Main track

Brio, from Osby in Scania, is probably the toy company that has had the greatest impact on Swedish children's play in the 20th century. Brio's best-known toy and greatest success is the small miniature trains on rails. The rails that are connected together can be used to build train tracks of any size, and tens of millions of train sets have been sold worldwide.

The founder of Brio, Ivar Bengtsson, was born in 1860 and began selling baskets and wooden products to boat builders as a young man. He showed an early sense of business and he and his brother became well-known for their fine products. In 1884 he moved to Osby and later formed the company Bröderna Ivarsson Osby. They began importing toys from world-leading Germany. Their first Swedish-made wooden toy was the legendary "Osby horse", originally a product created by woodcarver Thomas Johansson. The horse became a bestseller and is available in many different variants and sizes, with and without wheels.

In 1914, the first own store was opened in Osby, selling toys, clothes and other things for the home. At this time, they were also printing catalogues showing the products. They mainly imported German toys, but there were also Swedish wooden toys and games. As Swedish society modernised, a large number of car and train models were introduced into Brio's range. Brio's wooden toys were marketed as sustainable quality products. Brio's wooden toys were marketed as sustainable quality products, unlike fragile German tin toys. At this time, they also began to put their Brio logo on the toys. During the war years, almost all imports ceased and the company's own wooden toys became an increasingly important product. Around 1950, several changes and modernisations were made in the company and they also became a retailer for major American brands, including Mattel, which created the Barbie doll.

In addition to the popular trains, Brio has had many other major export successes. For example, the wooden clown made of turned multi-colored wooden rings and the so-called Labyrinth game. It was originally designed by Sven Bergling in the 1940s and is intended to develop the motor skills of children and adults. Among the classic wooden toys from the 1940s and 1950s is also the Volvo PV 444, which was made in both wood and sheet metal.

The Stockholm Toy Museum's collections contain hundreds of toys from both Brio's own production and their Swedish subcontractors. In the royal toys stand further into the Stockholm Toy Museum, you can see several different Brio toys that our current king has played with.

During the 1990s, Brio had financial problems and gradually all toy manufacturing in Sweden was discontinued. Some manufacturing moved to China and today the company is owned by the large German game manufacturer Ravensburger.

In addition to the popular trains, Brio has had many other major export successes.