The world of the Krigler House is like a journey. It tells of distant countries and places of longing. But also about the turbulent history of the last century and the family. About great feelings, the love of detail, classic craftsmanship, a sense of style and the courage to start anew.
The journey begins in Berlin, where Albert Krigler was born in 1860. But his first professional stop takes the young chemistry student to Moscow. Where the famous French perfume manufacturer Rallet is just establishing itself and attracting many young people from Europe who have devoted themselves to the passion of fragrance. But that’s not enough adventure. Soon the 19-year-old falls in love with the daughter of a French perfumer and colleague. They become engaged in 1879 and Albert expresses his feelings with a very special gift. His first own perfume, Pleasure Gardenia 79 - a beguiling floral explosion of jasmine, mimosa and gardenia. The inspiration for this is not only his new relationship status with Charlotte, but the gardenias that grow in the garden around the golden Kinkaku-ji temple in Kyoto. Popular motifs on the Japanese lacquer works exhibited in Moscow at this time. Pleasure Gardenia 79 was to become an important building block in the family’s fragrance history. In 1904, Albert Krigler went into business for himself and moved with his family to St. Petersburg. He opened a boudoir where high society could have their own personal perfume made, because “haute parfumerie” was all the rage. No sooner had he arrived in St. Petersburg than the Russian era of the Kriglers came to an end. To escape the turmoil of the revolution, the family moved back to Berlin in 1905. Back to their roots! The Berlin bourgoisie knows and loves Kriglers’ perfumes; wearing them is considered elitist and chic. So it was a good thing that Albert was offered the opportunity to open his new boudoir in the Hotel Viktoria on Unter den Linden. Not suspecting that in doing so he has invented his
