The Limburger, February 23, 2025. By Rob Stikkelbroeck Photos © Ermindo Armino and screenshots. Translated by Ineke/John Even André Rieu can enjoy a LEGO version of the Vrijthof Ten years ago, they started as a small group of friends who shared a hobby of LEGO. Now, ten years later, "Dutchbricks" has grown into a large club with 150 members. They will celebrate their 10th anniversary with a big two-day Lego event (Bricktopia World) at the MECC on 17 and 18 May 2025. With the biggest LEGO event in the MECC coming up, members of Dutchbricks are currently building a brick version of the Vrijthof. True to scale, where even André Rieu is not missing. On Sunday, the builders came together in Munstergeleen (City in Limburg). There is not a lot of conversation going on in the hall of the community center in Munstergeleen. Here are grown men playing with LEGO's. That is not meant to be derogatory at all. Slowly but surely, on a scale of 1:40, the stately buildings of the Vrijthof in Maastricht are emerging. The square itself is filled with 3200 yellow-headed figures with their characteristic smiles. Spectators of an André Rieu concert. "If you're going to do it, then do it right", is what the members of Dutchbricks are thinking. LEGO builders from the Western Mining District, are building the Vrijthof Those members, of which there are now about 150 of them. The association of Lego builders has experienced considerable growth in recent years under chairman Patrick de Klerk. The Danish building blocks are extremely popular and have in fact been rediscovered by the generation that played with them as children. "The possibilities are now endless," says De Klerk. "Every detail is available or can be built." 160,000 LEGO bricks Since 2022, Dutchbricks has also been officially recognized by LEGO, which offers its members some advantages. Towards its tenth anniversary, the association wanted to organize a major event. On May 17 and 18 Bricktopia World will take place in the MECC in Maastricht. "We wanted to go all out for that, and then you immediately think of the Vrijthof when you think of Maastricht. A big job with an area of four by five meters. Those bricks, about 160,000 I think, we naturally don't have all those bricks ourselves. That's when the connection with LEGO comes in handy, where we can buy at factory prices." The Vrijthof can be virtually built in LEGO via a computer program. This allows you to determine exactly which bricks you need to recreate the image as truthfully as possible. In September, they started building physically with about fourteen people, mainly from the Western Mining District of Limburg. This happens a lot at the members' homes, but once a month they meet to put everything together. 3200 Spectators for André Rieu The 3200 visitors for the Rieu concert are placed on their chairs on a table. "Of course that could not be missed," says De Klerk. "We also had contact with Pierre Rieu and he thought it was a wonderful project. He is also a big LEGO lover, so we did get that approval from the family."