About 15,000 enthusiasts assemble world's largest jigsaw puzzle

Some 15,000 enthusiasts have assembled the world's largest jigsaw puzzle in the southern German town of Ravensburg, Europe's biggest puzzle maker said.

Photo: About 15,000 enthusiasts assemble world's largest jigsaw puzzle

Puzzle maker Ravensburger AG said 1,141,800 pieces were put together in only five hours on Sunday forming a nearly 6,500-square foot (600-square meter) puzzle that nearly covered the town square.

"We really like puzzling," Ravensburg resident Sonja Haussner said at the event.

A notary has submitted the result to the Guinness Book of World Records. Organizers say it is significantly bigger than the current record - a 212,000-piece puzzle put together in Singapore in 2002.

The Guinness Book did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The participants assembled more-than 4,000 smaller jigsaw puzzles, each with 252 pieces and standard puzzle motifs like animals, maps and landscapes.

The rectangles were then taken to the nearby town square and put together into the single massive 65-foot by 98-foot (20-meter by 30-meter) puzzle.

"We tried and we succeeded," said Heinrich Huntelmann, a spokesman for Ravensburger AG.

Ravensburger AG is celebrating its 125th anniversary of operation in the town.