The Famous Szekler Gate Finds Its Way to LEGO’s Production Line

A LEGO building set could be created based on the Hungaricum, the Szekler Gate (Székelykapu), if 10,000 votes are collected, writes Hirado.hu. A young man born in Transylvania, Romania but currently living in Budapest, using the LEGO Ideas platform, has designed, created, and registered his idea, and if it meets all the criteria, the toy company will market the Szekler Gate building set.

Anyone can register their idea for a building set on the Lego Ideas platform of the world-renowned toy maker, and if it meets the rules and receives the required number of votes – 10,000 – the Danish company will be able to produce and market it. This is the opportunity that Koppány Kerestély, who was born in Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy, Romaina) but now lives in Budapest.  He dared to dream big when he used LEGO elements to design the recently Hungaricum-listed Szekler Gate. He said that

he currently has more than 3,000 votes, and his ambition is to reach 5,000 by the end of the year.

A fan of mountains, streams, and pine forests, Koppány paid homage to them by building his miniature Szekler Gate from nearly a thousand blocks, making sure that each element carried a meaning.

He drew inspiration from the decoration and motifs of the Szekler Gate of Satu Mare (Maréfálva) in Szeklerland, but his design and execution were aimed at creating a Szekler Gate that everyone could feel like their own.

“I loved LEGO as a child, I had several sets. Even though I was still following the instructions, I liked to create something new with the blocks I already had. And it was possible to make LEGO a hobby not just for children, but also for adults, as thousands of sets are now available, such as the Titanic and the Ford Mustang,” he said. He stressed that

he wanted to be the first to come up with an idea that represented the whole Hungarian culture.

For him, the greatest prize is to make the Szekler Gate, a true heritage of Hungary and Hungarians, known worldwide.

According to Lego Ideas rules, the design must receive at least 100 votes within 60 days of registration to remain on the site. In the next one year, at least 1,000 votes must be collected, in another six months 5,000, and in another six months the number of votes must reach 10,000 to put the Szekler Gate made of Lego blocks on the shelves of shops.

So far, Koppány’s plan has reached two milestones: one day after registration it reached 100 votes, and in the three weeks that followed, thousands more voted for the idea.

Via hirado.hu, Featured image via Facebook/Koppány Kerestély