Schimmel
German piano factory Schimmel was established in Leipzig in 1885 by furniture builder Wilhelm Schimmel. He trained to be a piano builder in the famous Stichel piano factory. Schimmel began building upright pianos, adding grand pianos to his repertoire in 1892. He offered his clientele a great variety of models that were technically very advanced. Due to its great success, to facilitate expansion, the company relocated many times. This success also earned Schimmel the title of purveyor to the court.
In 1927 the company was handed over to youngest son Wilhelm Arno. This transition to the second generation took place in economically troubled times. The business merged with a number of other piano producers under the name “Deutsche Pianowerke AG” and relocated to Braunschweig. There the company returned to being an independent business in 1931, enabling Wilhelm Arno to freely develop his new initiatives and work on new constructions. The new factory he moved into was completely destroyed by fire in 1944 during the Second World War. After reconstruction in 1948, upright piano production resumed, with grand pianos back in production by 1950.
Schimmel implemented various technical and aesthetic innovations. From the 1950’s on Wilhelm Arno designed new timeless models, inspired by the developments in architecture and furniture design.
