Dannemann Cigars (Dannemann Cigarrenfabrik in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

-owned,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

-based cigar manufacturer originally founded by Gerhard Dannemann in 1873. He was born on 23 April 1851 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and died in 1921. A German-Brazilian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and founder of the

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

company Dannemann, he later changed his name to Geraldo Dannemann. Dannemann also sells the cigarillo brand Moods.

History

The company was founded by Bremen-born entrepreneur Geraldo Dannemann, who emigrated to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1872. In 1873, he opened a cigar factory with six employees in São Félix. In 1922, Dannemann merged with the Stender company to form Companhia de Charutos Dannemann. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought significant challenges, disrupting transatlantic trade due to economic embargoes. During this time, Dannemann's operations in Brazil were expropriated and managed by the Brazilian bank,

Banco do Brasil Banco do Brasil S.A. (, ) is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. The oldest bank in Brazil, and among the oldest banks in continuous operation in the world, it was founded by John VI, King of Portugal, on ...

. After the war, Geraldo Dannemann regained possession of the company; however, in 1954, he filed for bankruptcy. In 1994, the flavored cigarillo brand, Dannemann Moods, was launched. During the transitional period, the brand was overseen by the Minden-based Melitta group of companies until it was sold to

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. In 1988, the

Burger Group bought the German trademark rights for Dannemann and took over Dannemann GmbH in

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

. Based on the Centro Cultural Dannemann in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Brazil, the Centro Dannemann was founded in Brissago, Switzerland at the beginning of 2002. The Centro Cultural Dannemann was established in

, Brazil, which led to the founding of Centro Dannemann in Brissago, Switzerland, in the beginning of 2002. The Dannemann Cigarrenfabrik GmbH is both a traditional European tobacco company and the current market leader in the field of cigarillos and cigars in Germany. Dannemann factory workers engaged in a strike in 2023 due to then-ongoing wage negotiations. The cigar factory worker union NGG criticized the German Federal Association of the Cigar Industry (''Bundesverband der Zigarrenindustrie'') for offering only a 1.4% pay increase, which they deemed insufficient during a period of severe inflation in Germany. NGG had demanded a €450 monthly raise for about 1,500 employees working at cigar factories, including those at Dannemann in Lübbecke. In response, a 24-hour strike occurred on May 24, 2023. The union also sought to standardize contracts across the industry. In 2023, the company began construction of a new production hall in Lübbecke, Germany. The facility, which became operational in January 2024, represents an investment in more modern and sustainable production capabilities.

In popular culture

Dannemann cigars are mentioned in the opening line of the

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...

song Cheap Wine.

References

External links

List of known Dannemann cigars
Cigar brands Tobacco companies of Germany {{Product-stub