Jutland
District: Ribe amt
Situation and Importance
The little town of Billund lies in Central Jutland, some 30 km/19mi west of Vejle. It is the headquarters of "LEGO A/S", the factory which produces Lego plastic bricks for children. For some years now Billund has also possessed a further attraction in the shape of a
Transport Museum Center.
"Lego"
"Lego" in Latin means "I read" or "I put together". However, the inventor of the bricks, Ole Kirk Christiansen, did not know that; he composed the name from two Danish words "leg godt" (play well). Like many Danes, Ole Kirk Christiansen found himself unemployed in the 1930s. A cabinet-maker by trade, he had the idea of producing wooden toys which would arouse the imagination of children. The present factory was founded in 1932. It was in the mid-1950s that the firm went over to making plastic bricks which can be locked together to make houses, etc.