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Emil Werner

*1906 , omgeving Kámen      †1973 , Bubenreuth

Bow maker Emil Werner (1906–1973) was born just across the border in the Czech Republic, but grew up in Markneukirchen. Before World War II, the village was located right on the border with the Czech Republic. German violin making had flourished in the Vogtland region since the seventeenth century, and Markneukirchen had become its center. It was internationally renowned and even had its own American consulate to facilitate exports to the United States.

As early as the 18th century, three influential families of bow makers had been active in Markneukirchen: Knopf, Pfretzschner, and Rau. In Markneukirchen, Emil learned the craft from bow maker Martin Karl Schuster, who was a skilled bow maker within this large family of violin makers. At the age of 18, Emil Werner struck out on his own. He specialized in bows of the traditional Bohemian style and produced a considerable number of expertly crafted bows of this type there until the war.
Workshop(s)
Markneukirchen, 1824-1940
Bubenreuth, 1949-1973

Violin Makers and Bow Makers Under the Soviets

During World War II, Emil Werner was drafted into the army. In late 1945, first the Americans and then the Soviet troops entered Markneukirchen as liberators. Six months later, the Allies divided Germany into the capitalist West and the communist East: the GDR. Markneukirchen ended up in the GDR and subsequently came under permanent Soviet rule.

Private ownership was no longer permitted; large companies were nationalized and small ones were looted. The Soviets forced the remaining instrument makers to supply 50,000 instruments. Violin makers who had returned from the front were also required to perform other tasks: making wooden crates or even wooden shoe soles—whatever the Soviets demanded of them.

About 3 million people lost everything and sought shelter elsewhere in Germany. Emil Werner, who had returned to Markneukirchen, also suffered this fate. The Allies’ plan to repatriate the residents of the border region failed completely. Almost immediately after the town was captured, the thousands of German residents of Markneukirchen were regarded as former enemies and were either killed or driven out by the communists; still others left of their own accord.

Massaproductie vóór WO II in Markneukirchen

Mass production before World War II in Markneukirchen

Temporarily in Schönbach

The mayor of Schönbach wanted to take in the violin makers who had almost all fled Markneukirchen and the surrounding area. The plan was devised in a hurry but was not successful due to a lack of facilities, housing, and work.

Violin Makers' Settlement, Bubenreuth

Emil did leave for Schönbach. Several relatives, including violin makers, had been living there since the previous century. However, he did not see a future for himself there. In 1949, the City Council of Bubenreuth, 200 km to the south, decided to offer the stranded violin makers a place to live and work. With funding from the Marshall Plan, a neighborhood was built where the entire guild could live and work: the “Geigenbauer-Siedlung.” Before 1949, the town had a population of about 700; within a few years, 1,600 displaced violin makers and bow makers had joined them, and ten years later, that number had grown to 3,000. Bubenreuth had become the new German center of violin making.

Standing Out from the Crowd

Emil Werner did not settle in the Geigenbauer-Siedlung, but opened a shop on Birkenallee, in the city center, not far from City Hall. He continued to work there until his death in 1973. In this difficult situation, there was hardly any opportunity to distinguish oneself from others and stand out. Only Egidius Dörfler, Lothar Seifert, Roderich Paesold, and Emil Werner earned a reputation as “master bow makers.” Their bows were shipped all over the world. Between 1949 and the year of Emil Werner’s death, some 25,000 stringed instruments and an equal number of bows were crafted in Bubenreuth.

No records were kept of how many students and staff members he had, but given his output, there must have been quite a few. Rudolf Neudörfer was one of them. After completing his training in Bubenreuth, Neudörfer went to Finkel’s workshop in Switzerland, where he worked for six years. When Emil Werner died in 1973, Neudörfer returned and took over Werner’s company. The name Werner would later be used by commercial manufacturers. 

Photo courtesy of Tarisio

Work and Influence

Emil Werner made bows for violin, viola, cello, viola da gamba, and double bass based on the traditional Bohemian model. He stamped his early bows with his full name: Emil Werner; later, he also used the initials “E. Werner.” The number of stars branded behind his name indicated the quality. The name Werner was later used by commercial companies that marketed simple bows outside of Europe.

Sources

Hoyer, C., 2022, Musical Instrument Making in Bubenreuth and the Surrounding Area: From 1945 to the Present, Bubenreuth.

Hunklinger, P., 1999, Highlights of Mittenwald’s Local History, Mittenwald.

Jalovec. K , 1967, German and Austrian Violin-makers, Praag.

Babbitt B, 2014, Markneukirchen Violins and Bows: Violins and Bows from the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Saxon and Bohemian Musikwinkel.

Auteur
Jan Boekhout
Date
2 September 2024

Given on loan