10 things to know about the LEGO® Icons Medieval Town Square

The medieval era holds a fascination for lots of people and continues to be explored on TV and in film, video games and, of course, LEGO® sets.

So, it is with a big huzzah that we’re heading back in time (again) as we launch our brand-new LEGO Icons Medieval Town Square, a set filled with stories, characters and fascinating details.

But before you begin your next medieval quest, we chatted to set designer Henrik Rubin Saaby, an expert designer with over 20 years’ experience, about the most important things you need to know about this set.

It’s lovingly based on a fan-favorite LEGO set from 2009

The LEGO Medieval Market Village set from 2009 was the main inspiration, but Henrik and his colleagues were always clear that they wanted to do something completely new and exciting to elevate the original.

The design team researched actual medieval villages for inspiration

With so much history to choose from, we had to ask Henrik where the design team started. “I started by looking into what kind of workshops and buildings would have been in an actual medieval village,” says Henrik.

It features five different buildings – each with their own unique function

The research process led to the selection of some buildings and workshops that haven’t featured in LEGO sets before and, most importantly, that offer the possibility of interesting stories. The 3,304-piece LEGO Icons Medieval Town Square includes the old farmhouse, cheese factory, inn, shieldsmith’s workshop and the watchtower.

It is a fully modular display

Desiring to push into new ground, Henrik and his colleagues arrived at a new way of structuring the set that allows you to choose your own village layout.

“I had an idea that I wanted to do something we haven’t done before,” Henrik continues. “But I also wanted to have a medieval kind of narrow street, where the houses are not in a line but at an angle.”

Henrik and his team found that the best way to recreate a winding and narrow medieval road was to create a set that was almost like one of our LEGO Modular sets.

It can be built alone or as a group

So that you can share the fun, each building also has its own set of instructions so that they can be built solo or with friends or family – whatever you prefer.

You can even expand your medieval world by combining this set with the LEGO Icons Lion Knights’ Castle. This set was released in 2023 and reimagines the classic LEGO Castle theme. So, if you fancy adding royalty and knights to your display, this is a great choice.

Want more? Check out these vintage LEGO sets from the 80s and 90s (including the first ever LEGO Castle set)...

It comes with eight minifigures who play a variety of roles

The eight minifigures that call this village home include an innkeeper, crook, carpenter, tax collector, tapestry weaver, shieldsmith and tower guard. When we asked Henrik which job he’d take if he lived in the village, he didn’t take long to answer: “The innkeeper!”

The designer wrote a detailed backstory for each character

Henrik wanted to make this village feel lived in, and so he had to get to know the people who lived there. “When I’m doing a set where there are characters, I usually do a background story for each character,” says Henrik. “I ask, what kind of life do they have? What is their name? What job do they do? How do they link together with other characters? And so on. For this set, I wrote a small story for each of the eight characters and then when I have that, it’s easier to design.”

It’s packed with secrets, Easter eggs and hidden references

We won’t spoil the fun by naming them all, but you can expect hidden compartments, artistic recreations of existing sets and heraldry from previous Castle sets.

It sees the return of a very special animal

Depending on your level of LEGO fandom, you may or may not know of the famous and elusive LEGO goat. Making its first (and only) appearance in 2011’s Mill Village Raid set, this humble creature has gone on to become the jewel in many a collector’s crown.

Well, we have glad tidings… the goat is back!

Whether it’s gently grazing beneath one of the trees or producing milk for the cheese factory, the beloved goat makes a welcome return in the LEGO Icons Medieval Town Square in a new color.

This set continues a legacy that stretches way back to 1978

Castle was one of the first themes ever released and has been a fan-favorite ever since with new sets appearing almost every decade. This Medieval Town Square proudly joins this tradition and is sure to delight long-time lovers of the Castle theme – or those looking for something new.