Billund () is a town in Jutland, Denmark. With a population of 7,049 (1. January 2023), Billund is the second largest town in Billund Municipality, behind the municipal seat of Grindsted. It is located approximately east of Grindsted and west of Vejle.
Billund is the home of the Lego Group head office. The town's economy developed from the 1930s when the Lego factory was established. In the 1960s, Billund grew rapidly, driven by the success of the company and the opening of Billund Airport, which is the second largest airport in Denmark.
Located in the town is the first Legoland theme park, Legoland Billund, which opened in 1968 and attracts two million tourists per year. Other tourist attractions include Lalandia, the largest water park in Scandinavia, and an experience centre named Lego House.
History
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 later as "Billund" in 1510 and "Billundt" in 1610. The name combines the words bee and grove, meaning a grove with bees.
In the mid-19th century, Billund consisted of just eight farms. One building incorporated an inn and a grocery store. By 1875, a blacksmith had been introduced. The town continued to develop with the establishment of a cooperative dairy in 1888 and a utility association in 1894.
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.
In the early 20th century, the town's infrastructure was further developed with the establishment of a telephone line from Vejle in 1902 and an electricity plant in 1917. A road was built through the town and a railway line was built from Vejle to Billund and later extended to Grindsted in 1914.
In 1916, Ole Kirk Christiansen, who later founded The Lego Group, bought Billund Machine Joinery and Carpentry Business from master carpenter Steffen Pedersen, who had originally founded it in 1895. The business constructed houses during the summer and produced furniture in the winter. He invested in the town, creating a new dairy and the Skjoldbjerg church a few miles south of town.
In 1924, after his house and workshop burned down, Kirk Christiansen built a house at Hovedgaden in Billund with two stone lions placed at the entrance. Due to the impact of the Great Depression, people in the town were unable to afford to build houses, so in 1932, he began producing utility items such as ironing boards, stepladders and miniature toys. The toys became the main product of the business and in 1934, he named the toy factory "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. In 1946, the railway track from Grindsted was extended to the Lego factory. In the same year, the Lego company purchased a plastic moulding machine from an English company. Plastic Lego bricks were first released from the factory in 1949 and near the end of the 1950s wooden toys had fallen out of favour.
The 1950s saw a continued growth in the town's population, which had risen from 249 residents in 1930 to 418 by 1950. This growth resulted in further expansion of the town with the construction of detached houses. In addition, Billund Housing Association was founded and, in 1953, created the first affordable housing on Ole Kirks Vej and Tværvej. In 1957, the railway station was closed.
In 1961, the old village school was expanded by joining it with a modern school building to form Billund School. In 1964, Billund Airport was inaugurated and opened to the public. It had been originally built as a private airfield by Lego.
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. The Esso Motor Hotel, which is now the Legoland Hotel, was designed by Ole Hagens Tegnestue and built in 1968.
Between 1970 and 2006, Billund's population rose sharply to 6,020, driven by production at the Lego factories and offices and by the increasing number of tourist hotels. Several companies in the aviation industry also opened.