Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously colored interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene that accompany an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can be taken apart again, and the pieces reused to make new things.
Billund Municipality is a kommune in the centre of the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. Formerly the municipality belonged to Ribe County. The new, merged municipality covers an area of 540.18 km², and has a total population of 27,021 (2023). Its mayor is Stephanie Storbank, a member of Venstre political party. The site of its municipal council is the town of Grindsted, which is the largest town in the municipality followed by the city of Billund.
A brickfilm is a film or Internet video made by either shooting stop motion animation using construction set bricks like Lego bricks or using computer-generated imagery or traditional animation to imitate the look. They can sometimes also be live action films featuring plastic construction toys. Since the 2000s The Lego Group has released various films and TV series and brickfilms have also become popular on (social-) media websites. The term “brick film” was coined by Jason Rowoldt, founder of the website brickfilms.com.
Ole Kirk Christiansen was a Danish carpenter. In 1932, he founded the toy building company known as The Lego Group. Christiansen transformed his small woodworking shop, which initially sold household products, into a manufacturer of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named the company Lego and established its fundamental principles. The pivotal shift to producing plastic bricks came after the acquisition of a plastic moulding injection machine in 1947. Following Ole's passing in 1958, the company's management was handed over to his son, Godtfred.
Billund is a town in Jutland, Denmark. With a population of 7,049, Billund is the second largest town in Billund Municipality, behind the municipal seat of Grindsted. It is located approximately 13 kilometers east of Grindsted and 27 kilometers west of Vejle.
Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the former President and CEO of The Lego Group (1979–2004). According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Kristiansen is the third richest Dane, with a net worth of $6.75 billion as of April 2021. He is the grandson of Lego founder Ole Kirk Christiansen.
This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
Billund Airport is an airport in Denmark. Located 1 nautical mile northeast of Billund, it serves as one of the country's busiest air cargo centres, as well as a charter airline destination. Most major European airports are connected to Billund via multiple daily scheduled flights. Nearby Legoland Billund park is the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen.
The history of Lego began in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen who owned a Danish carpentry workshop that at first only produced furniture started making wooden toys and later named the new toy company Lego in 1934. Later when injection molding was introduced to Denmark after World War II Ole Kirk bought an injection molding machine for the company to make toys in 1947. That same year Kirk and his son obtained samples of plastic interlocking bricks which inspired the later lego bricks created in 1949. The brick and lego system continued to be modified with new molds and colours being added and removed over the decades. Lego still continues into the 21st century as a popular and very profitable line of construction kits and related products and services, with a significant impact on various areas in popular culture. Despite its expansion, the company remains privately held.
Lego A/S is a Danish building toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland, and operates numerous retail stores.
Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the park in 2011, and since the opening more than 50 million guests have visited the park. This makes Legoland the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen. The Legoland parks that have since been built are modelled upon Legoland Billund, most noticeably the Miniland area, which is made up of millions of plastic Lego bricks.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen was the managing director of The Lego Group from 1957 to 1973. He was the third son of company founder Ole Kirk Christiansen and took over as managing director in 1957, eventually becoming the sole owner. Godtfred is credited with playing a pivotal role in the development of the Lego brick design and patented it in 1958. He also created the Lego System in Play, the cornerstone of the Lego building toy. Godtfred stepped down as Leader of the company in 1973. His son Kjeld Kirk Christiansen became president in 1979.
Triangle Region Denmark is a cooperation consisting of seven Danish municipalities on the Danish peninsula of Jutland and the island of Funen: Billund, Fredericia, Haderslev, Kolding, Middelfart, Vejen and Vejle.
Ole is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name, derived from the Old Norse name Óláfr, meaning "ancestor's descendant".
Since the introduction of the first Lego weapon in 1978, Lego has been criticised for the presence of weaponry and, consequently, the levels of violence presented within its product range. The relationship between Lego and violence has been a source of controversy, despite the fact that The Lego Group has maintained an ethos of not producing products that promote violence. The presence of toy weapons in Lego construction toys has increased over the years, with the introduction of many types of weapons across a variety of Lego themes.
Agnete Kirk Thinggaard is a Danish Olympic dressage rider. Representing Denmark, she competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she finished 26th in the individual and 6th in the team competition.
Hilary "Harry" Fisher Page was an English toy maker and inventor of Self-Locking Building Bricks, the predecessor of Lego bricks. He founded the Kiddicraft toy company.
The Lego Story is a 2012 Danish 3D computer-animated short film directed by Kim Pagel. The 17-minute animation was produced by Kim Pagel and The LEGO Group to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
Lego Produktions AG Schweiz was a major producer in Baar (ZG), Switzerland for the Lego toy company, from 1974 to 2004. At the time its closing was announced in 2001, 30% of the world production of Lego was produced at the Baar facility. The Baar facility eventually closed in 2004 and Lego's remaining Swiss production facilities closed in 2005.
Sofie Kirk Kristiansen is a Danish fourth-generation owner of The Lego Group. Together with her father Kjeld, sister Agnete and brother Thomas, they split ownership of a 75% stake in the company.
