Herend

"Herend" refers to pottery and porcelain pieces manufactured by the Porcelain Factory of Herend, a small Hungarian town near the city of Veszprem. The Porcelain Factory of Herend was initially started as a small earthenware manufacturing facility by Vince Stingl, in 1826. It also dabbed with certain experiments in porcelain-making. However, by 1839, after its bankruptcy, Vince’s creditor, MÛr Fischer, took control.

Fischer was very ambitious and introduced production of artistic porcelain to the factory, an effort which was widely supported by the Hungarian aristocracy in the early 1840s. Demands for Herend products soared and throughout the 1840s and the early 1850s the factory received the highest of recognitions in exhibitions across the world. The Herend factory’s works were also appreciated by royalty from across the globe (Queen Victoria, Francis Joseph I, Maximillian and the Mexican Emperor among others). The factory’s royal patronage is reflected in its most well-known patterns (Queen Victoria, Esterh·zy, Batthy·ny, Rothschild, Apponyi), which incidentally are named after the factory’s first customers.

In 1874 MÛr Fischer handed over management of the factory to his sons, a move which resulted in the factory almost going bankrupt. By the late 1890s Jeno Farkash·zy, grandson of MÛr Fischer, established his control of the factory. Following this the factory received a second lease on life, of sorts. During the Communist regime, the factory was nationalised and remained so till 1993, when it was privatised. It is now owned by the management and the workers, who control 75% of the factory.