The Gessler company is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n company that produces

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

such as "Altvater" as well as Monopolowa vodka.

History

The original company was founded in Bromberg,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

(today,

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

in Poland). In 1873, the company, which supplied the entire

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, was reorganized in Jägerndorf (

Krnov Krnov (; , or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Krnov consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

Czech Silesia Czech Silesia (; ) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. While it currently has no formal boundaries, in a narrow geographic sense, it encompasses most or all of the territory of the Czech Republic within the ...

, and its brand name “Altvater” (“old father”) gained world renown. After the collapse of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, licenses were granted to branches in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Czernowitz (

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

), Bielitz (

Bielsko Bielsko (, ) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town. Bielsko was founded by ...

) and Agram (

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

). The company was run and owned by Siegfried Gessler and his brother-in-law Leo Westreich, the company's former accountant. Siegfried Gessler died in 1890 and Leo Westreich in 1922, and then his wife Felice Westreich took over running the business together with her sister-in-law Sidonia Gessler (died 1925). The Nazis confiscated the business in 1939, and Felice Westreich and eldest daughter Irma were killed at

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

concentration camp in 1942, Leo and Felice's daughter Gertrude Löwenbein was murdered in the mass shooting in the forest at Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, in November 1944. Westreich's only remaining direct descendant to have survived was youngest daughter

Liesl Herbst Liesl Herbst (8 November 1903 – 25 February 1990) was an Austrian tennis player. Biography Liesl Herbst (née Westreich) was born on 8 November 1903 in the town of Jägerndorf (now called Krnov) in Silesia where her family owned the Gessler di ...

(née Westreich), who was Austrian and also Moravian tennis champion of the 1930s and managed to escape to England with her husband and daughter. After 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 ...

, the company was nationalized and became state operated. Eduard Gessler distantly related to the

Baczewski family Baczewski is a name of a Polish szlachta family, founders of the J. A. Baczewski vodka company. The factory, dating back to late 18th century, was based in Lwów (Lviv) and until 1939 was one of two most popular Polish export goods. The family o ...

, bought the Altvater Gessler Company in Vienna, Austria, and reacquired the J. A. Baczewski mark. Under Eduard Gessler’s guidance, Altvater Gessler and J.A. Baczewski reunited under the combined name Altvater Gessler - J.A. Baczewski, with its principal place of business in Vienna, Austria. The reconstituted company continued to specialize in quality alcoholic products for domestic consumption in Austria and for export to various countries in various continents, to include Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, most notably the United States. Its centuries’ old reputation and record of quality led to its being selected as the only representative of the Austrian liquor industry at the International World Fair in Chicago in 1950. Following Eduard Gessler’s death in 1979, his son Elek Gessler consolidated the affairs of both traditional companies into one new legal entity in 1980, which to this day is known as “Altvater Gessler – J.A. Baczewski, GmbH”, an Austrian corporation. In 1983, Elek Gessler established Altvater Gessler – J.A. Baczewski International (USA) Inc., a New Jersey, USA, Corporation, to manage United States operations. To this date, both companies are owned solely by the Gessler family.

External links

About Altvater
Food and drink companies established in 1777 Distilleries Drink companies of Austria Drink companies of the Czech Republic Krnov food and drink companies based in Vienna Manufacturing companies based in Vienna Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court {{Austria-company-stub