Billund, Denmark

Billund is a town in Jutland, Denmark. With a population of 7,484, Billund is the second largest town in Billund Municipality, behind the municipal seat of Grindsted. It is located approximately 13 km east of Grindsted and 27 km west of Vejle.

Billund is the home of the Lego Group's 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 Resort, which opened in 1968 and attracts two million tourists per year. Other tourist attractions include Lalandia, the largest water park in Scandinavia, Wow Park, an outdoors park featuring Denmark's longest freefall slide, 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.[2]

Demographics

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.[12]

In the Middle Ages, the region was sparsely populated and centred around five or six parish churches that were built in the 12th century. There was no significant development in the population until towards the end of the Middle Ages. Near the end of the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th century, several small settlements appeared across the municipality, including Billund.[13]

A period of population growth in the 16th century was followed by stagnation in the 17th century, due to wars and epidemics during this period. By 1700, the population began to grow once more, so that by the time of the census of 1787, there were 1,686 people living in the municipal area consisting of five parishes. By 1850, the municipal population had increased to 2,721.[14]

From 1850 the municipality experienced strong population growth. The number of inhabitants rose from 2,721 to 3,816 in 1870. The population continued to rise to 5,350 in 1890 and 7,929 in 1916. In 1850, Grindsted was the largest town with 42 inhabitants, while Billund only consisted of a number of farms.[15]

Between 1920 and 1970, the population of Billund Municipality doubled from 9,912 inhabitants in 1921 to 12,835 in 1940 and 20,030 in 1965. Driven by strong growth in industry, the population of Grene Parish, including Billund, rose from 994 in 1925 to 2,699 in 1970.[16] In 1930, Billund was still a small village with only 249 residents. In 1950, the population of the village reached 418 residents and after this time that number increased rapidly.[3]

Population growth exploded due to The Lego Group's rapid expansion in the mid-1960s. By 1970, Billund Municipality had 21,073 residents. This rose to 24,915 in 1990 and 26,076 in 2005. Billund's population also increased from 2,015 in 1970 to 6,034 in 2007. In 2007, the number of commuters was approximately 5,000 as there were twice as many jobs in the town than the local population could fill. This growth was driven by Lego, Legoland and Billund Airport.[17]

type	Town
pushpin map	Denmark#Denmark Region of Southern Denmark
pushpin map caption	Location in Denmark
coordinates	55.73083°N, 9.11528°W
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name	Denmark
subdivision type1	Region
subdivision name1	Southern Denmark
subdivision type2	Municipality
subdivision name2	Billund
established title	Founded
established date	17th century
postal code type	Postal code
postal code	DK-7190 Billund
population urban	7484
population as of	2025
area urban km2	8.6
population density urban km2	auto
population blank1 title	Gender‡R1R‡
population blank1	3,737 males; 3,747 females
timezone1	CET
utc offset1	+1
timezone1 dst	CEST
utc offset1 dst	+2

History

Geography

Demographics

Economy

Transport

Air

Rail

Education

Religion

Culture

Art and sculpture

Libraries and cultural facilities

Sport and leisure

Tourism

Places of interest

Notable people

External links

References