The present commemorative for the “Lohner L 125 1959″ is the attractive continuation of the popular “Motorcycles” series. The stamp shows the legendary scooter from the distant past with which its proud owner could hit the road both casually and elegantly in the 1960s. The “Lohner” was particularly appreciated not only because it was easy to ride, but also for its comfort, which included two luggage compartments. Today, the L 125 enjoys a kind of cult status and always attracts huge interest at exhibitions and trade fairs.

The history of the Lohner factory: The enterprise was found in March 1821 by a certain Heinrich Lohner, a wagon-maker who had fled Germany to escape conscription to the French Army on the Rhine. His factory brought together the various trades involved in making wagons, which until then had worked separately. His son and successor, Jacob Lohner, a wagon-maker of world reputation, specialised in luxury carriages and ambulances. As “Supplier to the Royal Swedish Court”, Jacob Lohner joined his brother-in-law Josef Brauner, likewise employed in the wagon-making trade, in 1868 to form the new enterprise “Jacob Lohner & Comp.” By then, the company was making 300 to 500 carriages in the factory each year, and a few years later, in 1873, the 10,000 mark was passed. The regulation of the Danube in Vienna forced the factory to move to Floridsdorf, but the administration building remained in Vienna’s 9th district.
After Jacob Lohner retired, his son Ludwig Lohner took over the management of the company, and it was under him that the factory became the largest producer of horse-drawn carriages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1897, Lohner began making petrol-powered vehicles, followed later by the series production of electric cars. From 1909, Ludwig Lohner turned to the construction of aircraft and became a leading enterprise in Austria-Hungary. Alongside Carl Marius and Sebastian Armbruster, Lohner was the most frequently contracted carriage works during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph. On 15 January 1918, the company finally became “Lohnerwerke GmbH Wien”.
After decades of ups and downs, the company was taken over by the Canadian Bombardier Group in 1970. The former Vienna Lohner factory was converted to the production of light rail vehicles and now operates under the name “Bombardier Wien Schienenfahrzeuge” (BWS).

Source: Austria Post 

published December 8th, 2011