LEGO Mursten Town Plan Sets, produced in the early 1950s, were among the first themed sets released by the LEGO Group. These sets included the simple, hollow rectangular bricks of the LEGO Mursten era and allowed builders to create basic models of buildings and town layouts. One of the notable sets was the Town Plan No. 1 (set number 700/1), introduced in 1955, which included elements to build a small town, such as houses, a service station, and road signs. These sets were precursors to the more sophisticated town and city themes that LEGO would develop in later years, paving the way for the extensive LEGO City theme.
1956 LEGO Sets
1956 was another important milestone year for the LEGO Group. In this year LEGO began its expansion into various neighboring European markets including Germany and LEGO opened its first foreign sales company in Hohenwestedt, Germany. As LEGO began to expand sales they also simplified the Mursten theme. Since 1954 LEGO had sold both the old panel-like windows and doors and the new window system that relied on the studs for attachment. In 1956 the old windows were dropped. The slotted bricks were now obsolete and were replaced with a new solid wall design, the first change to the brick since 1949. This new, simplified system would be the only toy offered in new foreign markets.