Merkur refers to a metal

construction set A construction set is a standardized piece assortment allowing for the construction of various different models. Construction sets are most often marketed as toys. Popular construction toy brands include Lincoln Logs and ''LEGO''. Toys ...

built in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(later the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). It was also referred to as Constructo or Build-O in English-speaking countries and Tecc in the Netherlands. Unlike

Erector Erector Set (trademark styled as "ERECTOR") was a brand of metal toy construction sets which were originally patented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and first sold by his company, the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1913. ...

Meccano Meccano is a brand of construction set created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nuts and ...

, which was based on Imperial/customary measurements, Merkur used metric. There is 1×1 cm raster of connection holes on building parts, connected by M3.5 screws. The brand was launched in 1920 and ran until 1940 when

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

put a halt to production. It was resumed in 1947. The private company was closed down and its assets nationalised by the Communist Czechoslovak state in 1953. The Merkur toys were made throughout the communist period and were exported all over Europe. The company was privatized by some of the former employees after 1989, but went into insolvency in 1993. Later on, Jaromír Kříž bought out the company and during three years he got back the production and saved this renowned Czech toy.MERKUR Toys homepage
, brief history of the company. In 1961,

Otto Wichterle Otto Wichterle (; 27 October 1913 – 18 August 1998) was a Czech chemist, best known for his invention of modern soft contact lenses. Wichterle was the author or co-author of approximately 180 patents and over 200 publications. The studie ...

used Merkur based apparatus for experimental production of the first soft

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lens (optics), lenses placed directly on the surface of the Human eye, eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct ...

. The factory and Merkur museum are located in

Police nad Metují Police nad Metují (, ) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative div ...

, Czech Republic. Merkur also produces a wide range of toys, including metal

0 scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...

model trains and steam engines.

References

External links

* Construction toys Czechoslovak companies established in 1920 Toy companies of the Czech Republic Czech brands Products introduced in 1920 {{toy-stub