Rieger Orgelbau
Encyclopedia
Rieger Orgelbau is an Austria
n firm of organ
builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & Söhne, and from 1879 as Gebrüder Rieger, after his sons took over. At the end of World War II
, the firm was nationalised by the Czech government and merged with another workshop as Rieger-Kloss
. The Rieger tradition was also continued by the owners and workers of the original firm, who moved to Austria and founded a new workshop as 'Rieger Orgelbau'.
Franz Rieger was born in Zossen
on 13 December 1812, and was the son of a gardener. He received a good education and decided to become an organ builder, to which end he travelled to Vienna
, where he was apprenticed to organ-builder Joseph Seybert. His apprenticeship
and time as a journeyman
being completed, he returned home in 1844 as a master
organ-builder. He married Rosalia Schmidt, with whom he had nine children, and completed his opus 1, a twenty-stop
, two-Musical keyboard
and pedal organ
, for the Burgberg Church, in 1845. He was acceoted on the Trade and Industry Register of the Austrian Monarchy in 1852. He built organs in the classical tradition, and gained a high reputation. Through the work of his sons under his name, he was awarded the Golden Cross for Service in 1879 by Imperial decree. He died in Jägerndorf on 29 January 1886.
and Würzburg
, where they visited the workshop of noted Franconia
n innovator Balthasar Schlimbach. Upon their return home in 1873, their father passed his workshop to them, remaining in a consultative capacity until 1880; the name of the firm became 'Franz Rieger & Söhne' and the opus
count was re-started at zero. Otto married in 1873 and Gustav followed suit in 1874.
Their opus 1 was exhibited at the Vienna World Exhibition in Vienna, at which it won a gold medal; this organ is now in the church of St Peter & Paul in Jaktař. One of their first changes from their father's work was the replacement of slider chests with mechanical cone chests. Their first year saw the production of three organs. Their reputation grew apace: in 1874 they won their first commission in the Imperial Capital, Vienna, followed in 1875 by a commission in Hungary. Their first commission in a non-Habsburg
country was in 1876 in Norway
. They exhibited two salon organs at the 1878 Paris Exposition
, one of which, sold to London
, marked their first overseas transaction.
They bought a new site in 1879 to cope with their expanding business, on which larger workshops and dwelling
s for their workers were built. With this move, the name was changed to 'Gebrüder Rieger'. They developed a series of twenty five small organs, with between two and twenty five stops
and an optional second manual
for those with more than eight stops, as an alternative to the much cheaper harmonium
. These organs were responsible for the high opus count of Rieger organs of this period.
By 1883, their annual production of organs had risen to sixteen. They built their first three-manual instrument in 1884. Their geographical reach widened further with commissions in Gibraltar
in 1889, Istanbul
in 1893, Jerusalem in 1896 (The Patriarch of Jerusalem
made them Knights of the Order of the Holy Grave), and Rome
in 1897, in addition to instruments built in Habsburg
Crown Lands, Germany
, and Russia
. A branch of the firm was set up in Budapest
in 1890.
The brothers were appointed organ suppliers to the Imperial Court of Austria-Hungary
by the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
in 1896, which entitled them to bear the imperial eagle
; this necessitated extensive enquiries, investigations, and inspections of the firm, which was comprehensively documented. Rieger was awarded the Austrian coat of arms by the Federal Republic in 1889, and the brothers were made Knights of the Franz-Joseph Order in 1899. The firm employed approximately 200 workers by 1900.
The use of pneumatic and electric
actions were introduced during this period, as the specifications and voicing became determined by the tonal and musical ideals of the romantic period
. Innovations by Gustav Rieger included combined registers - using ‘extension’ to get two stops out of one rank - and free stop-combination based on a mechanical action (used on the 1890 concert organ at the Deutsches Haus, Brno
). There were 1072 organs on the firm's opus-list by the end of 1903, which saw the death of Otto and the end of an era
.
style for the organ cases, and adopted the ideals of organ
design promulgated by Albert Schweitzer
.
He participated in the organ-building working committee at the 1909 Third Congress of the International Society of Music in Vienna
which drew up a directive for the building of organs; the result was a decisive recommendation to move away from the late-romantic orchestral organ and towards the use of the slider chests and mechanical action
typical of the classical traditions of organ-building, familiar from the many surviving baroque
instruments.
After World War I
, Rieger, which had been in Austria
, found itself in the new Czech state. During this time of adjustment as the established market
s of the Danube Monarchy adapted to the newly created states, Otto Rieger died, leaving behind his wife and two daughters. Without a suitable heir, the company struggled.
Otto's school friend, Josef von Glatter-Götz (17 November 1880 - 23 February 1948) had been taken on by Otto as works manager in 1918. He was an engineer
and former officer to the Imperial General Staff; he completed an apprenticeship
in organ building, and took over the running of the firm seven weeks after his friend's death. He bought the firm in 1924, and by the next year, the 100 employees of the firm were able to resume full-time organ building. A new branch of the firm was established at Mocker, Germany
, in 1926.
Josef von Glatter-Götz began a new family tradition
with his sons Egon (24 June 1911 - 8 September 1940) and Josef (15 December 1914 - 1 May 1989). They served their apprenticeships with their father and studied at technical colleges in Breslau and Berlin
; they were made partners in 1936. The rebuilt firm was again a success; in the year 1938/1939, the Jägerndorf factory accounted for 66% of all organ exports from the German Reich.
Egon von Glatter-Götz took a particular interest in the tonal and artistic design of the organs, while his brother Josef von Glatter-Götz focused on the technical aspects of organ building. During this time, both Romantic organs and classical instruments were built, influenced by the organ reform movement. Commissions came from all over the world, including the Baltic States
, Finland
, Scandinavia
, South America
, South Africa
, China
, and Jerusalem.
The new-found success came to an end with the beginning of World War II
. Egon was killed in the first Polish Campaign, on 8 September 1940. Organ-building was forbidden by decree from 1943 to 1945, while the factory
was ordered to build munition crate
s to contribute to the war effort
.
by President Benes
. The owners and workers of Rieger were deported to Germany
, having been dispossessed of their workshop and property, which were merged with the workshop of Josef Kloss and nationalized in 1948 to become Rieger-Kloss
. An organ-building company under this name now operates under private ownership in the Czech Republic
.
Before the war, the long-established organ-building firm of Vorarlberg
, owned by Anton Behmann, had suggested that they enter into business with Rieger. With the renewal of the offer, Josef von Glatter-Götz father and son, together with some workers and their families from the firm, established a new workshop at Schwarzach, Vorarlberg
under the name 'Rieger Orgelbau' in 1946. They rented Behmann's workshop, and lived in a camp in war service huts on an old shooting range
.
In the difficult post-war years they were commissioned to undertake some organ restorations, but under hard circumstances also made handlooms and window
frames, and ran a public sauna
in order to make a living; Josef Glatter-Götz, Jr., worked as a masseur. Progress came in 1950, when they were able to exhibit and sell a 6-stop
positiv organ at the World Exhibition in Chicago
.
Like his Rieger brother predecessors, Josef Glatter-Götz, Jr. developed a new series of small organs. These were technical masterpieces and their popularity led to a renewed reputation and prosperity for the firm. Josef Jr. took full control of the firm after the death of his father in 1948. Under his direction, the firm returned decisively to the principles and traditions of the classical organ-building craft
which had begun earlier in the century, while adding the modern benefits of advanced technology
, tone, and design. More commissions came in from Germany
, the United States
, and Austria
, and soon the workshops were too small.
Caspar served as apprentice in the Rieger workshop, and worked for Kern, von Beckerath and Kuhn as a journeyman
. He returned to Rieger as works manager, a post he held until the end of 1992 when he left to take over at Orgelbau Egbert Pfaff at Owingen
, in Germany
.
Raimund studied interior
and industrial design
at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna, following which he trained as an organ builder with the Bonn
workshop of Johannes Klais. He returned to Rieger as a freelance organ designer in 1977.
Christoph learnt organ building with the Danish
firm Marcussen & Søn
. He returned to Rieger in 1977 to become managing director, a post he held until his retirement
in 2003.
Josef Glatter-Götz jr. retired in 1984 and died on 1 May 1989, acknowledged as one of the 20th century's most influential organ-builders, especially in regard to the reestablishment of the classical organ-building traditions, which he pioneered and perfected.
and tuning
, and became manager of the Rieger design office. He took over as works manager of Rieger in 1992, and became president and owner of Rieger-Orgelbau GmbH on 1 October 2003, in a similar sequence to that of Josef von Glatter-Götz eighty years earlier.
s from the planning stage through to the point where the finished instrument is resting in its final home. The voicer
is involved from the design decisions regarding specification and placement onwards and determines the scales of the pipe
s, as it is the voicer who has the final responsibility for the quality of sound
they produce in the finished organ.
The suppliers of materials - the pipe shop, the locksmith shop, and the workshops for production of manuals and action parts - are located on the same premises as the builders, to allow for complete control over the quality of every part of their organs. Rieger has a long-standing interest in social justice, having been one of the first employers to give their employees health insurance
and electric lighting in their accommodation in the opening years of the twentieth century. Manufacture of action parts for their organs is now undertaken mainly by handicapped
people.
In their organ design and manufacture, they do not aim to copy any specific style, but rather create a new tradition which allows the interpretation of the full range of organ repertoire
. Study of organs of all periods informs this design philosophy, with the result that the resulting sound is not 'authentic', but rather serves the music effectively. They write: 'In any case it is our goal to build instruments not as much for the past, as certainly for the present and the future.'
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n firm of organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & Söhne, and from 1879 as Gebrüder Rieger, after his sons took over. At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the firm was nationalised by the Czech government and merged with another workshop as Rieger-Kloss
Rieger-Kloss
Rieger–Kloss is a company specializing in the manufacturing of pipe organ. Its headquarters as well as the production facilities are located in Krnov, Czech Republic.- History :...
. The Rieger tradition was also continued by the owners and workers of the original firm, who moved to Austria and founded a new workshop as 'Rieger Orgelbau'.
Franz Rieger
Zossen
Zossen is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the city.-Geography:...
on 13 December 1812, and was the son of a gardener. He received a good education and decided to become an organ builder, to which end he travelled to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he was apprenticed to organ-builder Joseph Seybert. His apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
and time as a journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
being completed, he returned home in 1844 as a master
Master craftsman
A master craftsman or master tradesman was a member of a guild. In the European guild system, only masters were allowed to be members of the guild....
organ-builder. He married Rosalia Schmidt, with whom he had nine children, and completed his opus 1, a twenty-stop
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
, two-Musical keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
and pedal organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, for the Burgberg Church, in 1845. He was acceoted on the Trade and Industry Register of the Austrian Monarchy in 1852. He built organs in the classical tradition, and gained a high reputation. Through the work of his sons under his name, he was awarded the Golden Cross for Service in 1879 by Imperial decree. He died in Jägerndorf on 29 January 1886.
Otto and Gustav Rieger
Two of Franz Rieger's sons followed their father in his craft: Otto Rieger (3 March 1847 - 12 December 1903) and Gustav Rieger (1 August 1848 - 1905), served apprenticeships with their father. They then spent time as journeymen in Vienna, where they trained from 1864 with Franz Ullmann, another builder in the classical tradition. They also spent time in BambergBamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, where they visited the workshop of noted Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n innovator Balthasar Schlimbach. Upon their return home in 1873, their father passed his workshop to them, remaining in a consultative capacity until 1880; the name of the firm became 'Franz Rieger & Söhne' and the opus
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
count was re-started at zero. Otto married in 1873 and Gustav followed suit in 1874.
Their opus 1 was exhibited at the Vienna World Exhibition in Vienna, at which it won a gold medal; this organ is now in the church of St Peter & Paul in Jaktař. One of their first changes from their father's work was the replacement of slider chests with mechanical cone chests. Their first year saw the production of three organs. Their reputation grew apace: in 1874 they won their first commission in the Imperial Capital, Vienna, followed in 1875 by a commission in Hungary. Their first commission in a non-Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
country was in 1876 in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. They exhibited two salon organs at the 1878 Paris Exposition
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
, one of which, sold to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, marked their first overseas transaction.
They bought a new site in 1879 to cope with their expanding business, on which larger workshops and dwelling
Dwelling
Dwelling, as well as being a term for a house, or for living somewhere, or for lingering somewhere, is a philosophical concept which was developed by Martin Heidegger. Dwelling is about making yourself at home where the home itself is a building that is a house...
s for their workers were built. With this move, the name was changed to 'Gebrüder Rieger'. They developed a series of twenty five small organs, with between two and twenty five stops
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
and an optional second manual
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
for those with more than eight stops, as an alternative to the much cheaper harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. These organs were responsible for the high opus count of Rieger organs of this period.
By 1883, their annual production of organs had risen to sixteen. They built their first three-manual instrument in 1884. Their geographical reach widened further with commissions in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1889, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in 1893, Jerusalem in 1896 (The Patriarch of Jerusalem
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III...
made them Knights of the Order of the Holy Grave), and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1897, in addition to instruments built in Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Crown Lands, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. A branch of the firm was set up in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1890.
The brothers were appointed organ suppliers to the Imperial Court of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
by the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
in 1896, which entitled them to bear the imperial eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
; this necessitated extensive enquiries, investigations, and inspections of the firm, which was comprehensively documented. Rieger was awarded the Austrian coat of arms by the Federal Republic in 1889, and the brothers were made Knights of the Franz-Joseph Order in 1899. The firm employed approximately 200 workers by 1900.
The use of pneumatic and electric
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
actions were introduced during this period, as the specifications and voicing became determined by the tonal and musical ideals of the romantic period
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
. Innovations by Gustav Rieger included combined registers - using ‘extension’ to get two stops out of one rank - and free stop-combination based on a mechanical action (used on the 1890 concert organ at the Deutsches Haus, Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
). There were 1072 organs on the firm's opus-list by the end of 1903, which saw the death of Otto and the end of an era
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
.
Otto Rieger and Josef von Glatter-Götz
Otto Rieger (21 May 1880 - 28 March 1920) was the son of Otto Rieger (and grandson of Franz Rieger), and took over the firm after his father's death. Under his superintendence, over 1000 more organs were built. He introduced an art nouveauArt Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style for the organ cases, and adopted the ideals of organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
design promulgated by Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
.
He participated in the organ-building working committee at the 1909 Third Congress of the International Society of Music in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
which drew up a directive for the building of organs; the result was a decisive recommendation to move away from the late-romantic orchestral organ and towards the use of the slider chests and mechanical action
Tracker action
Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe of the corresponding note...
typical of the classical traditions of organ-building, familiar from the many surviving baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
instruments.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Rieger, which had been in Austria
History of Austria
The history of Austria covers the history of the current country of Austria and predecessor states, from the Iron Age, through to a sovereign state, annexation by the German Third Reich, partition after the Second World War and later developments until the present day...
, found itself in the new Czech state. During this time of adjustment as the established market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
s of the Danube Monarchy adapted to the newly created states, Otto Rieger died, leaving behind his wife and two daughters. Without a suitable heir, the company struggled.
Otto's school friend, Josef von Glatter-Götz (17 November 1880 - 23 February 1948) had been taken on by Otto as works manager in 1918. He was an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and former officer to the Imperial General Staff; he completed an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in organ building, and took over the running of the firm seven weeks after his friend's death. He bought the firm in 1924, and by the next year, the 100 employees of the firm were able to resume full-time organ building. A new branch of the firm was established at Mocker, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in 1926.
Josef von Glatter-Götz began a new family tradition
Family business
A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
with his sons Egon (24 June 1911 - 8 September 1940) and Josef (15 December 1914 - 1 May 1989). They served their apprenticeships with their father and studied at technical colleges in Breslau and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
; they were made partners in 1936. The rebuilt firm was again a success; in the year 1938/1939, the Jägerndorf factory accounted for 66% of all organ exports from the German Reich.
Egon von Glatter-Götz took a particular interest in the tonal and artistic design of the organs, while his brother Josef von Glatter-Götz focused on the technical aspects of organ building. During this time, both Romantic organs and classical instruments were built, influenced by the organ reform movement. Commissions came from all over the world, including the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Jerusalem.
The new-found success came to an end with the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Egon was killed in the first Polish Campaign, on 8 September 1940. Organ-building was forbidden by decree from 1943 to 1945, while the factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
was ordered to build munition crate
Crate
A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength...
s to contribute to the war effort
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
.
After World War II
After the end of the war in 1945, the firm was appropriated as German property by the Czech government as a consequence of an edictEdict
An edict is an announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism. The Pope and various micronational leaders are currently the only persons who still issue edicts.-Notable edicts:...
by President Benes
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
. The owners and workers of Rieger were deported to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, having been dispossessed of their workshop and property, which were merged with the workshop of Josef Kloss and nationalized in 1948 to become Rieger-Kloss
Rieger-Kloss
Rieger–Kloss is a company specializing in the manufacturing of pipe organ. Its headquarters as well as the production facilities are located in Krnov, Czech Republic.- History :...
. An organ-building company under this name now operates under private ownership in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
Before the war, the long-established organ-building firm of Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
, owned by Anton Behmann, had suggested that they enter into business with Rieger. With the renewal of the offer, Josef von Glatter-Götz father and son, together with some workers and their families from the firm, established a new workshop at Schwarzach, Vorarlberg
Schwarzach, Vorarlberg
Schwarzach is a municipality in western Austria, in the state of Vorarlberg.-External links:*http://www.schwarzach.at...
under the name 'Rieger Orgelbau' in 1946. They rented Behmann's workshop, and lived in a camp in war service huts on an old shooting range
Shooting range
A shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK...
.
In the difficult post-war years they were commissioned to undertake some organ restorations, but under hard circumstances also made handlooms and window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
frames, and ran a public sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
in order to make a living; Josef Glatter-Götz, Jr., worked as a masseur. Progress came in 1950, when they were able to exhibit and sell a 6-stop
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
positiv organ at the World Exhibition in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Like his Rieger brother predecessors, Josef Glatter-Götz, Jr. developed a new series of small organs. These were technical masterpieces and their popularity led to a renewed reputation and prosperity for the firm. Josef Jr. took full control of the firm after the death of his father in 1948. Under his direction, the firm returned decisively to the principles and traditions of the classical organ-building craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
which had begun earlier in the century, while adding the modern benefits of advanced technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, tone, and design. More commissions came in from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and soon the workshops were too small.
Caspar, Raimund and Christoph Glatter-Götz
A new workshop, 2000 square metres in area and fourteen metres high, was opened in 1972 to cope with the expansion of activities. Josef Glatter-Götz jr.'s three sons Caspar (born 1 March 1945), Raimund (born 1 January 1948), and Christoph (born 9 December 1951) followed him into the family business.Caspar served as apprentice in the Rieger workshop, and worked for Kern, von Beckerath and Kuhn as a journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
. He returned to Rieger as works manager, a post he held until the end of 1992 when he left to take over at Orgelbau Egbert Pfaff at Owingen
Owingen
Owingen is a town in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Raimund studied interior
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
and industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna, following which he trained as an organ builder with the Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
workshop of Johannes Klais. He returned to Rieger as a freelance organ designer in 1977.
Christoph learnt organ building with the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
firm Marcussen & Søn
Marcussen & Søn
Marcussen & Søn, known as Marcussen and previously as Marcussen & Reuter, is a Danish firm of organ builders.They were one of the first firms to go back to classical organ-building techniques, and have been producing mechanical-action organs since 1930...
. He returned to Rieger in 1977 to become managing director, a post he held until his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 2003.
Josef Glatter-Götz jr. retired in 1984 and died on 1 May 1989, acknowledged as one of the 20th century's most influential organ-builders, especially in regard to the reestablishment of the classical organ-building traditions, which he pioneered and perfected.
Wendelin Eberle
Wendelin Eberle (born 8 July 1963) began his apprenticeship in organ building with Rieger in 1978. He worked on the technical aspects of organ design, as well as in voicingVoicing (music)
In music composition and arranging, a voicing is the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the pitches in a chord...
and tuning
Musical tuning
In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...
, and became manager of the Rieger design office. He took over as works manager of Rieger in 1992, and became president and owner of Rieger-Orgelbau GmbH on 1 October 2003, in a similar sequence to that of Josef von Glatter-Götz eighty years earlier.
Today
Rieger employs approximately 40 people; two groups of ten employees each build the organPipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
s from the planning stage through to the point where the finished instrument is resting in its final home. The voicer
Voicing (music)
In music composition and arranging, a voicing is the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the pitches in a chord...
is involved from the design decisions regarding specification and placement onwards and determines the scales of the pipe
Organ pipe
An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale...
s, as it is the voicer who has the final responsibility for the quality of sound
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
they produce in the finished organ.
The suppliers of materials - the pipe shop, the locksmith shop, and the workshops for production of manuals and action parts - are located on the same premises as the builders, to allow for complete control over the quality of every part of their organs. Rieger has a long-standing interest in social justice, having been one of the first employers to give their employees health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
and electric lighting in their accommodation in the opening years of the twentieth century. Manufacture of action parts for their organs is now undertaken mainly by handicapped
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
people.
In their organ design and manufacture, they do not aim to copy any specific style, but rather create a new tradition which allows the interpretation of the full range of organ repertoire
Organ repertoire
The organ repertoire consists of music written for the organ. Because it is one of the oldest musical instruments in existence, written organ repertoire spans a time period almost as long as that of written music itself. The organ's solo repertoire is among the largest for any musical instrument...
. Study of organs of all periods informs this design philosophy, with the result that the resulting sound is not 'authentic', but rather serves the music effectively. They write: 'In any case it is our goal to build instruments not as much for the past, as certainly for the present and the future.'
Notable Rieger organs
- St. Paul, ChristianiaOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, 1877 - OlomoucOlomoucOlomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
Cathedral, 1885 - Stadtsaal, InnsbruckInnsbruck- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, 1891 - BragaBragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, 1898 - St Pölten Cathedral, St Pölten, 1902
- London College of MusicLondon College of MusicThe London College of Music is a music school which is part of the University of West London in England.The LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Great Marlborough Street in central London until 1991...
, 1906 - Musikvereinssaal, Vienna, 1907
- St. Matyas, BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 1908 - Musikvereinssaal, KlagenfurtKlagenfurt-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, 1911 - Vienna Konzerthaus, 1913
- Mozarteum, SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, 1914 - St Matthew's, Łódź, 1928
- Cathedral (Viipuri), Viipuri, 1929
- St. Jakob, InnsbruckInnsbruck- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, 1931 - RudolfinumRudolfinumThe Rudolfinum is a music auditorium in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava.-Overview:...
, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, 1940 - Neanderkirche, DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, 1966 - International Christian UniversityInternational Christian UniversityThere are several rankings related to ICU, shown below.-Alumni rankings:According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the PRESIDENT's article on 2006/10/16, graduates from ICU have the 24th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and their average graduate salary is the 4th best in...
Chapel, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, 1970 - AugustinerkircheAugustinerkircheThe Augustinian Church in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, the harmonious Gothic interior was added in the...
, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 1976 - RatzeburgRatzeburgRatzeburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the Kreis of Lauenburg.-History:...
Cathedral, 1977 - Christ Church Cathedral, OxfordChrist Church Cathedral, OxfordChrist Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
, 1979 - Pacific Union CollegePacific Union CollegePacific Union College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Angwin, California, United States. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California....
, Angwin, CaliforniaAngwin, CaliforniaAngwin is a census-designated place in Napa County, United States. California. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 3,051 at the 2010 census. Its area code is 707. Its two zip codes are 94508 and 94576. It is in the Pacific time zone.The town was named in 1874 for...
, 1980 - Hong Kong Cultural CentreHong Kong Cultural CentreThe Hong Kong Cultural Centre is a multipurpose performance facility in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong. Located at Salisbury Road, it was founded by the former Urban Council and, after 2000, is administered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong Government...
, Hong Kong, 1989 - StephansdomStephansdomSt. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP...
, Vienna, 1991 - Consevatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1991 - St. Giles' CathedralSt. Giles' CathedralSt Giles' Cathedral, more properly termed the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. Its distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the city skyline, at about a third of the way down the Royal Mile which runs from the Castle to...
, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, 1992 - University of South AfricaUniversity of South AfricaThe University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
, PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, 1995 - Christchurch Town HallChristchurch Town HallThe Christchurch Town Hall, since 2007 formally known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, opened in 1972, is Christchurch's premier performing arts centre. It is located in the central city on the banks of the Avon River overlooking Victoria Square. It is situated opposite the...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 1997 NZOrgan - Scots' Church, MelbourneScots' Church, MelbourneThe Scots' Church, a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia, was the first Presbyterian Church to be built in the Port Phillip District . It is located in Collins Street and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia...
, 1998 - Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PennsylvaniaBryn Mawr, PennsylvaniaBryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
, 2005 - Kathedrale St. Peter, RegensburgRegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, 2009
External links
- http://www.rieger-orgelbau.com/ - official website - full list of organs built since 1945, organ-building descriptions, history of firm, contact information
- http://www.xprt.net/~rcrowley/rieger/index.htm or http://www.rcrowley.com/Rieger/Tour.htm - Description and photos of tour of Rieger organ-building site