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Handschuhsheim was once home to the largest fountain pen factory in Europe, the company Kaweco. Kaweco was a world leader in fountain pen production and was one of several fountain pen manufacturers based in Heidelberg. This made Handschuhsheim virtually the cradle of fountain pens, at least as far as production and marketing in Germany were concerned. Kaweco got its name from the two merchants Heinrich Koch and Rudolf Weber, who had this production facility built in the years 1912-14. Fountain pens and other writing utensils were manufactured here from 1926 onwards. Ownership of the building changed hands several times, and when the last owner Hebborn sold out to the Parker organization at the end of the 1970s, the pen factory closed in 1976 and became Niebel Fashion Store.
Niebel Fashion Store 2019 (photo: Jung )
The portal to the left of the main entrance to the fashion store is a reminder of the building’s industrial past, with two large fountain pens in relief in sandstone on either side of the door and the name of the last pen manufacturer above the door: H.Hebborn & Co. Factory for Fountain Pens and Mechanical Pencils.
Ancient Portal (photo: Jung)
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