The Wolfratshausen-based family company Raumeinrichtungen Hierl celebrates its 160th birthday.
The fifth generation is already in the starting blocks.
Wolfratshausen – The interior design of Hierl at Untermarkt 47 is believed to be the oldest family business in the rafting town.
In 1862, i.e. 160 years ago, Karl Hierl and his wife Franziska, née Schelle, bought the upholstery estate number 135 from master upholsterer Bartholomäus Leidl.
The offer initially included the production of harnesses for horses and oxen, saddles and bridles.
But Hierl was a far-sighted businessman: When the district office in Munich abolished the "collection of fire bucket money" and obliged every "buyer, transferee or builder of a domestic property" to "purchase a leather, watertight fire bucket", the master saddler immediately switched to the local newspaper an advertisement: At Hierl in Wolfratshausen, “the same fire bucket can always be obtained at the cheapest possible prices and from very good and durable work”.
Aware of tradition and far-sighted: the Wolfratshausen store celebrates its 160th birthday
The ability to react to trends and individual customer requests runs like a red thread through the company's history.
When his son Georg Hierl took over the saddlery in 1896, he expanded the range of goods and services.
Wagons could now be varnished, even the assumption of linoleum and wallpapering work was offered.
The latter was also due to the fact that his son Georg Hierl junior had passed the master upholsterer's exam in 1936 before he took over the business five years later.
He, too, lived the company philosophy: Upholding traditions, not shutting out new techniques and materials.
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The Hierl family in 2022: Peter Hierl with daughter Andrea and wife Karin and grandson Kilian.
© private
Since 1977, Peter and his wife Karin Hierl have been at the customer's side with help and advice.
Master interior decorator Peter Hierl focuses on classic upholstery.
"Why throw away old furniture like armchairs and sofas when you can make them beautiful again?"
Classic upholstery is the supreme discipline of interior decorators.
Peter Hierl
Hierl, who served for four years as chief foreman of the Miesbach/Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen interior decorators and saddlers' guild, began devoting himself to the much-cited topic of sustainability very early on.
Instead of foam, animal and vegetable upholstery materials such as seagrass, horsehair and coconut fibers are used.
"Classic upholstery is the supreme discipline of interior decorators," says Hierl, "since it requires a great deal of specialist knowledge, dedication and experience." The environmental aspect is also taken into account when it comes to fabrics, for example for curtains.
"They are recyclable and come from pesticide-free cultivation," emphasizes daughter Andrea Hierl, who also works in the family business.
The fifth generation is already in the starting blocks: grandson Kilian Hierl passed his master’s examination as an interior decorator in 2021 at the age of 19.
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