Czechs build world's tallest Lego tower

Prague, Sept 8 (CTK) - A many-coloured tower from Lego bricks, with its 32 metres the tallest in the world, was built in the Prague Pankrac neighbourhood Saturday.

The constructions was started on Thursday by Lego fans who thus paid respect to the 80th anniversary of the manufacturer of the toy.

The last brick was laid on top of the tower by London Olympic rowing winner Miroslava Knapkova.

Supervisors from Denmark measured the height of the tower.

"I used to play with Lego as a small girl, when my father brought it home from abroad for me," Knapkova told CTK.

The area outside a department store in Pankrac was filled with hundreds of children.

In all, about half a million bricks were needed for the project. Now the tower measures 32.5 metres, outstripping by 30 centimetres a similar construction in Britain.

The building of Lego towers has a tradition in the world. The first was built in London in 1988, measuring 15.2 metres.

Since then, the record has been surpassed over 30 times. The tallest have been built in Toronto, Windsor, Vienna, Munich, Oslo, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paul, Billund, Paris and Seoul.

Lego was established by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932.

The firm's seat is in Billund, Denmark, and its products are being sold in over 130 countries, including the Czech Republic in which it has one of its branches.