Maker record
Schowanek Hansa
Schowanek was a wooden-products and toy manufacturer established by Johann Schowanek in the Jizera Mountains. Its early output included wooden beads and turned goods; from 1927 the firm also made toys. During the Second World War it shifted in part to military production, including scale aircraft models for pilot training. After the war, the original enterprise was nationalized, while Hans Schowanek continued toy making in new businesses in Austria and Bavaria.
- Locations
- Jiřetín pod Bukovou · 1908
- Founders
- Johann Schowanek
The story of Schowanek Hansa
Johann Schowanek, born Jan Schovánek, began as a small maker of wooden beads in the Jizera Mountains. He established his factory at Jiřetín pod Bukovou in 1908, after first working in Desná. The business made wooden components and turned goods, including beads, and expanded its exports before the First World War. It added toys to its range in 1927, during the leadership of Johann’s son Hans. Johann died in 1934, and Hans took over the company.
The firm employed more than a thousand people at its height in the 1930s. During the Second World War, labor shortages and reduced demand for toys led it back toward war production; it made accurate aircraft models for pilot training. After the war, the original enterprise was confiscated and nationalized, and Hans Schowanek left the region. He later resumed wooden-toy production in Austria and established another business in Bavaria. The original factory continued under new ownership and later became Detoa Albrechtice.
