Joh. Springer's heirs
| Joh. Springer's Erben Handels GmbH
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1836 |
| Seat | Vienna |
| management | Christian Johann Springer |
| Branch | Hardware and hardware wholesale, clothing and textile retail |
| Website | www.Springer-Vienna.com |
Joh. Springer's Erben is a traditional arms dealer and former supplier to the Imperial and Royal Court . The company headquarters are in Vienna .
history
The company's history goes back to the 1830s. At that time, the gunsmith Mathias Nowotny from Königgrätz settled in Vienna. In 1836 he received permission to practice his profession. He quickly became successful and was able to set up a branch at Stock-im-Eisen-Platz 5 in the 1st district in addition to the workshop in Josefstadt. In 1856, however, he shot himself and his widow sold the business to Johann Springer a year later.
Johann Springer came from Leutschach in Upper Hungary and came to Vienna as an engraver . He mastered the art of finely engraving the coats of arms of noble customers in metal. He also learned gunsmithing and later married Katharina Nowotny, Mathias Nowotny's sister. For 15 years Springer worked at Nowotny, whose trust he enjoyed. After Nowotny's death and the takeover of the company, in 1857 he changed the company name to "Johann Springer, formerly Mathias Nowotny".
He specialized in the production of luxury hunting weapons and won several medals at exhibitions due to the quality of the products. The emperor was one of the regular customers and in 1872 he awarded him the kuk chamber title , a higher distinction than the title of purveyor to the court.
Johann Springer died in 1875 and his widow had to run the company and at the same time take care of seven children. The sons Rudolf and Gustav Springer completed their training partly at the Brandlin company in Birmingham, later took over the company and changed the name to "Johann Springer's Erben" in 1888. In the same year Springer had to leave the old house on Stock-im-Eisen-Platz because it was to be demolished for the new Palais Equitable .
The brothers Rudolf and Gustav Springer were able to further establish the factory. The products received the Golden Austrian State Prize as well as other awards at world exhibitions such as the 1908 Grand Prix of Monte Carlo. In the 1930s Springer was appointed purveyor to the royal court of Monaco.
The title of kuk court supplier was awarded again in 1911. In addition to the emperor and the imperial court such as Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Archduchess Maria Theresia, the company counted numerous noble families among its customers, including the Liechtenstein , Esterházys , Coburgs and Orłowskis . Business was good and by 1912 the company had over a million gold kroner outstanding. Springer had its own factory and display at Josefgasse 10 in the 8th district as well as three sales outlets in Vienna, including at Stock-im-Eisen Platz 5 in the 1st district and in Mariahilf. The branch in the 1st district later moved to the address Graben 10.
The First World War and the collapse of the monarchy brought hard times for the company. During the Second World War, the company had to manufacture parts for the V2 weapon, among other things .
Shotguns continued to be produced after the Second World War . Customers included Soviet Marshal Konew, General Kaltschenko, Allied officers and the big game hunter Ernst Zwilling . In 1949 Johann Springer's daughter Margarethe entered the business. The arms production finally had to be stopped in December 1955. The arms trade remained as a branch of the company. a. Industrial became customers. However, the debts grew and in 1958 the family mansion and factory had to be sold in order to clean up the finances. In 1963, after the early death of her father, Margarethe Springer took over the company and managed it for 45 years.
On April 1, 2008 Christian Johann Springer took over the company from his mother Margarethe Weixelbraun. The branch at Kagranerplatz 8 was expanded: it now stocks hunting and sporting weapons, militaria, handguns and reloading products on 370 m². The former branches at Graben 10 and Habsburggasse 8 were relocated to Weihburggasse 27. New and used hunting weapons are offered on 700 m² on three floors. In addition to the traditional arms trade for hunting and sporting weapons, militaria, handguns and reloading products, the company is also expanding into other areas and has been offering hunting trips and weapons auctions since autumn 2008.
service
In addition to selling hunting weapons, the company also works with the executive . Products from Glock and Brügger + Thomet are z. B. sold to the police , judicial authorities and the armed forces . Protective clothing from the 5.11 Tactical Series is also offered for private security companies such as bodyguards, security services and particularly vulnerable people.
The range of services offered by Joh.Springer's Erben includes a workshop for the care and repair of weapons, a shooting room, training for acquiring a weapons license , shooting courses and shooting training as well as the export and import of civilian weapons and ammunition in cooperation with international partners such as Beretta or the British royal purveyor James Purdey & Sons .
In the range of luxury weapons, the company carries accessories, antique weapons, edged weapons, handguns, shotguns, single shot rifles, combined rifles, preparations, precision rifles and repeating rifles.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ursula Rischanek: Springer is targeting new business areas. (No longer available online.) Wirtschaftsblatt, December 5, 2008, formerly in the original ; Retrieved on March 23, 2009 (German, hunting outfitter and arms dealer Joh. Springer's Erben is more broadly positioned. Weapons auctions and hunting trips are new business areas of the family business.): "Christian Johann Springer:" Foreign customers keep asking where they are in Austria Could hunt ""
literature
- Ingrid Haslinger: Customer - Kaiser. The story of the former imperial and royal purveyors . Schroll, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85202-129-4 .
- János Kalmár, Mella Waldstein: KuK purveyors to Vienna's court . Stocker, Graz 2001, ISBN 3-7020-0935-3 . Pp. 82-85.
- Oswald M. Klotz: Hunting shotguns for Emperor Franz Joseph, automatic pistols for the Oelscheiks . In: The press . Imperial and Royal Court Suppliers today (I) / 20. December, 1976.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 30.5 ″ N , 16 ° 21 ′ 11.6 ″ E