Hahnemühle – the oldest German artist paper manufacturer – has been around for an incredible four centuries and four decades. With an uninterrupted manufacturing tradition at the site where it was founded, Hahnemühle is undoubtedly one of the oldest companies in the world since its incorporation in 1584.
On 27 February 1584, the founding father of Hahnemühle, papermaker Merten Spieß, received the foundation charter from the Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg. This licence to establish a paper mill is ‘paid for’ with annual deliveries of the finest sheets of document and writing paper.
“We are proud to celebrate our 440th birthday and our path to excellence: from our beginnings as a small paper manufacturer to an internationally renowned brand with unrivalled quality and innovative strength. Our papers with the iconic ‘rooster’ are trusted by generations of people worldwide,” says Jan Wölfle, CEO of the Hahnemühle Group.
Hahnemühle’s innovations include the first filter papers for chemical applications in the age of industrialisation – around 1880. This was followed by equities paper for shares, which was exported as far away as Brazil. Artists such as Pablo Picasso printed lithographs on Hahnemühle paper, Salvador Dalí painted on it and today portraits of Queen Elizabeth II are exhibited on it in museums around the world.
The paper from southern Lower Saxony conquers the world market and the paper manufactory becomes a paper factory. “From the Renaissance to the digital age: for an incredible four centuries and four decades, we have been producing high-quality papers and applications that are at the forefront of art, science and industry,” adds Jan Wölfle.
With a proud 440 years, Hahnemühle is a pioneer in iconic papers: as the world’s first manufacturer, Hahnemühle has been producing exclusively vegan papers since 1965. In 1997, the paper experts invented the world’s first and still leading Digital FineArt papers. Papers that travelled on the International Space Station ISS in 2010. Hahnemühle also supplies the purest papers for rapid diagnostic tests such as PCR tests in the Corona era.
Today’s portfolio includes artist papers, analogue and digital fine art, photo and commercial publsihing papers as well as services such as an app for these market-leading papers. In addition, customised papers for life science applications and technical speciality papers are ‘Made by Hahnemühle’.
With 440 years of tradition, Hahnemühle is one of the world’s most sustainable companies. The papers made from certified pulps or fast-growing plant fibres are valued in 130 countries for their advantages in terms of CO2 balance, durability and quality.
Hahnemühle produces its papers exclusively with pure spring water from its own artesian springs. They were also the reason for the establishment of a paper mill in 1584. To this day, the spring water is only “borrowed” from nature. It does not have to be treated before and after paper production, is reused several times and finally channelled into the nearby Ilme.
For Hahnemühle, its own sustainability also includes the ‘Green Rooster’ initiative, which is unique in the paper industry. Since 2008, the company has been supporting both regional and international environmental protection and social projects. Part of the proceeds from paper made from bamboo, hemp, agave and sugar cane benefit reforestation, animal welfare and environmental education programmes – from the Harz Mountains in Germany to Alaska.
For its 440th birthday, Hahnemühle is supporting a 16,000 square metre, perennial flowering meadow as a ‘Green Rooster’ project right on its doorstep. Together with the association Hof.Kultur Dassel e.V., this biodiversity project ‘Feld.Kulturerbe Solling’ is being implemented to protect the biodiversity of the local flora and fauna. A flowering festival is planned for June 2024 to mark the 440th anniversary of Hahnemühle.
About Hahnemühle
Hahnemühle is an international premium manufacturer of exquisite papers and has stood for quality, innovation and expertise in crafting since its founding in 1584. In 2024, the company celebrates an incredible 440 years of uninterrupted paper production at Hahnemühle’s headquarters in Germany, southern Lower Saxony. Today’s portfolio includes traditional and digital fine art and photo papers plus accessories. Since 1883, customised development, production and processing of high-purity papers for life science applications and special technical papers are also ‘Made by Hahnemühle’.
The paper grades are produced according to old recipes from high-quality cotton fibres, cellulose or fast-growing plant fibres with advantages in CO2 balance, durability and quality benefits utilising pure spring water from Hahnemühle´s own artesian wells. As an inventor and world market leader, Hahnemühle continuously refines its genuine artist papers for exclusive photo prints, digital art and art reproductions.
With its “Green Rooster” initiative, Hahnemühle has been supporting both regional and international environmental protection and social projects since 2008, including reforestation, animal welfare and environmental education programmes. The long-established company produces papers under strict environmental regulations in a landscape conservation area and makes an important contribution to environmental and climate protection worldwide.
The company has its headquarters in Dassel in southern Lower Saxony and subsidiaries in Great Britain, France, the USA, Singapore and China.
For more information on the brand, history, social and environmental responsibility, visit www.hahnemuehle.com
