Ole Kirk Christiansen was born 7 Apr 1981 in the village of Filskov, located between the towns of Sonder Omme and Give in Central Jutland. He was one of 10 children of Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine (Andersen) Christiansen.

The phrase “the middle of nowhere” is probably a cliché, but if it applies anywhere it might very well be Central Jutland in the late 1800’s; a region of flat terrain, heather-covered moors (hede), peat bogs (mose), and sandy dunes (sande). (1) (1) Today, with the abundance of high-resolution satellite maps, there really isn’t a “middle of nowhere” anymore. Try this, for example. For over two centuries the Danes have tried, with varying amounts of success, to cultivate the regions’ sandy soil and by the turn of the century the area was primarily pasture for herds of horses, cattle and sheep, as well as hog and dairy farming.

Jens owned a small farm, but it was not enough to provide for his large family; he also had to work as a laborer on the surrounding farms. By all accounts the family grew up in hardship and poverty. The Christiansen children were all expected to help with the farm chores as soon as possible and in one often repeated example Ole was sent out at age six to watch sheep on the moors.

Ole spent two days a week in a local school learning to read and write and would spent the rest of the time working on the farm. At most he would receive a grade school education. He followed the path of most poor rural boys and learned a trade. After his Lutheren confirmation at the age of 14 he was apprenticed to an older brother, Kristian Bonde Christiansen, to learn carpentry and joinery. He spent the next four years studying under his brother and was awarded a journeyman’s certificate on 24 Aug 1911.

Having completed his apprenticeship, and realizing that there was no real work to be had in Filskov, he left to seek his fortunes abroad, He worked in Germany from 1911–1912 and Norway from 1912–1916. It was here in Norway that he met his first wife, Kirstine Sörensen.

Billund

After he had saved up enough money Ole and his new wife returned to Denmark. They settled in Billund, just 30 km southeast of his birthplace in Filskov. In 1916 Ole used his saving to purchase the Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning (The Billund Carpentry Shop and Lumberyard), which had been originally established in 1895.

Life in Billund was much like that in Filskov 20 years earlier. At the time the village was really nothing more than several buildings clustered around the road, and later the railway, between Vejle and Grindsted.(2) (2) Billund received it‘s first telephone in 1902. The railway station was built in 1914 and the first electric generator was built in 1917. By 1930 the official population was 1,046. One writer described the village in the early 1920’s as “A God-forsaken railway stopping-point where nothing could possibly thrive.” Life was difficult for the farmers and, perhaps, even more for the tradesman and craftsman who supported them.

Ole and Kirstine quickly started their own family: Johannes was born in 1917, Karl Georg in 1919, Godtfred on 8 July 1920 and Gerhardt in 1926.

Ole would spend the spring and summer working on any construction or home repair jobs he could find. In the winter he would make furniture and stock up on doors and windows. He started with small jobs and, as the community slowly began to grow and his reputation for honest, quality work spread, he began to be awarded larger projects. An early commission around 1918 for a church hall in Almstok was followed by diaries in Billund and Randbøl and a church in Skjoldborg. But throughout the 1920’s Ole’s business was a struggle. Even in the best of times the regions’ farmers were cash-strapped and Ole was often on the verge of bankruptcy.

The First Fire

In 1924. On a Sunday afternoon, while their parents were sleeping, Karl Georg (then 5 years old) and Godtfred (4) were playing in the shop and set fire to some wood shavings with a glue smelter. The shop and the Kirk Christiansen house burned to the ground. Undaunted, Ole had an architect draw up plans and built a new, larger building. The new building was much larger than he could afford. Ole and his family lived in a single apartment next to the shop in the back and rented the other rooms out. The new building, which would be known for its large dormer and two lions flanking the front door, is now part of the Lego Group and is one of only a few of Ole’s buildings that still exist.

What carried Ole though these difficult circumstances was his faith in God. The Kirk Christiansen family were devout followers of Indre Mission, an evangelical offshoot of the Danish Lutheran Church,. As Godtfred recounted in a 1982 interview:

(3) Hansen, Willy Horn. 50 Years of Play. Trans. Charles Napier. Billund: Lego System A/S, 1982. “I am convinced that father’s faith in God, which was evident in everything he did, helped carry him through his grief and the difficulties that followed... His faith made him a active man. It gave him the courage and solace that enabled him to take on new responsibilities - and the strength to see a job through despite hardship.” (3)

It was the combination of the hardships of farm life and his devout religious faith that would help shape Ole’s character. As Ole himself states in his most famous quote:

“Life is a gift, but it’s more than just that. Life is a challenge.”