The Zeppelin Foundation is an institution founded by

Ferdinand von Zeppelin Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (german: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name soon became synonymous with airships a ...

. Originally founded to support development of

zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

s and other

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

s, it now owns a number of large businesses in full or in part and uses its income for philanthropic efforts. The Zeppelin Foundation, headquartered in

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...

, is a legally dependent municipality. Since 1947, the city has managed the funds and ensures that they are used for their intended purpose. The foundation holds 93.8% of the shares of

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...

and is the owner of

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...

and Zeppelin GmbH. The foundation finances various charitable purposes, including

Zeppelin University Zeppelin University (German: ''Zeppelin Universität'', ZU) is a small and highly selective private research university on the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The university is accredited by the Ministry of Science, Researc ...

and the Zeppelin Museum.

References

Non-profit organisations based in Baden-Württemberg Companies based in Friedrichshafen {{Germany-stub