Ferdinand Mülhens

Ferdinand Mülhens (December 23, 1844 - January 15, 1928) was a land owner and entrepreneur in

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at t ...

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 betwee ...

. Mülhens was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. In the 19th century he managed the perfume factory founded by his grandfather

Wilhelm Mülhens Wilhelm Mülhens (born 25 June 1762 in Troisdorf and died 6 March 1841 in Köln) was a Cologne perfume designer and manufacturer, and the founder of the Mülhens company, famous for the fragrance " 4711". Life and work Wilhelm Mühlens was the si ...

's Glockengasse 4711, producing the original

Eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ...

. As owner of the 4711 brand, he received an imperial warrant as purveyor to the imperial and royal court in Vienna. During the years 1912 to 1914, he set up

Hotel Petersberg Hotel Petersberg is a hotel and official guest house of the Federal Republic of Germany, termed the "Bundesgästehaus" (the official title being ''Gästehaus der Verfassungsorgane der Bundesrepublik Deutschland''). It is located on the Petersberg, ...

near Bonn, which later become the Guest House of the Federal Government of

. Since 1913, he was the owner of the

Drachenfelsbahn The Drachenfels Railway (german: Drachenfelsbahn) is a rack railway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The line runs from Königswinter, on the east bank of the Rhine, to the summit of the Drachenfels mountain at an altitude of ...

, a

mountain railway A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the ...

line in the

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

region of

. From 1922 until his death, Ferdinand Mülhens was an honorary citizen of Königswinter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mulhens, Ferdinand 1844 births 1928 deaths People from Königswinter Italian Royal Warrant holders Businesspeople from Cologne People from the Rhine Province Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court