Nuremberg velocipede factory Hercules

120 years of Hercules. 

The development of the two-wheeler industry in Germany began in Neumarkt near Nuremberg. Carl Marschütz, founder of Hercules-Werke, was given a wooden bicycle as a gift when he was 15 years old. A few years later, an Englishman rode through Neumarkt on a steel penny-farthing. Carl Marschütz then took out a loan and bought his own velocipede. The two-wheeler was to fascinate him for the rest of his life.

Marschütz founded his own velocipede factory on April 5, 1886, under the name "Carl Marschütz & Co."-the later Hercules-Werke. The foundation stone for the Nuremberg two-wheeler industry had been laid. Marschütz & Co. first established itself in a small rented workshop in Nuremberg's Bleichstrasse. After only a short time, the location became too small and Marschütz moved its workshops to Obere Fürther Strasse 61. From February 15, 1887, the company was now called "Nuremberg Velocipedfabrik Hercules." 

The brand name Hercules, which appeared for the first time, had been popularly coined to symbolize the power and endurance of Marschütz bicycles. The company developed well and Nuremberg itself became more and more the center of the German two-wheeler industry.

When the National Socialists seized power, Carl Marschütz's career came to an end. Since Marschütz was Jewish, he had to emigrate to the USA. The Hercules factories were "Aryanized" and the Marschütz brothers were forced to sell their shares far below value. In the course of the Second World War, 75% of the Hercules production facilities were destroyed and then completely looted. 

After the war, production resumed. The Hercules factories survived through several changes of ownership and the two-wheeler industry experienced its second spring. Business was good until the late 1970s with some ups and downs. Although Hercules motorcycles disappeared from the market, Hercules bicycles continue to enjoy great popularity.