Lange & SÖhne's traditional headquarters
formally opened again on 7th December 2001

From its inception in 1873 until its partial destruction in the last days of the war in 1945, A. Lange & SÖhne's former headquarters was the place where horological history was made in GlashÜtte. Literally. And in all those years, it was also the architectural synonym for the small town in the eastern Erzgebirge. On the 7 December 2001 the traditional Saxon factory was at last able to return officially to its historical home. To a building in which the genius loci of the art of fine watchmaking in Saxony had previously resided for 75 years.

This is where the founder of the firm, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, vigorously assisted by his sons Richard and Emil, enjoyed the last years of his life while his company was in its heyday. And for the construction of the impressive house the Saxon watchmaking genius planned the one known caprice of his career - a pendulum clock with an enormous nine-metre-long three-second pendulum hanging in a shaft that passed through all three storeys of the building. The war and then, in 1948, the expropriation of the factory by the socialist rÉgime, brought this first Lange success story to an end.

Walter Lange, the great-grandson of the founder, spent his youth in this family home, which combined residence and workshops in old entrepreneur's tradition - until his flight to the west in 1948. Yet even a new “Lange” chapter in the continuing history of the GlashÜtte luxury watch, immediately after the reunification of Germany in 1990, the complicated legal situation prevented the administrators of the estate from the former GDR from returning the old Lange headquarters to him.

Not until ten years later, after a new beginning that remains unparalleled in the history of watchmaking and which opened up brilliant perspectives for GlashÜtte and the Saxon watchmaking industry, was it possible for Lange to acquire once again the building from the local authorities in April 2000 and convert it into a spacious production facility with 1.600 square metres of usable floor space. This was also one of the ambitions dear to the heart of GÜnter blÜmlein, for many years co-managing director of Lange, who made a decisive contribution to the reconstruction of the factory and its new position on the global market, and sadly passed away in October 2001.

Now, on 7 December 2001, the proud stronghold of fine watchmaking in Saxony has officially returned to its original purpose. The choice of date is no coincidence: 7 December is a symbolic date for the company. On 7 December 1845, the first company was founded by Ferdinand Adolph Lange. On 7 December 1990, his great-grandson Walter Lange re-registered the firm in the Dresden Commercial Register. And this year, on 7 December, the 260-odd employees celebrated the “homecoming” of the firm to its original site together with representatives of the state and city, with the first appointed dealers and many other guests. It is one of three production sites for the watches of A. Lange & SÖhne, housing among other things the finishing and engraving departments, the after-sales service and the company's own watchmaking school. To coin a phrase: A legend has come home.

On the occasion of the re-dedication, the adjoining Ferdinand-Adolph-Lange-Platz has also been officially inaugurated by GlashÜtte's Mayor Frank Reichel, with the Lange House - how could it be otherwise - as the number 1.

Source: Lange Uhren GmbH press release
December 2001