Frottana
Product brand
UnclaimedGerman terry-cloth brand from Großschönau with over 160 years of textile tradition, making towels, bath mats and bathrobes 'Made in Germany'.
Last updated September 28, 2026
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Overview
Frottana is a German brand of terry-cloth (Frottier) home textiles based in Großschönau in the Oberlausitz region of Saxony. It sells towels, hand towels, bath towels, bath mats, bathrobes and coordinated towel sets through its own online shop and retail partners. The brand presents itself as a long-established German manufacturer: its official shop states that more than 160 years of company tradition, experience and know-how in terry weaving shape its products, and that production follows the highest quality standards in Germany. According to the same source, the goods are made on 30 looms from selected raw materials, predominantly 100 percent cotton, and every item is subject to close quality controls before it leaves the house. All Frottana textiles are certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, product class I, meaning they are tested for harmful substances and described as suitable for allergy sufferers and sensitive baby skin. The brand's roots lie in the textile industry of Großschönau, a historic centre of damask and terry weaving in the Oberlausitz. Industrial textile production in the town reaches back to the 18th century, and terry fabrics were produced there from 1856. Frottana's predecessor companies include Lieske & Häbler, which wove terry fabrics as one of the first firms in the town in 1856, and C. G. Hänsch, a damask weaving business founded in 1832 that later became a major terry producer. These enterprises passed through court damask weaving, wartime conversion, nationalization in East Germany and later reorganization. The Frottana name is associated with this accumulated Großschönau terry tradition. Today Frottana positions itself in the mid-to-upper segment of the German home-textile market, combining traditional manufacturing with contemporary design. Its range includes plain and patterned towels, such as the 'Country' towel and 'Oriental Ornaments' shower towel, as well as multi-piece towel sets like the four-piece 'Pearl' set. The official shop regularly runs promotions and sale campaigns, advertising discounts of up to 30 percent. The brand's core claim is 'Handtücher & Frottierwaren Made in Germany' — towels and terry goods made in Germany — supported by the heritage of more than 160 years of terry production in the Oberlausitz.
History
The history of Frottana is bound up with the textile industry of Großschönau in the Oberlausitz, a town whose industrial textile production reaches back to the 18th century and where terry fabrics (Frottierstoffe) were produced from 1856. Several predecessor companies form the historical basis of the Frottana tradition. One line begins with Johann Gottfried Lieske, who in 1788 began making high-quality damasks for the Russian, English and Saxon courts. In 1827 he took Carl Gotthold Häbler into the firm. As one of the first businesses in the town, it wove terry fabrics in 1856. In 1862 the company was renamed Lieske & Häbler. In 1910 it acquired the buildings of the firm Härtig sen. at Niedere Mühlwiese 12 (demolished in 2000). In 1932 the Pötschke family took over the business, which from 1937 had to convert production to military purposes. In 1946 the operation was nationalized. A second line goes back to Christian David Waentig (1757–1844), who in 1796 took over the so-called Großschönau damask manufactory from his father-in-law. In 1807 he founded his own firm, 'Christian David Waentig und Söhne', for the manufacture and trade of damasks, and in the same year had a representative residential and commercial building erected, today the Deutsches Damast- und Frottiermuseum at Schenaustraße 3. After the introduction of Jacquard looms in Großschönau in 1834 greatly increased the need for bleaching capacity, a bleach works was built in 1836 at Waltersdorfer Straße 2. In 1844 his son Karl Gottlob Waentig took over the businesses. The Waltersdorfer Straße site was continued from 1919 by Julius-Lange-Leinenindustrie AG. In 1945 the AG was expropriated and from 1953 was restructured under the name Damino (Damast- und Inletweberei Oberoderwitz) and assigned to larger operating units. A third line was founded in 1832 by the damask master weaver Christian Gottlieb Hänsch. After his early death, his widow and later his son Carl Gottlieb Hänsch continued the firm. Carl Gottlieb had trained as a pattern draughtsman at the Dresden School of Applied Arts and later taught drawing at the Großschönau weaving school. Besides white and coloured damasks, the company made coloured-striped furniture damasks and half-linen Jacquard fringe napkins and exported on a considerable scale. In 1880 the firm Hänsch received a silver medal at a textile exhibition in Melbourne. The third generation entered the business in 1880 with Karl Gottlieb Hänsch and in 1882 with Ernst Hänsch. Alongside the export of linen and coloured-checked Jacquard towels, terry goods now came to the fore. In 1884 the first mechanical Jacquard looms and two years later the first mechanical terry looms were put into operation. The factory buildings were enlarged several times. In 1912 a product developed by the firm, a fabric with a pattern similar to flat embroidery, was patented. During the First World War production had to be switched to tent cloth, drill, powder bags and aircraft linen; a shortage of materials forced the making of fabrics from paper. In 1919 Karl Martin Hänsch and Karl Walter Hänsch took over the management in the fourth generation. The operation was expanded with its own twisting mill. In the early 1930s new products appeared: diaper inserts and swaddling cloths received the protected trade name Iduna, while the terry products received the mark Gittergold. In 1936 the production process was reorganized according to the most modern knowledge of the time. At that time the range comprised linen and half-linen table cloths, upholstery fabrics and above all terry goods. The Second World War led in 1942 to the cessation of production because the premises had to be made available for armaments production. After the end of the war, production resumed with four former employees who got the machines running and some seamstresses who made shopping bags from upholstery fabric sample boards. Because of a shortage of yarn, cellulose wool had to be used. Later, fabrics for shirts and work clothing were woven, as well as all kinds of terry products. The greater part of production went to the Soviet Union as reparations. By the end of 1945, 60 people were employed again. Because of the armaments work carried out in its premises, in 1946 three-fifths of the land and buildings of the firm C. G. Hänsch were expropriated. Nevertheless the firm tried to reorganize the production process in the tightest space. In a short time terry could be woven on almost 100 Jacquard looms. In 1949, 174 workers produced 400,000 m². After completing a textile-technical training, Christian Hänsch (born 1930) joined the firm. The state organs of the GDR demanded ever higher production results despite lacking preconditions. In the 1950s shift work had to be introduced. In 1958 the firm Hänsch was converted into an operation with state participation. In 1959, 260 workers were employed, producing 680,000 m² of terry goods. West German partners had become the most important buyers, as well as the Scandinavian countries, the Near East, Africa, North and South America. In 1960 C. G. Hänsch brought women's coats made of embroidered terry fabrics onto the market. In 1962 production reached its greatest extent with 740,000 m². More was not possible with 300 workers and 92 looms from the 1920s. At the end of the 1960s the terry operations of the south-eastern Oberlausitz were combined into a working group in order to specialize their product range. The new tasks could no longer be mastered with the conventional looms, and the premises were not suitable for automatic looms, so that weaving was discontinued and the existing twisting mill... [source text truncated] Out of this dense history of damask and terry weaving in Großschönau, the Frottana brand carries forward the region's terry-cloth expertise. Its official shop states that more than 160 years of company tradition, experience and know-how in terry production shape its products, which are manufactured to the highest quality standards in Germany. The brand continues to produce in the Oberlausitz, weaving on 30 looms and using predominantly 100 percent cotton, with all textiles certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, product class I.
- 1962
Production at C. G. Hänsch reaches its greatest extent with 740,000 m².
- 1960
C. G. Hänsch markets women's coats made of embroidered terry fabrics.
- 1959
260 workers produce 680,000 m² of terry goods at C. G. Hänsch.
- 1958
The Hänsch firm is converted into an operation with state participation.
- 1949
174 workers at C. G. Hänsch produce 400,000 m² of terry goods.
- 1946
The Lieske & Häbler operation is nationalized; three-fifths of C. G. Hänsch's land and buildings are expropriated.
- 1942
The Hänsch firm ceases production because premises are requisitioned for armaments production.
- 1932
The Pötschke family takes over Lieske & Häbler.
- 1919
Karl Martin Hänsch and Karl Walter Hänsch take over management of the Hänsch firm in the fourth generation.
- 1912
A fabric with a pattern similar to flat embroidery developed by the Hänsch firm is patented.
Products and positioning
Traditional German terry-cloth manufacturer offering quality 'Made in Germany' towels and bath textiles in the mid-to-upper segment.
Pearl 4-piece towel set
Four-piece towel set, regular price €85.80.
Oriental Ornaments shower towel 67x140 cm
Shower towel with oriental ornament pattern, regular price €32.95.
Country towel 50x100 cm
Towel in the Country design, sale price €11.95, regular price €14.95.
Sources3 sources
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