Since 1857, HOHNER produces musical instruments like harmonicas, accordions, melodicas, recorders, guitars and ukuleles of the highest quality.
The founder of the Hohner company is Matthias Hohner (1833 – 1902).
The German Harmonica and Accordion Museum in Trossingen, which houses the famous HOHNER collection, is simply unique and tells the HOHNER history like no one else. More than twenty five thousand different harmonicas and accordions, lovingly preserved by curator Martin Häffner, make up the largest single collection in the world. But the museum doesn‘t only exhibit musical instruments, it also shows rare films, recordings, sales displays, advertising posters, and much more. The exciting story of Matthias HOHNER, his rise to fortune and the assimilation of his numerous competitors is all documented in the main museum building. Special exhibitions are shown on the new premises a short distance away in Bau V, a huge former factory building on the original HOHNER factory site.
Dates and facts:
1857: HOHNER started the manufacturing of harmonicas;
1867: HOHNER starts exporting harmonicas to the USA – by the end of the 19th century the export quota exceeds 80%.
1900: Matthias Hohner passes his company to his five sons: 1,000 employees manufacture four million harmonicas per year.
1901: Hans Hohner founds the HOHNER US Department in New York. 1903: the first HOHNER Accordion is released in the US.
1920: The founder’s grandson Dr. Ernst Hohner (1886 – 1965) joins the executive board. 4.000 employees produce 20 million harmonicas per year.
1928: Venanzio Morino comes to Trossingen and leads the accordion department to a golden age.
1931: In the middle of the century’s biggest accordion boom with hundreds of accordion orchestras, HOHNER founds the HOHNER Music Publishing House, the DHV (German Harmonica Association) and the HOHNER Conservatoire.
1956: Giovanni Gola becomes head of the accordion department and sets new standards in the high-end premium segment.
1991: Opening of the German Harmonica Museum in Trossingen.
The first Hohner accordion, 1903 
Ernst Hohner with accordions, 1920
The Hohner Accordion orchestra, 1931 
Giovanni Gola, 1956
