Contact details

Foundation for Industrial History of Győr

Address: 9021 Győr,
Szent István út 10/a
Phone:
+3696520274
Fax: +3696520291
E-mail:
ipartortenet@ipartortenet.hu
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Károly Neubauer and Son Match Factory

   Address of the memorial site, route planning
     
     What can we see at the memorial site?
     
     Brief overview
     
     Detailed company history
     
     Interesting facts
     
     Literature, references
     
     Related gallery

 

 

      MEMORIAL SITE ADDRESS, ROUTE PLANNING

 

Győr, Kálvária Street 55.

 

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      WHAT CAN WE SEE AT THE MEMORIAL SITE?

 

 

 

 

Street view:

 
 

Pictures from our days:

A picture from the past:

 

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      BRIEF OVERVIEW

 

     
 

The introduction of matchmaking in the city of Győr is linked to the Neubauer and Goldschmid families, and matches were produced in the factory in 1867. The company used the name Neubauer Károly és Fia from January 10, 1889. The first safe Swedish lighter was made in Hungary in the Győr factory. The factory successfully exhibited its products at industrial exhibitions, which increased the company's reputation and recognition, and by 1897 the number of employees had reached 140-150.

Production was modernized through continuous developments, but despite this, the factory found it increasingly difficult to compete with the leading, large-capacity, modern Hungarian match factories. On January 13, 1905, the ownership of the factory was transferred to the Budapest-registered company Vesuvius Hungarian Match Factory Co., Ltd. Vesuvius Co., Ltd. had serious plans for the development of the Győr factory, but none of them came to fruition. In 1915, the factory was still producing, but in 1918, Szikra Hungarian Match Factory Co., Ltd., a group of Hungarian factories that also included Vesuvius Co., Ltd., sold the plant to Magyar Zománc és Fémáru Co., Ltd. A significant part of the match factories in the countryside were liquidated, and the remaining large factories were grouped into an alliance. The ELZETT Sheet Metal Factory later operated on the site.

 

 

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      DETAILED COMPANY HISTORY

 

The introduction of matchmaking in the city of Győr is linked to the Neubauer and Goldschmid families. Károly Neubauer and Ignác Goldschmid applied to the city council in 1860 for an operating permit for a jewelry manufacturing business to be established in Újváros. An expert committee conducted an on-site inspection of the rented premises at Festő Street 38-39, who concluded that the building was surrounded by thatched-roof houses on a narrow street, and therefore fire safety considerations did not apply. At that time, white phosphorus was used for matchmaking, the toxic evaporation of which could have damaged the health of those living nearby, so the application was rejected.

In 1867, Károly Neubauer again applied to the city government to establish a match factory. This time, he wanted to establish the factory outside the city, in a rented house at No. 76, Nádorváros, where - as the application states - he would employ "poor" workers. Production began in the factory shortly after the permit was granted, which provoked protests from the population and the commander of the nearby infantry barracks. Despite the protesters' claims of fire danger and air pollution, the city's decision-makers did not revoke the permit.

During the operation of the factory, it slowly but continuously developed, the factory site was transformed and expanded through land use planning, and in the meantime its address was changed to Kálvária utca 55. The main entrance was in the 18-window, ground-floor building, where carts loaded with raw materials and finished goods used to travel. The site was bordered by a two-story factory section from Kert utca, from which chimneys emitting gases and smoke generated during production stood out. The owners and their family members also lived in a residential building built on the factory site.

Photo fragment depicting a detail of the Győr match factory - laminated onto 150x95 mm cardboard
Xántus János Museum – Győr

source: http://www.magyargyufa.hu/gyufaipari-tortenelem/gyufagyaar/50-gyor.html

 

The match factory's emblem and trademark was a rooster standing between two ears of wheat, which appeared not only on invoices but also on numerous match labels.

http://www.magyargyufa.hu/gyufaipari-tortenelem/gyufagyaar/50-gyor.html

Initially operating as a private company, the factory employed 30 people in unmodern conditions in 1870, yet it produced a wide variety of matches. The factory, which was constantly expanding in terms of staff and developing in terms of technology, followed market demands and paid attention to the competition.

The first safe Swedish lighter was made in Hungary in the Győr factory. Instead of dangerous white phosphorus, the first match was made with red phosphorus by the Swede JE Landström, who is the creator of the safety lighter, the "Swedish match".

                           

source: http://www.magyargyufa.hu/gyufaipari-tortenelem/gyufagyaar/50-gyor.html

 

Among the factory's products were well-known paraffined matches without sulfur and phosphorus,

   

source: https://picasaweb.google.com/gyufasdoboz/Gyor?feat=flashslideshow#5512446155130294610

 https://picasaweb.google.com/gyufasdoboz/Gyor?feat=flashslideshow#5512446094496162146

national, white mikado, brown swedish, cock salon, Baross, luxury and rescue matches,

                       

Baross match - 1893. (From the collection of Frank J. Mrazik)

           source: http://www.magyargyufa.hu/gyufaipari-tortenelem/gyufagyaar/50-gyor.html

 

                                             

                                     

"numerous" sulfur matches - 1905. (From the collection of Frank J. Mrazik)

                     source: http://www.magyargyufa.hu/gyufaipari-tortenelem/gyufagyaar/50-gyor.html

 

Matchstick labels offered a good opportunity to advertise the company and showcase charity.

From the net profit of the rescue matches – as can be read on the labels – 5 percent went to the Budapest Voluntary Rescue Association, or 2 percent went to the Southern Magyarországi Public Cultural Association.