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Today, the Stiegelmeyer Group is Germany’s leading manufacturer of hospital and care beds and enjoys an excellent international reputation in this role. However, the company’s almost exclusive focus on the manufacture of medical products did not actually take hold until the second half of its long history. From the middle of the 1950s onwards, hospital beds gradually became Stiegelmeyer’s main product.
When Johann Stiegelmeyer started his experiments in Rödinghausen in 1899, however, he was looking to improve the well-being of people in their own bedrooms. At the turn of the century, the citizens of the German Empire were chronically fatigued, working an average of 62 hours a week and sleeping uncomfortably and unhygienically – often on sacks filled with straw or in beds shared with other shift workers. It is really no wonder that Johann Stiegelmeyer enjoyed such success with his “wire mesh mattress” during this period. The metal bed frame with a springy wire mesh was durable, hygienic and, compared to the customary hard bedding of the time, an absolute delight.
Wire mesh mattresses remained one of the company’s main products throughout the entire first half of the 20th century, but, in addition to these mattress bases, a whole cosmos of beds and accessories for discerning customers came into being, commencing shortly after the company was founded. Stiegelmeyer brochures from the 1900s looked like a furnishing list for a princess movie: shiny, golden “Union brass bedsteads” made a big impression with their elaborate columns and richly ornamented Art Nouveau bedheads. Interestingly, these first “Lifestyle beds” were fitted with small castors, starting a tradition that extends to today’s Libra deluxe.
The Imperial Era beds catered to the tastes of the aspiring bourgeoisie, who enjoyed having a backdrop of Renaissance or Baroque palace architecture. Even the Emperor himself liked the beds: Wilhelm II ordered a bed for his luxury yacht “Hohenzollern”. But whereas in the real Renaissance every ornamental feature was hand crafted by artists, the embellishments of the Neo-Renaissance originated from industrial series production – like the golden Stiegelmeyer beds.
After the Second World War, this style was considered to be tasteless and tacky, and modernist architects and designers actively resisted it for half a century. It is telling that even Stiegelmeyer’s own in-house magazine in 1953 cast an eye over the golden brochure and disparaged the type of bed depicted there as being a “monster with tall legs and thick tubes, embellished with balls, rings and bows”. 70 years later, this verdict no longer holds. In an old house or flat, the “Union brass bed” would now be prized as a splendid antique, but unfortunately, nothing from this period has survived at Stiegelmeyer. Even the Internet comes up with nothing. The imperial chapter is closed forever.
After the war, however, Stiegelmeyer started a new and successful chapter with its furniture for private customers. With the same confident approach used to cater to the tastes of the Wilhelminian era, the company now settled on a simpler elegance with a touch of Art Deco flair. Pictures from catalogues of the time show modern bedroom furnishings that have a timeless appeal, even from today’s perspective. This is even more impressive when you consider that the development division’s location in Herford was a very long way from the big city fashion centres.
In parallel with this bourgeois luxury, the company started to develop hospital beds around the year 1910, under the broad heading of “institutional facilities”. Indeed, the robust two-storey bunk beds were also used in barracks as well as in accommodation for labourers and for the Olympic games in 1936. From the mid-1930s onwards, more sophisticated hospital beds were developed, which were widely welcomed, all the way to the Charité hospital in Berlin. Before these products were able to fully establish themselves in the company, however, private furnishings experienced another major resurgence after the Second World War.
This time, however, there was a new target group. Where once the focus was on the desires of well-to-do consumers, the new “space-saving furniture” was designed for everyday use in the post-war era. At centre stage were fold-up beds for small flats. These beds were hinged along the long side and could be made to disappear during the day. Wooden corner units provided a bed, sofa, bookshelf and storage surface, all in one. Drawings and advertising materials from this period show that the company was once again at the cutting edge of design development.
The space-saving furniture was a great success in the 50s and 60s, with up to 100 fold-up beds being sold every day. You could buy them in department stores such as Karstadt or Horten. The Stiegelmeyer chronicle suggests that there was even some competition for resources within the company in the 1960s, since the hospital bed sector was booming at the same time. However, as prosperity increased in the country during these years, the demand for space-saving solutions declined. The search for a replacement led to Stiegelmeyer’s successful decision in 1968 to concentrate on nursing homes instead.
This brought to an end the company’s time as a furniture factory serving the mass market. The interest in private customers remained, though. The typical benefits of medical beds, such as height-adjustable mattress bases, adjustable backrests and a comfortable sitting position, also promote a sense of well-being in your own home. The general acceptance of electrically adjustable furniture, from car seats to TV recliners, was also growing. And a talent when it comes to contemporary design is still one of the hallmarks of the Stiegelmeyer Group today.
These considerations led to the development of the luxurious “suite eMotion” bed at the beginning of the 2010s and to the introduction of the lifestyle bed segment in 2019. Today, this includes the Libra and Libra deluxe models, the Lindeo bed insert and the Aparto bedside cabinet range. These beds provide the support that our customers need at each stage of their lives.
125 years of perfect sleep comfort, always reflecting the latest fashion, and always to the same high standard of quality and reliability. Good reasons for pride and joy during Stiegelmeyer’s anniversary year.
