Kœnig pipe organ builders, as known as manufacture d'orgues Kœnig, is a French firm that designs, builds and restores

pipe organs The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

. This

organ building Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs. The organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with a particular disposition of stops, manuals, and actions, creates a d ...

family owned manufacture is based in

Sarre-Union Sarre-Union () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It consists of two older towns that were unified on 16 June 1794. On the east bank of the river Sarre is the town of Bouquenom () and on the west bank ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, since 1945.

Achievements

Kœnig is specifically renowned for being the first contemporary organ builder to have performed in 1967 the recreation of a pipe organ, complying with the precepts found in

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

book ''L'Art du facteur d'orgues'' by Dom Bédos. This masterpiece can be seen in Saint-Georges' Church of

Bouquenom Sarre-Union () is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It consists of two older towns that were unified on 16 June 1794. On the east bank of the river Saar (river), ...

in Sarre-Union. The workshop regularly contributes to the restoration of historical listed organs.

History

Jean-Georges Koenig, born on May 16, 1920 in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and died on November 26, 1992, purchased the business from the widow of organ builder Henry Vondrasek in order to resurrect the factory that had been established in 1930. Yves Kœnig, born on May 16, 1950, began working with his father in the 1970s and fully took over the business in 1982. He is assisted since 2008 by Julien Marchal, born on Octobre 29, 1990 who he gradually prepares to his succession.

References

as checked on the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. {{reflist

External links

Official website
Pipe organ building companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of France French pipe organ builders Companies based in Grand Est French brands