Billund, Denmark

Billund has long been part of the parish of Grene Kirke ("Grove Church") whose original Romanesque building was first mentioned in 1291. The town's name was first mentioned as "Byllundt" in 1454 and as "Billund" in 1510.

In 1880, the town's first windmill was built on the road between Vejle and Varde. In 1895, the mill burned to the ground but was rebuilt in 1897, this time in the style of Dutch windmills. That same year, a railway was built from Vejle to Billund, and the route was later extended to Grindsted in 1914.

Family home of Ole Kirk Christiansen on Hovedgaden[5]

In 1916, Ole Kirk Christiansen, who later founded The Lego Group, bought a Billund furniture company that was founded in 1895.[6] He invested in the town, creating a new dairy and the Skjoldbjerg church a few miles south of town. In 1930, Kirk Christiansen began producing utility items such as ironing boards, stepladders and miniature toys. His first toys were created from scraps from the production of his other goods but his true toy production started in 1932. In 1934, the toy factory was named "Lego."

In the late 1930s Billund experienced growth due to the factories and began to build waterworks, a gymnasium, and the town hall, though the local power station was closed and relocated.

In 1942, during the Nazi German occupation of Denmark in World War II, the old Lego factory was destroyed by fire, but a new one was immediately erected.[6] In 1946, the railway track from Grindsted was extended to the Lego factory. Plastic Lego Bricks were first released from the factory in 1949.

The 1950s brought a recession to Billund with the closing of the railroad. In response to the growing poverty, the Billund Housing Association was founded and created affordable housing as well as a retirement home. Lego created a large park north of town with a playground, outdoor scene, toboggan hill and a man-made lake in 1959. In 1964 the Billund Airport was inaugurated, first as the Lego Group's private airport, and was later opened for other uses.

The main entrance of Legoland Billund in 1968

Legoland Billund opened on 7 June 1968 and received 3,000 visitors on its opening day and 625,000 in its first year. It was the only Legoland until 1996, when other Legoland theme parks were built in Carlsbad, California, and Günzburg, Germany. Billund again began to experience growth.[7]

In 2010, a partnership of organisations that began with the Lego Foundation and the municipal government founded the Capital of Children, which provides opportunities for children to participate in community projects and holds an annual Children's General Assembly. In 2020, Billund was the first town in Denmark to be designated as a UNICEF Child Friendly City, which demonstrates a commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[8]

Billund is located approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Grindsted, 56 kilometers (35 miles) from Esbjerg, and 27 kilometers (17 miles) from The Regional Capital of Vejle.

As of August 2022, Billund had 6742 residents. The town has experienced growth due to recent rapid development. Billund Municipality grew to 27,016 in the same month, which was an increase from 26,133 recorded in 2007.[9]

In the beginning of the 1930s Billund was still a small village with only 300 residents. In the 1950s the village reached 500 residents and after this time that number increased rapidly. After only 20 years, in 1970, this number quadrupled to 2,065 residents. Population growth exploded because of Lego's rapid expansion in the mid-1960s.

The town's demographics are characterized by many families with children; approximately 27.3% of the households in the town consist of couples with children. This is somewhat above the average for the region. The residents in the town mostly live in family houses.

Billund is served by Billund Airport, which is the second largest airport in Denmark after Copenhagen.[10] It began as a strip of land purchased by the Lego Group in 1962. The company built a private airfield with the aim to reach international customers more easily. In 1964, the ownership of the airfield was transferred to Billund Airport A.m.b.A.[11] When it opened to the public in 1964, it comprised an old hangar, a runway of 1,660 metres in length and a single control tower. In its early years, the airport served approximately 4,000 passengers with only two domestic departures per day. Since then, Billund Airport has experienced major growth and now serves as West Denmark's international airport with many flights to countries across the world. The 40,000 sq m passenger terminal has the capacity to serve 3.5 million passengers per year and the 35,000 cargo centre can handle 100,000 tonnes of goods per year.[12] In 2022, 3,712,400 passengers passed through Billund Airport and 76,874 tons of air cargo were transported through the airport.[13]

The International School of Billund located on Skolevej opened in 2013 with 60 students. Over the next ten years, the school expanded and in 2023 provided classes for 450 students.[14]

Grene Church is located near to Billund on Kirkevej.[15] It is the main church in Grene parish, which has one parish council.[16] It was built in 1891 to replace an earlier church using some of the remaining features, such as the bell, font and pulpit. Prior to its construction, the parish priest had worked to have the previous church that was situated in the south-west corner of the parish demolished. Construction began on 1 July 1891 and the church was completed in the summer of 1892. In 1991, the church was renovated and a new bell tower was added. An organ was also donated to the church by the Christiansen family.[17][18]

Billund Church is part of the Billund Centre and a branch church of Grene Parish. It was conceived by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, who wanted to fulfil his father's wish to build a church in the town centre. In 1969, the Kirk Christiansen family, Ole Kirk's foundation and the municipality planned the centre, which comprises other facilities, including a library, leisure centre, theatre and cafeteria. The church was built from 1971 and inaugurated on 15 April 1973. It features a church hall, adjoining congregation hall and a 17 metre high bell tower. In 1991, it was expanded to include a choir rehearsal room, meeting rooms and offices.[16]

• Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (1920 in Billund – 1995) the managing director of The Lego Group from 1957 to 1979[19]
• Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (born 1947 in Billund) the former president and CEO of The Lego Group (1979–2004) and the third richest Dane, with a net worth of $4.7 billion as of February 2020.[20][21]
• Line Bonde (born c.1979) a Danish fighter pilot, brought up in Billund. In July 2006, aged 27, she became the first female Danish fighter pilot, flying an F-16 jet fighter

• Lego Ideas House - a private museum owned by The Lego Group. It comprises three buildings that have historical significance: The first building is the former family home of Ole Kirk Christiansen, which was built in 1924. The second building is the System House, which is the site of the first Lego headquarters and was built in the late 1950s. The third building is the old woodworking factory, which was built in 1942.[22]
• Lego Campus - the 54,000 sq ft headquarters of The Lego Group, which was constructed by C. F. Møller Architects. It took five years to design and build and was completed in 2022. It was designed to be a flexible working environment for the company's employees and their families.[23]

Billund Trotting Track provided equestrian sport for 50 years in Billund. In January 2021, the racetrack was purchased by KIRKBI A/S, the majority owner of Lego. The track was closed and the Sydjysk Equestrian Association planned to establish a new arena for equestrian sports.[29] In place of the track, a 200,000 m2 urban district, Billund Travbyen was planned for construction starting in 2024.[30]

Legoland Billund viewed from the tower

Billund is a popular tourist destination for families. Many of the town's attractions are connected by a Playline trail.[31] Legoland Billund draws 2 million tourists per year to Billund.[32]

Lego House, an experience centre in Billund

Another visitor attraction, Lego House opened in September 2017. It was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group to have the appearance of a stack of Lego bricks and features restaurants, play zones and a public square.[33]

Billund is also the location of Lalandia, the largest water park in Scandinavia. It is situated close to Legoland and includes a tropical water park named the Aquadome and other leisure activities, such as bowling, ice skating and mini golf. In the centre of town a Teddy Bear Art Museum is also open to visitors and is located in the former home of Godtfred Kirk Christiansen.[34]

A children's adventure park named WOW Park is situated ten minutes from Billund. It provides a tree-top adventure experience set within a forest.[35] Other attractions include the Vandel Museum.

• Weather forecast Billund, Denmark weather-atlas.com

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Billund.

• Billund travel guide from Wikivoyage