Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik

The Waldorf - Astoria cigarette factory was a German tobacco company. It was founded by Emil Molt and other partners on 1 January 1906 in Stuttgart and Hamburg. Soon, a branch was opened in Stuttgart Feuerbach. The namesake of the factory was born in Walldorf (Baden) 1763 Johann Jacob Astor, was the fur trade and real estate to the then richest man in the world in America.

The company initially began working very successfully in 1919 and employed about 1000 employees. In the second half of the 1920s, the company ran by the then difficult economic situation and outdated production methods in trouble and Molt had to give up the majority of shares in a competing Trust. This liquidated in 1929 had become unprofitable factory. The cigarette brand Astor with the portrait of Johann Jacob Astor is now produced by Reemtsma.

The Stuttgart headquarters in the Hackstraße 11 is largely today and is used as a commercial and residential building.

On September 7, 1919 Emil Molt founded in collaboration with Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart, the first Waldorf school as a permanent school for the children of workers and employees of this factory. Steiner, who took over the training and guidance of the teaching staff, the school made the starting point of the anthroposophical Waldorf education.