If you ever stroll through the city of Hanau, Germany, don’t be surprised if you find teenagers lying on the ground taking selfies in front of ramps. Yes, ramps. But not just any ramps, bright, whimsical, eye-catching creations built entirely out of Lego.
They’re the handiwork of Rita Ebel, the 62-year-old known all over the world as the “Lego Oma” (that’s German for Grandma). With her short blonde pixie cut, sparkling energy, and a Hessian dialect, Rita’s creations aren’t just ramps, they’re statements. “They get the people to actually think about accessibility,” she says. “They stop, take a picture, and start reflecting on the importance of accessibility.”
Rita knows hardship. Twenty-five years ago, she was in a car accident that left her with incomplete paralysis. She can walk short distances with crutches, but mostly uses a wheelchair. She’s also survived cancer, and has been married three times, though she laughs when she talks about her husband of 18 months: “He’s my third husband,” she says with a smile, to which he jokes, “Hopefully the last one.”
But Rita is endlessly optimistic. “There is no situation that is just bad. We all need to find this tiny good part in the negative circumstance ourselves,” she explains. That outlook has powered her Lego mission.
It all began when Rita learned about Lego ramps invented in Bielefeld. Realizing her own hometown of Hanau lacked accessibility, she reached out for instructions and decided to build her first ramp. At first, business owners didn’t understand. “The owners of the shops would always tell me that I could simply knock on the door, and then they will help me to get in,” she recalls. “However, if you are an active wheelchair-user, who is used to being independent, you aren’t going to stop in front of their door, knock, and ask for help.”
Persistence, and plenty of Lego bricks, changed minds. Today, her ramps are a full-on tourist attraction.
No two ramps are alike. One is Finding Nemo-themed. Another in front of a hair salon features the Frog Prince sitting on the edge of a well with a golden pearl. A sweets shop got the ultimate gummy bear ramp, complete with red and yellow candy bears. “Every ramp is a Hingucker,” Rita says, using the German word for “eye-catcher.”
But these “eye-catchers” are more than fun. They’re practical. They help wheelchair-users, people pushing strollers, and those with visual impairments spot the step from a distance.
Perhaps the most heart-melting story is little Mona’s. The 5-year-old lives with hereditary spastic paraplegia and uses a wheelchair. Her parents wanted her to have a ramp that was fun, not just functional. Their attempt to build one out of Lego Duplo failed, but Rita swooped in with a plan. She gathered pieces, traveled 2.5 hours, and delivered a custom Frozen-themed ramp featuring Elsa and Olaf.
“Mona baked a cake for Rita, and they both tried out the ramp multiple times together,” says Mona’s mom, Christina. Her dad, Fabian, adds: “Mona is so proud of her new ramp because everyone who sees it tells her how cool it looks.”
That cool factor had ripple effects, Mona’s kindergarten started discussing disabilities and wheelchairs more openly, helping her feel included.
How does Rita manage it all? With thousands of Lego pieces, sometimes 7 kg per ramp, and lots of community support. “Getting the Legos is actually the hardest part,” she admits. But donors have stepped up, and even her landlord gave her extra basement space just to store bricks.
She’s now built more than 20 ramps, and she’s not slowing down. “Ramp number 21 will, for the first time, cover the height of two stairs,” she says with excitement.
Officially, her ramps don’t qualify as wheelchair ramps under German law. But for those who use them, they’re life-changing. “In the end, the wheelchair-users don’t care much about regulations if the ramp allows them to independently enter and exit the shop,” Rita says.
And with each rainbow-colored ramp, the Lego Oma proves that accessibility can be both functional and magical.
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