At the start of this century, the toy maker Johann Hermann, together with his wife and 6 children, lived in a little village nestled in the mountains of Thuringia near the World Toy Capital Sonneberg. The family of ancestor Johann is known as the point of origin of the HERMANN Teddy Bears. From this family has emerged the founders of four independet soft toy and Teddy Bear companies. One of these is the old Teddy Bear manufacturing company of Max Hermann, Johann Hermann's son. Today this company is under the leadership of the 3rd generation of the founders grandchildren, Martin-J. and Dr. Ursula (Ulla) Hermann.

Like most of the inhabitants of this richly forested region, amid of the mountains of the Thuringian Forest, Johann Hermann made wooden toys like little wood fiddles for children. In his little workshop he was helped by his 6 children. With the increase of the demand for Teddy Bears, 3 of Johann's children - Arthur, Adelheid and Max - took the initiative and set out to manufacture their first Teddy Bear. The date was October 24, 1913. This was the moment of the birth of the Hermann Teddy Bears. A Commemorative Tablet which was attached to the birth house in Neufang in 1993 for the 80th anniversary, reminds us of this beginning.

After the the First World War and the death of Johann in 1919, the Hermann brothers and sisters started their own separate businesses. In 1920 Max Hermann founded his own company in his birth house in Neufang.

Together with his wife Hilde, Max Hermann moved in 1923 from Neufang to the World Toy Capital of Sonneberg. Here his Teddy Bear company became a well-known name. His Teddy Bears are sent around the globe. At the beginning of the Thirties Max Hermann developed his well-known trademark "the green triangle" and "the Bear with the running dog". To this day, these features are the important parts of the sign of HERMANN-Coburg.

After the Second World War, Germany was divided into East and West. The World Toy Capital of Sonneberg became part of East Germany. Together with his family, Max Hermann fled in 1953 from Sonneberg in the East to Coburg in the West. Here Max Hermann built up again his company and continued the old tradition of the manufacture of his Teddy Bears.

When Max Hermann died in 1955, his son Rolf-G. took leadership of the company. Soon Rolf-G. Hermann becomes one of the most well known people in the German toy industry.

Beside the manufacture of many traditional soft toys and Teddy Bears in the Fifties, Sixties and early Seventies, the company developed under the management of Rolf-G. Hermann to become the most famous manufacturer of soft toy Characters for the German speaking countries. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear and Yogi Bear belonged to the HERMANN manufacture line. The company grew very fast. Growning up in the work rooms of the company, Dr. Ursula (Ulla) Hermann and her brother Martin J. Hermann both have been familiar with the manufacture of Teddy Bears since their childhood. Dr. Ursula (Ulla) Hermann entered her father's company actively in 1983 after completing her Doctor of Economics Degree. Her brother Martin J. Hermann followed in 1993 after his final examination at the German University of Economics in Nuremberg and some years of practice in an International Business Consulting Company in Düsseldorf. The family tradition of making good Teddy Bears is the common passion of both of today's business guides.

Please enjoy our selection of Hermann-Spielwaren Teddy Bears.

	XX-One Century Bear The Teddy Bear of the 21st Century L/E 1000 15" tall Mohair Plush $150.00
Mama & Baby Panda L/E 500 world-wide 17.7"-Mama & 8.7"-Baby Mohair Plush $290.00	Red Panda L/E 1000 world-wide 13.4" Tall Mohair Plush $160.00	Black & White Designed by Kristina Dietzel L/E 500 world-wide 9.8" tall Mohair Plush $170.00
Moving Head Bear-Bordeaux A special mechanism allows the head to be positioned in any number of poses. L/E 500 world-wide 15.4" tall Mohair Plush $188.00	Moving Head Bear-Lavender A special mechanism allows the head to be positioned in any number of poses. L/E 500 world-wide 15.4" tall Mohair Plush $188.00	Moving Head Bear-Green A special mechanism allows the head to be positioned in any number of poses. L/E 500 world-wide 15.4" tall Mohair Plush $188.00
	Coming Soon World Traveler

Also available are Running Panda (black & brown), Baby Waldemar, and Tayaout.