Zacherlfabrik
Encyclopedia
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...
, Döbling
Döbling
Döbling is the 19th District in the city of Vienna, Austria . It is located on the north end from the central districts, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing...
. It was built in an oriental style.
History
Johann ZacherlJohann Zacherl
Johann Zacherl was an Austrian inventor, industrialist and manufacturer. Johann Zacherl made a fortune in the late 19th century by selling dried flower heads of Chrysanthenum cinerariifolum as an insecticide.- Biography :...
began importing insecticide made from pyrethrum
Pyrethrum
Pyrethrum refers to several Old World plants of the genus Chrysanthemum which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of C. cinerariifolium and C...
from Tiflis in 1842. In 1870, he started to produce moth powder in Unterdöbling
Unterdöbling
Unterdöbling was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. It is also one of the 89 Katastralgemeinden.- Geography :...
, which he sold under the name Zacherl’s insect-killing tincture (Zacherlin). By 1873, the four employees in his factory were already producing 600 tonnes of Zacherlin per year, which were sold in Zacherl’s shops in Paris
Paris
Paris 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...
, 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...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, 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...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Philadelphia.
In 1880, Zacherl left the company to his son John Evangelist. The factory in Unterdöbling
Unterdöbling
Unterdöbling was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. It is also one of the 89 Katastralgemeinden.- Geography :...
was rebuilt between 1888 and 1892 to produce insecticide. The street-facing administrative wing of the building, which was designed by Karl Mayreder
Karl Mayreder
Karl Mayreder was an Austrian architect.- Life and work :Karl Mayreder was born the son of hotelier Leopold Mayreder and his wife Henriette Mayreder...
, is a rare example of commercially-motivated Orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
in European architecture. The Yenidze
Yenidze
Yenidze is the name of a former cigarette factory building in Dresden, Germany. It was built between 1907 and 1909 and is used today as an office building...
cigarette factory in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
is another example of this trend.
The ceramic tiles that were used in the facade and on the roof of the Zacherl factory were produced by the Wienerberger
Wienerberger
Wienerberger AG is the world’s largest producer of bricks, and the second-largest European manufacturer of clay roof tiles. It is based in Vienna, Austria...
AG.
Johann Evangelist Zacherl expanded the Zacherl company’s activities from the production of insecticide to include the cleaning, repair and storage of fur and rugs. Between 1903 and 1905, he built the Zacherlhaus
Zacherlhaus
The Zacherlhaus is a residential and business tower designed by Jože Plečnik and built between 1903 and 1905 in the 1st district of Vienna, the Innere Stadt ....
at the Wildpretmarkt.
Following 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...
, sales of insecticide were stunted by expensive import taxes and the growth of chemical industries. After Johann Evangelist Zacherl’s death in 1936, his son Gregor Zacherl took control of the family factory, which from 1933 also produced ski binding
Ski binding
A ski binding is an attachment which anchors a ski boot to the ski. There are different types of bindings for different types of skiing.-Universal designs:...
s, but in 1949 Gregor Zacherl surrendered his merchant’s licence. He died in 1954 and the name Zacherl was deleted from the register of companies in 1958.
The factory building and its gardens stood empty for several decades, until in 2006 Veronika and Peter Zacherl, in cooperation with the Jesuit art fund, opened the former factory up for artistic projects. Since then, exhibitions and music soirees have been held in the building every summer.