11 years of the Brick Museum in Karpacz

6 January 2015 — the day it all began

That morning we opened in Karpacz the doors to a place that had not existed in Poland before — the first permanent museum dedicated to models built from bricks. We had a fraction of what's here today. What we did have is something that's stayed with us ever since: the idea that bricks don't have to sit behind glass. That they should move, light up, make noise — and that we, the visitors, are the ones who set them off.

After eleven years we can say one thing: nothing here happened by accident. Every model, every button, every joystick — it's a decision Magda and I made together, sometimes after long discussions, sometimes with a child-like "let's try".

Where did the idea for a brick museum come from?

Bricks were almost always part of my childhood. My parents — even though money at home was always tight — managed every now and then to buy some new, wonderful set. Thanks to them I got to know that whole world: figures, instructions, and above all catalogues.

I went through those catalogues endlessly. It wasn't even about individual sets — it was about scenes and models that showed bricks in action: cities, castles, ships, space stations. They were what pulled me in. Decades later, that's where the idea came from to build a place in Karpacz where such scenes really come to life.

The first model nobody believed in

From the opening in January 2015 the thing I remember best is the pirate battle. I designed a crazy eccentric mechanism for it — one that was supposed to rock the ships and move the scenery in a way that to everyone around seemed a bit… reckless. The whole team kept saying it wouldn't work. That it'd fall apart in a week. That we needed something simpler.

It worked. And it worked for eleven years. We recently dismantled that model — with huge sentiment, because it had been with us from day one. In its place there's now a new version, with a mechanism our team built in our model workshop, using 3D printing technology. A different era, different tools. Same idea as in 2015: surprise the visitor with something they only see once in their life.

The hard years and what fuelled us

I won't hide it: the beginnings were sometimes hard. Our whole journey through these eleven years has at times been a slightly medieval fight — with dragons, trolls, black knights and plenty of things we didn't yet know how to do. But every time we ran out of steam, the same thing happened: someone walked out of our place smiling. They left a note in the guestbook, a Google review, said "thank you" at the cash desk.

That was — and is — our fuel. Without those people there wouldn't have been a second, a tenth or an eleventh year.

Favourite models. Each of us has a different one

After eleven years it should be a simple question: which corner of the museum do I love most? And it turns out each of the three of us picks something different.

My pick: the 80s and 90s zone

It's not our most elaborate scene. You could say it's absolutely simple. But every time I pass by, sentiment holds me there for a moment. Those colours, those sets, that vibe from the times when I was first laying out my own cities — that's my place in our museum.

Magda: Mars

Magda always points visitors to Mars. It's a slice of a sphere built in modelling technique, suspended from the ceiling, with a Martian rover from the Technic series. Few people spot it at first glance, even though it's a really large object — and that's exactly what charms her. A reward for those who look carefully.

Maja, our daughter: the LEGO City party

Our daughter Maja chose her favourite model herself, a long time ago. It's a party scene built from LEGO City — one of our first models, from the days when she was still a toddler. Today she's much older and that model is still standing there. There's something to that.

What's changed in 11 years?

The most has changed… behind the scenes. We bet maximally on development. We built our own model workshop, where something new is constantly being made. Thanks to it, we can not only improve existing models but also invent constructions you won't buy in any shop.

We're constantly improving, replacing, adding. We do it for a simple reason: we want our visitor's next visit — even one who was here three years ago — to be a small surprise to them. For something to make them laugh, something to stop them, something new to come alive in their hands.

And us? We're still cheerful

After eleven years, we're still cheerful and still want to build crazier and crazier projects. Sometimes a model needs two weeks of programming before it reacts to a button. Sometimes you have to take something apart and build it again. This is the fun we started in 2015 — and we don't intend to outgrow it.

If you haven't been with us yet, drop in someday. Check the pricing or see photos of what we have now. And if you've been before — come back. We've probably built something that wasn't here last time.

— Bartek and Magda