The history of the Wooden Toy Museum begins with the trade fair that took place in our town more than three hundred years ago. It was an important event  — peasants, craftsmen, and merchants came here to sell and buy goods and to make arrangements for further cooperation. There was timber and iron, grain and flour, meat and honey, cows, hens and ducks for sale and barter. As the town was famous for its toy making tradition the local craftsmen took advantage of the event too and demonstrated their crafts to visitors from neighbouring towns and villages. Hundreds of carved wooden dolls, birds, animals, clowns and other toys were displayed on large stalls. Some of them were painted and some were not but they looked attractive either way.

A rich merchant happened to visit the fair. He was accompanied by his family. To keep the children occupied while the father was busy on business, he let them go to see the toys and promised to buy one toy for each of the four children. It was a hard choice for the children to make  — there were plenty of toys. How could they find the best one? The youngest daughter, who was only four, didn't hesitate. She was determined to get the wonderful dolls' house she saw on one of the stalls. It was a real wonder  — the door and the windows were decorated with wooden fretwork, the house had a porch and a chimney, and there was furniture inside! The little girl couldn't take her eyes off it and desperately looked forward to the moment when her father finished his business and bought it for her. The business however kept the man busy till very late at night and when he came, the children had been put to bed. They were promised that their father would buy the toys the next morning but he never did.

The weather turned windy that night. The dry wind picked up the sparks from the cooking fires and in seconds the whole fair was on fire. Everyone rushed to rescue their goods, but the wooden toys had no chance of surviving.

When the little daughter of the merchant found out that the fantastic doll house had been burnt, she kept very quiet and was unhappy for several days. It felt to her as if a real house had been destroyed. The merchant loved his daughter very much and to console her he promised to make a real house exactly like the lost one. The house would be full of different toys which the local craftsmen would exhibit there not only during the fair but all year round.

And such a house was built. It's certainly not the building that houses the toy collections now  — the original construction was destroyed long ago and several new versions have been constructed at the same location since then. Now its a fairly large brick house, much more fire-resistant than its predecessors.

To tell the truth, there's no solid evidence that the story about the merchant's daughter is real. Historians say that it's no more than a legend but the locals insist it is true. Who is right and who is wrong? It doesn't matter much as long as the Wooden Toy Museum exists and gives joy to children and grown-up visitors.