme parks expected to be developed globally soon.
6. The Largest Lego Building Sets
Within Lego museums, you can see incredible structures that were constructed using tens of thousands of Lego pieces. But what’s the largest set ever sold in a single package? Since 2007, the record was held by the prominent Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars series, which has 5,195 pieces and measures eight centimeters high, 33 centimeters long, and 22 centimeters wide. Then in 2020, a model of the iconic ancient Colosseum comprised of over 9,000 pieces was introduced. Once assembled, the model stands 27 centimeters tall and more than half a meter in width, said to take skilled builders over a week to complete. However, less than two years later, the Lego Titanic was released, measuring over 1.3 meters long, making it the largest ever! It holds the record for the second most pieces, with 9,090, while the World Map kit has 11,695 pieces.
7. The World’s Largest Nation: Lego Minifigures
The world’s population exceeds eight billion people. Yet, the largest “nation” isn’t China or India, but rather Lego minifigures. The very first Lego minifigure was introduced in 1978, and since then, over four billion of these figures have been created, making it the most populated nation on Earth. Initially, there were just seven figures, and after two months, the first female nurse minifigure was released, which sparked an explosion of collectible figures. In 1997, the figures were brought to life in a video game, while in the Star Wars series, they appeared as specific character roles and have since diversified with a range of different skin colors.
