Homes and Shops of Gunmakers in Suhl

By Dietrich Apel

The Shops and Homes of the Suhl Gun Makers

      If you own a gun that was made in Suhl and you know the maker’s name, you might be able to see a photo of his shop or home in the photos that follow in alphabetical order. If you should be able to visit Suhl, the enclosed street maps will help you to find him. You can find the photo by the number on the maps at the end of the photos, but they might not be totally correct. You might need local help anyhow, perhaps from a taxi driver, to find the location. We also must point out that some of the houses, shops and factories have been torn down by now.

      In the “good old days” when almost everybody was working on guns in one way ore another, the more prosperous and bigger gun makers had their private home or Villa and their business either next to it or nearby. The smaller makers mostly had their shop attached to the rear of the house, and these additions can still be seen if you can see the back of many of the houses.

      Besides the gun makers whose name was engraved on the guns, there were many more that made guns for others and even more that did the specialized work that was needed on guns made inSuhl. Unfortunately we don’t have good information about all these very talented craftsmen.