Jan Becher
Coordinates: 50 ° 13 '49.2 " N , 12 ° 52' 1.1" E
| Jan Becher - Karlovarská Becherovka as
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| legal form | Akciová společnost |
| founding | 1807 |
| Seat |
Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic
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| Branch | spirits |
| Website | janbecher.cz |
The Jan Becher - Karlovarská Becherovka as (formerly Johann Becher ) is a producer of spirits from Carlsbad in northwest Bohemia , Czech Republic . The best known product is the herbal liqueur Becherovka (formerly known as Karlsbader Becher Bitter ). The company's headquarters are at 57 Masaryk Street (formerly Invalidenplatz ).
history
The origins of the company go back to the beginning of the 19th century. In 1805, the Imperial Count von Plettenberg-Mietingen and his companion, the English doctor Christian Frobrig, visited the spa town of Karlsbad and stayed in the "House of the Three Larks", which belonged to the pharmacist Josef Vitus Becher . The English doctor and the Carlsbad pharmacist shared a passion for mixing herbs and alcohol. When the doctor left the city again, he is said to have given Josef Vitus Becher a slip of paper with the words: “This one really impressed me” , on which a recipe made from herbs , spices from the British colonies and alcohol was noted.
After further trying and experimenting, Josef Vitus Becher developed a bitter liqueur , which he produced after 1807 and marketed as "Carlsbader English Bitter" , later as "Karlsbader Becher-Bitter" . In 1841 Josef Becher handed the company over to his son Johann Becher († 1895), called Jan Becher in Czech .
Under his leadership, the beaker bitters became widely known and production began on a large scale. He replaced outdated machines with modern ones and had a new production facility built in 1867, which is still there today in Karlsbad. Little by little, an export was created that not only encompassed the whole of Europe, but also extended to America. Imitators soon found themselves, but they did not succeed in producing anything even approximately the same product. "Sprudel-Bitter" was the name of the last product that was discontinued in 1938. The recipe for Becher bitters, now known as Becherovka , is kept as a strict secret in the Drogikamr of the Becher factory in Karlovy Vary.
The "Karlsbader English Bitter" has also been used successfully as a prophylactic against cholera diseases.
The Karlsbader Becherbitter was awarded silver and gold medals at exhibitions: 1871 and 1882 in Eger, 1873 in Vienna, 1874 and 1891 in Prague, 1878 in Paris and 1879 in Teplitz.
In the course of time, several members of the Becher family followed in management positions. Johann Becher was followed by his son Gustav, who had the “Karlsbader Becher Bitter” registered as a protected trademark with the Eger Chamber of Commerce and Industry . The company was named after the father and was registered in the commercial register of the regional court of Eger on May 31, 1901. The herbal liqueur received top prices at numerous world exhibitions . Not only the aristocracy was supplied with the Becher-Bitter, but also the imperial court in Vienna . For these services, Becher was appointed supplier to the imperial and royal court .
In 1901 Gustav's brothers Rudolf and Johann Becher (II.) Followed as managing directors until 1915. Gustav Becher began to expand the export business outside Austria-Hungary and in 1901 again enlarged the factory.
Alfred Becher took over the management shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in 1915. Under his leadership, the company was able to survive the turmoil of the First World War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . Since Alfred's only son and heir, Hansfred Gustav, died at the front in World War II, Alfred's daughter, Hedda Becher (* March 24, 1914; † 2007) took over on April 22, 1941, together with her mother Ernestine Companies. The war and the shortage of supplies for the ingredients, especially herbs, made it difficult for the Becher company to do business.
In 1945 the company was nationalized by Czechoslovakia . Hedda Becher is said to have been forced to reveal the secret recipe for the herbal bitter liqueur, after which she was deported to Germany with her two children and her mother Ernestine Becher as a displaced person. The production of the mug bitters continued in Karlsbad with 14 employees, a very small number compared to earlier times. In the second half of the 1950s, the company was close to being dissolved. In the 1960s, production was increased again and the company was able to save itself with the introduction of non-alcoholic beverages in Otovice .
Hedda Baier cup led to the expulsion of the family from Czechoslovakia in 1949, the company in Cologne as "Johann Becher OHG liquor factory" on. She had kept the secret recipe for making the "Karlsbader Becherbitter" in her mind. The company was located in Kettwig from 1950 and in Rheinberg from 1984 and sold the "Karlsbader Becherbitter" as before in bottles with a blue and yellow label.
In the 1970s, Emil Underberg acquired "Johann Becher OHG" from Underberg . In October 1985 he signed a contract with the nationalized company in Karlsbad and became the sole importer for the Federal Republic of Germany. In return, Johann Becher OHG stopped its own production. In 1994 the company in Karlsbad terminated the previous contract and Emil Underberg and Hedda Baier-Becher resumed production of the liqueur . There were legal proceedings before the Düsseldorf Regional Court , which was decided in favor of Hedda Baier-Becher on October 9, 1997.
In 1997, the Czech state enterprise Becher in Karlovy Vary was re-privatized by the government and converted into a limited liability company (sro) . The international beverage company Pernod Ricard took over the company and incorporated it into its group of companies as a subsidiary. Pernod Ricard initially acquired 35% and increased to 95.7% in 2001. In April 1999 Pernod Ricard bought "Johann Becher OHG" from Underberg for 730 million schillings and incorporated it into "Jan Becher - Karlovarská Becherovka as"
A mug museum was set up in Karlovy Vary, which presents memories of the history of the descendants of Josef Vitus Becher , the development of the company and the production methods of Karlovy Vary mug bitters.
Products
Becherovka is the main product of the "Jan Becher" company and was exported to over 35 countries worldwide in 2008. Other products such as the Lemond , the Cordial liqueur and the KV 14 aperitif are also produced.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Johann Becher . In: Given by the industrialists of Austria under the high Proctectorate of His k. and k. Highness of the most serene Archduke Franz Ferdinand (ed.): Die Gross-Industrie Oesterreichs. Festival ceremony for the glorious fiftieth anniversary of the reign of His Majesty the Emperor Franz Josef I. Volume 5 . Leopold Weiss, Vienna 1898, p. 291 .
- ↑ Johann Becher, Karlsbad. In: Anniversary number of the imperial Wiener Zeitung 1703-1903. Supplement commercial part. Alfred von Lindheim. Druck und Verlag KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna, August 8, 1903, p. 41 , accessed on April 30, 2009 .
- ^ Jaroslava Gregorová: Hedda Baier - Cup. Center for Intellectual Property, November 17, 2005, accessed May 11, 2009 (French).
- ^ Judgment of October 9, 1997, 4 O 295/96 - Karlsbader Becher. In: Landgericht Düsseldorf: decisions of the 4th civil chamber (issue 5). Center for Intellectual Property Law, October 9, 1997, pp. 108-114 , accessed on May 11, 2009 .
- ↑ Peter Martos: herbal liqueur Becherovka: Rise instead of liquidation. Die Presse , August 20, 2003, accessed on May 9, 2009 (After an eventful history, the legendary herbal liqueur from Karlsbad is now part of Europe's largest beverage company, Pernod Ricard.).
- ↑ Aureliusz M. Pedziwol: Karlsbad: Liqueur factory solves legal dispute through purchase. WirtschaftsBlatt , April 28, 1999, accessed on May 9, 2009 : "According to Schwarzenberg, Pernod-Ricard bought the Johann Becher Society for 730 million schillings" at a surprisingly good price "from the German-Swiss Underberg Group."
- ↑ Jaroslava Gissübelová: La liqueur originale du terroir, Becherovka, a son musée à Karlovy Vary. Radio Prague, February 6, 2005, accessed on May 10, 2009 (French): “Mme Heda Becher Bayer, la dernière propriétaire de Becherovka, a fêté, l'année passée, ses 90 ans. In 1999, it was a venue in Karlovy Vary pour l'ouverture du musée. "
literature
- Ingrid Haslinger: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors . Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
Web links
- Official website of Jan Becher
- Thomas Kirschner: The thirteenth Carlsbad spring: 200 years of Becherovka. Radio Prague, September 15, 2007, accessed May 9, 2009 .