Strehla Keramik

STREHLA KERAMIK (1828-1989)

The Strehla Factory, founded in 1828, took its name from the town in Dresden Saxony, Germany where the company began. There is a small village between Leipzig and Dresden that bears the same name and may have been the original location. Its production was varied, being both utilitarian and decorative.  

The company was taken over in 1930 by a local stoneworks, Steingutfabrik Colditz. After the WWII, the company, which was located in East Germany (GDR), remained under Communist rule from the 1950s to the 1980s.  The company continued production and was known as VEB Sachsen, Steingutfabrik Strehla. VEB stands for Volkseigener Betrieb (State owned/the People's Company/Business).

The work produced by Strehla and other companies in East Germany such as VEB Haldensleben, tended to be more conservative than that of West Germany. Strehla's, usually made in a brown clay, output was characterized in the late 1960's and 1970's by sophisticated decoration or using a lava texture glaze which was added by hand. Most pieces are marked with an ink stamped Strehla GDR and have a model number impressed to the base. Strehla pieces are harder to find in Germany now than West German produced goods, perhaps as much of the production was exported. The quality of items produced during the 1950's deteriorated onwards. The company closed in 1989, the same year that Germany reunified.