Fatherland (bicycle)

Fatherland factory Friedrich Herfeld Sons GmbH & Co. KG
legal form	GmbH & Co. KG
founding	1906
resolution	2007
Seat	Neuenrade , Germany
management	Jürgen Herfeld
Number of employees	140
sales	EUR 20 million
Branch	Bicycle manufacturer

The Vaterland Werk Friedrich Herfeld Söhne GmbH & Co. KG was one of the oldest German bicycle manufacturers from the small town of Neuenrade in the Sauerland , which produced the brand of the same name "Vaterland Fahrrad". The company was one of the oldest bicycle manufacturers in Germany. Customers were the German retail landscape of Aldi, Metro Real under the brand name Ragazzi and the largest German group Fahrrad XXL consisting of the 15 largest German dealers.

history

Classified ad from Vaterland from 1955

Frame of a fatherland bike with company logo

Herfeld & Co. initially manufactured wind instruments and accordions and at that time was one of the leading mail order businesses for musical instruments and manufacturers in Germany. The company emerged from the Herfeld family and continued to produce musical instruments until 1933, before switching production to bicycles in 1933. The company was already assembling and shipping bicycles under the “Vaterland” brand from 1930. Mopeds and sewing machines were also manufactured in the 1950s.

The brand name had existed since 1906. The company produced 250,000 bicycles annually.

At the end of 2007, the company stopped production and shut down production.

Factory building

The former plant Vaterland was located in downtown Neuenrades in the areas Hinterm Wall, Am Stadtgarten and Am Wall. It consisted of three building units: the core building with an extension from 1927, the factory halls from the 1930s and modern halls in the rear, western area. The Office for Monument Protection spoke out in favor of maintaining the facility, as the factory was, among other things, important for the city's economic history. Scientific and urban planning reasons spoke in favor of preservation and use.

The production building in downtown Neuenrad was demolished in summer 2011. The former, listed administrative building made of quarry stone was preserved and was renovated. A senior citizens' housing complex was built on the site.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information from the city of Neuenrade and the Westphalian Monument Office from June 5, 2010

Web links

Commons : Fatherland  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Last functional version of the website www.vaterland.de from February 12, 2006 ( Memento from March 6, 2005 in the Internet Archive )