The
chronicle of our Company since 1887
It is written that in 1887 the young violin making master Johann Klier fromSchönbach
in Egerland set up his own workshop. Numerous homeworkers from the vicinity
would send him and his three apprentices so-called halfpieces which they had
carefully prepared using the best tone woods from the forests of the.Austro-Hungarian
monarchy.
In his workshop, the individual pieces were assembled into violins and delivered to clients in Vienna and as far as Russia. A particularly well-executed piece, in which the usual scroll was replaced by a portrait of the Emperor Franz Joseph II was sent as a gift to the Viennese Court. The Court rewarded the ingenious master with a letter of thanks and 48 gold coins,- the "Emperor violin" can still be admired in a museum in Prague. lt was the costum among the Schönbacher violinmakers for all family members to participate in the workshop. Children were thereby introduced to their father's trade at an early age and grew up to be skillful violinmakers. Therefore, follo-wing his father's death in 1918, the eldest son, Otto Josef Klier was able to smoothly take over the workshop; he rapidly familiarized himself with the business, completed his examination for the title of a master and was soon sought after by clients because of the outstanding varnish of his violins.
The violins from the Klier workshop are still varnished by using the same traditional formula!
In 1921, Otto Josef married Rosa Sandner, from an old Schönbach violin-making family; from then on, she assumed the administrative dutiesof the expanding business, which soon required a new two-story building to accomodate it.
Up to 50. 000 violins were made each year. The economic depression in the early 1930's greatly affected the musical instrument industry inSchönbach. Otto Josef rapidly broadened his production line to include plucked instruments.
The end of World War II brought no peace to the company. On the contrary, Otto Josef and Rosa Klier's struggles began:
On March 12, 1948, the family was forced to leave the Sudetenland, abandoning the fruits of many generations' Iabour.
A guesthouse near Erlangen was the first stop in the Federal Republic of Germany. OttoJosef transformed a corner of their room into a workshop and hand-built the first Klier violin in the new homeland.
Otto -Josef died in 1961, aged 66 years. His widow Rosa took over as head of the company, supported by her daughter and son-in-law. In the same year, the company participatod for the first time at the Frankfurt Spring Fair and since the 70's, the company has been regularly represented with a wide product palette at the International Music Fair in Frankfurt. Today, more than 120 years after its founding, and more than 50 years after reestablishing itself, the company is worldwide a well known supplier of violins, violas and cellos. The scope ranges from school instruments to concert and master instruments.
In 1990 Mrs. Rosa Klier decided to retire, knowing that by handing the company over to the next generation she put the future of a well-managed, internationaly known company in some experienced hands.
In 2000 Mrs. Rosa Klier died, and in spring 2002 the family decided to handover the traditional company to Mr. and Mrs. Faber, who worked as supplier for Otto Jos. Klier for many years and beginning of 2004 they continued the traditional work in their new facilitiy in Forchheim/Oberfranken.
