GrayEyes
Familiar Face
- Messages
- 79
- Location
- a northern factory town
Dear fellow Beret Wearers,
When is a German beret (Baskenmütze) not a German beret? What it's not actually from Germany.
This week, I took a trip to Luckenwalde to see the famous hat factory designed by Erich Mendelsohn. It's an amazing building that is now almost entirely empty. The structure is in good condition, having been restored in the 1990s, but the surrounding grounds are overgrown with weeks and strewn with rubble.
So where is the beret (Baskenmütze) connection? While in Luckenwalde, I went to the town's only hat store -- a bit far from the central market square, but easily recognizable by its hat-themed sign.
The owner was very kind and showed me her selection of berets, which generally involved, soft artificial leather (external) sweatbands, grommets on each side for ventilation, and the cabillou. The lining was solid black and not particularly noteworthy. I asked if they were made in Luckenwalde, and she said that sadly no hats are made there anymore. She did not seem inclined to discuss the matter further, and I feared that they are made in China or India. I hope that some Baskenmützen are still made in Germany.
A panoramic view of one side of the Mendelsohn factory:
When is a German beret (Baskenmütze) not a German beret? What it's not actually from Germany.
This week, I took a trip to Luckenwalde to see the famous hat factory designed by Erich Mendelsohn. It's an amazing building that is now almost entirely empty. The structure is in good condition, having been restored in the 1990s, but the surrounding grounds are overgrown with weeks and strewn with rubble.
So where is the beret (Baskenmütze) connection? While in Luckenwalde, I went to the town's only hat store -- a bit far from the central market square, but easily recognizable by its hat-themed sign.
The owner was very kind and showed me her selection of berets, which generally involved, soft artificial leather (external) sweatbands, grommets on each side for ventilation, and the cabillou. The lining was solid black and not particularly noteworthy. I asked if they were made in Luckenwalde, and she said that sadly no hats are made there anymore. She did not seem inclined to discuss the matter further, and I feared that they are made in China or India. I hope that some Baskenmützen are still made in Germany.
A panoramic view of one side of the Mendelsohn factory: