Marcel Burger - Third time's the charm

Nyhavn historic harbour of Copenhagen, in bricks.

The land where everyone is awesome, where you neither need a passport nor a visa to enter, and where one feels big in a small world made of 20 million tiny bricks. Welcome to Miniland in Legoland, Denmark, where famous scenes of European cities and landscapes have been recreated on a small scale.

Legoland as a nation

As a "nation" Legoland was founded in 1968, with Lego CEO Godtfred Kirk Christiansen as its acting governor and Arnold Boutrup as its "national" architect. Boutrop was the chief designer of Lego's embassy in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Like Vatican City and San Marino, Legoland is landlocked within another nation, with Danish being the official language and English probably the most common every day language. Legoland has fully adopted the currency of its big neighbour, the Danish krone, and even acknowledges the Danish king and queen as their heads of state. Copies of the royals' homes are actually among the biggest creations of Legoland.

The Danish Royal Palace of Fredensborg, made in bricks.

The Danish Royal Residence of Amalienborg, Copenhagen, recreated in bricks.

Tourism, but inhabitants have other businesses

Right from the beginning, tourism has been the main source of income for Legoland, attracting 625,000 visitors in the first year - more than double the estimate. This despite the fact that many of Legoland's inhabitants have other businesses. With which they seem to be very busy, while many are taking their job at such a slow speed that it seems they have become static. But as with Lego creations sold abroad, all you need is a little bit of imagination and magic scenes unfold themselves in front of your eyes.

Tourist big and small flock Legoland every year in masses.

Legoland has its own international airport, with about three flights making their way to/from the gates several times an hour. However, many of the visiting tourists of Legoland use the adjacent Billund airport. The latter is with up to 140 flights a day the second busiest of Denmark and when the wind comes from the east, the big aircraft can be seen landing from various parts of Legoland.

Growing to 1.6 million tourist annually, Legoland has become the biggest tourist magnet in the Danish commonwealth after Copenhagen. The Legoland inhabitants have been witnessing the establishment of about a dozen neighbouring lands: Pirate Land, Adventure Land, Polar Land, Ninjago World, Legoredo Town, Knight's Kingdom, Movie World, Duplo Land, Atlantis, and even a holy shrine for Peppa Pig. In those outlands, the core Legoland is often referred to as Miniland. But like with the magic world of Narnia, those who find the right entrance will have a wonderful time in where it all began.

Getting acquainted with the Legolanders

After waiting for many, many decades, I finally made it to Legoland in May 2024. Getting acquainted with its inhabitants, I took the time to see their lives, catching the sights and scenes as much in detail as I could. Parts of Legoland feel very much like home. With this series, I offer you a glimpse into the lives of the original Legoland. Society might have evolved here too, but like in the beginning stages everyone is a model in Legoland, and everyone is awesome.

The harbour area

Apart from its sizeable airport, Legoland has a relatively huge harbour as well with a lot of ongoing activity like firefighting and handling of goods. Here, some Legolanders are more busy than others.

Relaxed fishermen with a giant cruise ship as their backdrop.

The Netherlands, in bricks

A large chunk of the original Legoland is a tribute to the Netherlands, focused on Amsterdam and the more open spaces of Holland. Word has it that the Legoland inhabitants did not see much of the other provinces of the low countries when they rebuilt what they liked.

Denmark, in bricks

For the Denmark part of Legoland, there are many famous buildings from across the country, but most Legolanders in this district live in a recreated Copenhagen around Nyhavn harbour.

Norway, in bricks

Legoland's Norway has one fantastic mountain, where you can join the climbers and discover the moose. But one needs good light to catch it all. At the foot of the mountain, picturesque scenes at the waterfront are waiting. The centrepiece is a giant offshore oil or gas rig, with both a crew transport and a Seaking search-and-rescue helicopter going about their businesses.

Sweden, in bricks

The Gothia Canal (Göta Kanal) is the centrepiece of Legoland's Sweden. Stretching in real life from a little south of Stockholm to near Göteborg and connecting man-made waterways with natural water bodies, it is Sweden's biggest historic engineering achievement. In Legoland one can catch all in a few human steps.

Scotland, in bricks

Some of the Legolanders have settled in a tiny recreation of Scotland. It features an impressive waterfall and a cute harbour town.

The Outer Lands

Beyond the core Legoland are the outer lands, where many of the true Legolanders are dwarfed by giant construction, roller coasters, human-size pirates and more. I also went to see those lands, and will add more collected evidence from Legoland and its outer lands soon to this album.

The Taj Mahal in bricks

Lady Liberty in bricks

Atlantis in bricks

Mount Rushmore, with the four presidents of the United States, in bricks.

The Lego House

About 15 to 20 minutes walk from Legoland, in the centre of Billund, the Lego House can be found. Designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group, the 12,000 square metre building of 21 supersized Lego bricks opened in September 2017. This "Home of the Brick" is a giant playground, where one can build, test and do loads of cool stuff with the real Lego bricks, for hours in a row. As a source of inspiration, Lego worlds have been built, with loads of little gems to discover in them. Down in the basement is the Lego heritage, where you can maybe spot your old sets as well. Although it can be hard to get the right light, here are a few scenes from inside the Lego House.