you are here: Annual Report 2011 / Our portfolio / Tenant profiles / Café Kreutzkamm

Altmarkt-Galerie Dresden, Café Kreutzkamm

- A tenant´s profile -

The former supplier to the Royal Court of Saxony has developed into a specialist patisserie and confectioner that sends its wares around the world. Founded by Heinrich Jeremias Kreutzkamm in Dresden in 1825, the company is now run by the fifth generation of the same family.

The story started with an advertisement in the “Dresdner Anzeiger” newspaper at the end of 1825: extolling their “Particularly fine French bonbons and all manner of Swiss patisserie at the most reasonable prices”, and recommending to “the nobility and worshipful public” their “flavourful sweetmeats, which are perfectly suited to the decoration of Christmas trees”.

The company had far from an easy start, however, and it took nearly 50 years before its patisserie goods became known across Dresden and it was awarded the prestigious title of supplier to the Royal Court in 1873. Shortly thereafter, the company moved to its new headquarters in the city’s Altmarkt, where infinite patience and extreme skill were used to create many specialities which would be unaffordable to make today.

Particular ambition was devoted to the quality of their Christmas stollen. Initially only known and loved in Dresden, stollen first spread throughout Germany and then started to be sent abroad around the end of the 19th century. Shipments to tropical countries and the US were soldered into individual tin crates by a master tinsmith.

The First World War presented the patisserie with major problems, including a lack of specialist employees and an acute shortage of raw materials. Nevertheless, the company celebrated its centenary in 1925 with many tributes. When the Second World War ended in 1945, the Kreutzkamm family were left with the almost total destruction of everything they owned, as they were especially hard hit by the bombing of Dresden.

After the war it was impossible to return to occupied Dresden, and so production eventually restarted in Munich in 1950. The company established itself rapidly here and very soon was making cheese straws for the Hofbräuhaus and supplying the Oktoberfest, alongside its traditional products. All the signs pointed to growth, so new production facilities were set up outside the city.

When the Berlin Wall came down in autumn 1989, the Conditorei Kreutzkamm was faced with a completely unexpected new situation. It quickly became clear to the family that they wanted to continue their traditions in their old home, and a suitable shop was found very close to where their old headquarters had been. After extensive renovation the premises were opened in 1991, so now a family member was back in Dresden, looking after the business and its many customers and visitors from Saxony and the rest of the world.

The company now produces some 800 different items, which are supplied to department stores such as KaDeWe in Berlin and Harrods in London. In spring 2011, a very special café was opened in the Altmarkt- Galerie Dresden: it was created with a great deal of attention to historical detail, as a reminder of the company’s early beginnings, and was incorporated into the expansion of the shopping center. Visitors can also see a small collection of objects from the company’s early years.

Back to: Emotional retail design