The historic factories of Volkstedt

The factories of Volkstedt

A key position in the thuringian porcelain industry had undisputed the early factory of Volkstedt. Three persons were responsible for the foundation of the first porcelain factory in Thuringia: Georg Heinrich Macheleid (1723-1801), the prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Johann Friedrich von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1721-1767) and August Friedrich North (1733-1798).

On the 8th of September 1760 Macheleid asked the prince for the exclusive privilege of a porcelain factory in the principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. After a short hesitation the prince agreed to Macheleid's conditions. The privilege assured Macheleid to be the only porcelain factory in the principality until someone would find a better mixture to produce better porcelain. It also assured the supply with firewood, no taxation for 4 years, a low jurisdication for the factory, religious freedom, the right to bake, to slaughter, to brew and to distil spirits for their needs.

In 1764 Macheleid left the company different reasons. But it seems that he left the company completely 20 years later. The following years were difficult for the company. So the shareholders decided to lease the factory to Christian Nonne in 1767. Nonne was a merchant from Erfurt. After the death of the prince Johann Friedrich in 1767. His successor prince Ludwig Günther II. renewed the privilege of 1760. Together with his wife Sophie Henriette he inherited the shares from Joahnn Friedrich and ordered that always the ruling prince will be the shareholder of the factory in Volkstedt.

The raw materials for the factory came out of the principality: sand from the area of Koenigssee and Rudolstadt. Kapselton (special type of clay) from area of Coburg and porcelain soil from Gebersdorf near Graefenthal. Subsidiary companies produced the porcelain mass and glaze in Sitzendorf, Koenigssee and Schaala.

The Volkstedt factory had an extraordinary collection of products: Coffee , chocolate and tea sets, candlesticks, vases, large decorated plates, wash-basins, steins, butter boxes, buttons, butts for guns and rapiers, medals and the famous figurines. The catalog from 1795 says that the factory produced 90 different figurine models. In 1832 the Volkstedt factory renounced from the privilege. That was the start for the foundation of other porcelain factories in the principality Schwarzburg Rudolstadt and of course in Volkstedt.

In 1861 Karl Ens sen. from Lauscha and Triebner from Weimar owned the Volkstedt factory.They led the company under the name Triebner, Ens & Co. More and more of their product were highly regarded. One of the reasons was the cooperation with the two young porcelain model makers Eduard Ens and his brother Karl Ens jun. 1899 Karl Ens jun. left the company together with his sons and founded a new firm: Porzellanfabrik Karl Ens. The oldest Volkstedt porcelain factory was now the Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanfabrik until it merged in1937 with the porcelain factory in Unterweissbach to the Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanfabrik AG.

The other porcelain factories in Volkstedt were: Richard Eckert & Co. ; Beyer & Bode (1890) Schäfer & Vater (1890); Müller & Co Ackermann & Fritze (1908). They all had a large product catalog. From porcelain for the daily use until the most luxurious porcelain figurines.

Picture: Volkstedt, big vase around 1762-65