The Fürstenberg China Factory (german: Porzellanmanufaktur Fürstenberg) was founded on 11 January 1747 in

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

, on the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

river, by Johann Georg von Langen at the direction of Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. It is the second oldest

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

manufacturer in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

that still operates on its original site. From 1888, the operation was turned into a public limited company (''

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (wh ...

''). In 1966, the firm became a limited liability company ('' GmbH'') with its parent company, ''Braunschweig GmbH'', and therefore a 100 per cent subsidiary of

NORD/LB The Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (abbreviated NORD/LB) is a German Landesbank and one of the largest commercial banks in Germany. It is a public corporation majority-owned by the federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt with its hea ...

. Its current managing director is Stephanie Saalfeld.

Museum

The

Weser Renaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the star ...

-style castle, high above the

river, traces its history back to a medieval castle built in the first half of the 14th century (first mentioned around 1355), and was converted into a hunting lodge around 1600 by Duke

Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

. Until 1972, china was produced in the castle itself, but now, manufacturing is carried out in the adjacent, modern buildings. Today, the castle houses the firm's

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and gives an overview of production from its beginnings during the

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

period to the present day. Other notable collections of Fürstenberg china may be seen in the

North German Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

museums at Brunswick,

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

and

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

, as well as in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Sources

* Karin Annette Möller: ''Porzellan aus Fürstenberg'', Katalog, Schwerin 2002, * Beatrix Freifrau Wolff Metternich u.a.: ''Die Porzellanmanufaktur Fürstenberg'', 2 Bände, Prestel-Verlag, 2004

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenberg China German porcelain Museums in Lower Saxony Porzellanmanufaktur Furstenberg Holzminden (district) China manufacturers of Germany Decorative arts museums in Germany Ceramics museums

Museum

See also

Sources

External links