Union Brewery ( sl, Pivovarna Union) is one of the largest

breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It was formed in 1864 in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and became part of

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality be ...

in 2015. Since 1987 it also includes a museum of beer.

History

The first record of beer brewing in Ljubljana is from 1592. The brewery was founded in 1864 as a small family business by Ivan and

Peter Kosler Peter Kosler or Kozler (16 February 1824 – 16 April 1879) was a Carniolan lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and businessman. He was of ethnic German origin, but also identified with Slovene culture and advocated the peaceful coexis ...

as Kosler brewery. The actual birth of the Union brand dates back to 1909 when Kosler brothers, due to the increase in sales and the great market potential of the then

Austro-Hungarian empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, founded the Pivovarna Union joint venture with the contribution of Credit and Trade Institute in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. This joint stock company consisted of the union of the breweries of the Kosler brothers with the Reininghaus AG and Puntigam brewery in Graz. Between 1910 and 1926, Pivovarna Union acquired several small Slovenian brewery factories. In 1910, it acquired the Auer and Perless brewery in Ljubljana, in 1911 the "Perless" brewery in Kočevje, in 1912 the Smidt brewery in

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; german: Bischoflack) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies a ...

, in 1916 the Mayr brewery in

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

and Zimmerman brewery in Lesce, in 1917 the brewery of

Mengeš Mengeš (; german: Mannsburg''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 28.) is a settlement in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is the ...

, In 1918 the Frählich brewery in Vrhnika, in 1924 the Pivovarna Laško and finally, in 1926, Thomas Gatz brewery in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

. All brewed mills stopped making beer independently, so the Pivovarna Union remained the only brewery in the

Drava Banovina The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate ( Slovene and Serbo-Croatian: ''Dravska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Dra ...

. Later, certain brands, like Pivovarna Lako, gained commercial independence. The Pivovarna Union made more than 100,000 hectoliters of beer in 1925. Despite the difficulties caused by the outbreak of World War II, in 1945 the factory produced 45,000 hectoliters of beer. In 1946, when Slovenia was an integral part of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, the brewery was nationalized. In 1963, beer production rose to more than 220,000 hectoliters and today is around one million. In 2005 the Laško Brewery acquired the majority of Union Brewery shares and subsequently became part of Heineken International in 2015 after Heineken acquired a majority stake of Laško Brewery. In 2016 Laško and Union were formally merged into ''Pivovarna Laško Union'' under the Owner Heineken. In October 2021, the company announced that they will move beer brewing to Laška by January or February 2022 at the latest, as the cooling system is no longer suitable for operation after 35 years. The packaging and logistics center will be kept at the location. Later, a smaller brewery and innovation center will be built on the site of the brewery headquarters.

Brewing museum

There is an organised tour at the Brewery, with a small museum dedicated to the famous beer.Shann Fountain Alipour ''Moon Croatia & Slovenia'' 163121294X 2016 "Located in the 150 year old Union Brewery, the displays consist of the history of brewing in Slovenia, a tour of the brewery, and a beer or iced tea."

Brands

*Beer: **Union, Pils, Smile, Tivoli **Temno pivo, Črni Baron **Brezalkoholno pivo Uni **Radler *Non-alcohol drinks "Sola" *Water **Zala **Za lemon **Za life **Za harmony **Za symphony **Za fantasy

References

External links

Union Brewery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Brewery Slovenia Beer in Slovenia Slovenian brands Heineken brands Museums in Slovenia