Gistl glassworks
The Krystallglasfabrik Frauenau I. Gistl was a glassworks that was the largest employer in the Frauenau area in the Regen district in the Bavarian Forest for around 50 years . The company had a decisive influence on the economic and cultural development as well as the population of the region.
Isidor Gistl (1868–1950) leased the Poschinger Hut in the Frauenau district of Moosau from 1906 until after the First World War with great economic success. In the spring of 1924, production started in his own glassworks, which he had built right next to it with self-printed inflation money . According to the plans of the renowned architect Georg Pabst from Ilmenau in Thuringia, the spacious complex was built between 1923 and 1925, which was also designed according to aesthetic aspects.
“Gistlglas” soon became a quality term that cemented the reputation of Frauenau glass worldwide. Hollow glass was produced on three furnaces; in times of economic downturn on two or only one oven. All ovens had to be extinguished during the Great Depression in the late 1920s. After the Second World War , business was good. Up to the mid-1960s, the hut provided jobs for up to 500 people, which also had an impact on the population of the Frauenau community. Kommerzienrat Gistl had gradually built over 150 company apartments for them.
When Gistl died in 1950, his wife Pauline continued the business until her death in 1959. After that, the property fell to a 48-strong community of heirs, which also included the Meißner family, who continued to run the hut. After economic difficulties, she sold the Gisthütte in 1970 to the Sils van de Loo & Co group, which had owned the Spiegelauer Glashütte since 1963 . Since then, the Gistl glassworks has been operating as Plant II of the Spiegelau GmbH crystal glass factory. In 1971 the manual hollow glass production was relocated to Spiegelau and an automatic production line ("Iron Man") was installed in the Gistlhütte. As a result, the number of employees has fallen to around 120. In 1990 the renowned Nachtmann company bought the Spiegelauer Hütte and with it the Gistlhütte. Nachtmann was then taken over by Riedel Glas in 2004 .
The internationally known art academy Bild-Werk Frauenau is housed in some outbuildings, such as the former Hafenstube . The Gasthaus Gistl , where numerous cultural events take place, is located in the former glassworks inn .
Valentin Eisch (1901–1983), founder of the Eisch glassworks, was employed as an engraver at the Gistlhütte. In 1946 he started his own business.
literature
- Roman Eder: Frauenau , Chronicle, Volume II 1999
- Alfons Hannes: Glass from the Bavarian Forest , Morsak 1975
- Josef Blau : The glassmakers in the Bohemian and Bavarian Forests , Volume II 1984