Walter Knoll was established in 1864 when Walter Knoll opened the doors of his leather store in Stuttgart, Germany, and established the company under his own name. Knoll’s leather quickly became known for its quality, and the company was appointed a purveyor to the royal court.

Walter Knoll soon began producing the classic club lounge chair. Six generations later, Walter Knoll was Germany’s oldest manufacturer. Now as then, the brand is distinguished by its first-class craftsmanship with classic design adapted for a modern audience.

When Walter’s sons Willy and Walter took over the business in 1907, they modernized the manufacturing process and started introducing stylish seating furniture with exciting new shapes and features. Design icons such as the Nestra armchair are now mass-produced. In the mid-1940s, while Germany was still accustomed to classic furnishings, Walter Knoll became a representative of the modern way of life.

The oldest master cabinetmakers in Germany

Over his lifetime, Walter Knoll produced a number of modernist classics with inspiration from Bauhaus. These include The Bucket Seat from 1950, being reissued in time for the 150th anniversary of the company. The Berlin Chair of 1975 is another example produced especially for the VIP lounge at Berlin’s Tegel Airport, and the 369 sofa launched in 1965 and still in production today. Over the years, the company has invited a number of prominent designers to collaborate on various projects. Among these are names such as Paul Hahn, Foster + Partners, Kengo Kuma, Claudio Bellini and Ben Ven Berkel.

In 1993, Walter Knoll was acquired by the German interior design company Rolf Benz, and Markus Benz has been at the helm ever since. Today, Walter Knoll has showrooms all over the world. The brand’s collections are also represented in numerous public settings such as the German Embassy in Brasilia, several banks in Dubai and the Hearst Building in New York. The company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015 with a number of reinterpretations of old furniture classics.