P. & C. Habig
Viennese hat manufacturer and former imperial and royal court supplier, founded in the 19th century and still run as a small millinery by the Habig family.
Last updated September 27, 2026
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Overview
P. & C. Habig is a historic Austrian hat manufacturer based in Vienna, founded in the second half of the 19th century by the brothers Peter and Carl Habig. The family's hat-making lineage reaches back to 1550 in Freiburg, and Peter Habig moved to Vienna in 1853, where he completed a five-year apprenticeship as a hat maker and became a journeyman. From 1865 his brother Carl assisted him in the workshop, where they initially produced silk hats and the then-popular "Chemisse Galett" hats, and made their first attempts at felt hats. The firm took the name "P. u. C. Habig" (P. and C. Habig) after Carl became a partner. The company's rise was closely tied to international exhibitions. A gold medal at the international exhibition in Kassel in 1870 was its first step toward internationalisation, and the "Hors concours Juror" honour at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873 established Habig as an international brand. In 1874 the brothers opened an exclusive retail store on Kärntner Strasse in downtown Vienna, and in 1882 they added a modern factory on Wiedner Hauptstrasse equipped with the latest technology to fulfil export orders from Germany and overseas. An exclusive branch followed in 1888 on Friedrichstrasse in downtown Berlin, combining a state-of-the-art factory with living quarters. During the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, P. & C. Habig was a k.u.k. Kammer- und Hof-Hutfabrikant (imperial and royal chamber and court hat manufacturer) and a purveyor to numerous royal and imperial courts, including German Empress Auguste Viktoria, Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, King Peter I of Serbia and Grand Duke William IV of Luxembourg. The firm won further exhibition awards in Philadelphia (1876), Paris (1878), Antwerp (1885), Brussels (1888), Chicago (1893) and the Grand Prix in Paris in 1900. Its success allowed the Habigs to commission architects Carl Holzmann and Heinrich Adam to build the large Gründerzeit "Habig-Hof" ensemble on Wiedner Hauptstrasse, comprising apartments and retail space that occupied almost an entire city block. After the First World War the main court clientele disappeared, and after the Second World War hats lost much of their importance as fashion changed. The Friedrichstrasse store was destroyed during the Second World War, and the main Wiedner Strasse store had to be given up for cost reasons. The heiress Barbara Habig (born 1975) continues the business in the fifth generation as a small manufactory, creating hats as fashion accessories. The former main store and factory are listed as heritage buildings; the old store premises, owned by the Generali foundation, were later adapted for other uses and have housed a branch of the Aida coffeehouse chain.
History
The Habig family is originally from Freiburg, and its family history goes back to the year 1550. Peter Habig moved to Vienna in 1853, where he served a five-year apprenticeship as a hat maker and became a journeyman. In 1858 he was released as a journeyman in Korneuburg. He married Adelheid, the daughter of Franz Auhl, and through the marriage received a retail shop as a dowry, which he ran until 1866. From 1865 onwards his brother Carl assisted him in the workshop, where they exclusively manufactured silk hats as well as the then much sought-after "Chemisse Galett" hats, and made their first humble attempts at manufacturing felt hats. From 1867 Habig established a small workshop producing the popular silk hats and the so-called "Chemisse-Galette". In 1871 Peter Habig made his brother Carl a partner in the company, and from then on it was called "P. & C. Habig". Winning a gold medal at the international exhibition in Kassel in 1870 was the first step towards internationalisation for the newly established company. The "Hors concours Juror" honour at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873 was an important turning point and eventually brought about the establishment of Habig as an international brand. In 1874 P. and C. Habig opened an exclusive retail store in downtown Vienna on Kärntner Strasse. In 1882 a new building was added to the former workshop on Wiedner Hauptstrasse; the new and modern factory was equipped with the latest technology, allowing the staff to meet all export orders from Germany and overseas. Stores were located at Wiedner Hauptstrasse 15 next to the factory and in the Palais Todesco at Kärntner Strasse 51, where silk and felt hats were sold. In 1888 a particularly exclusive branch opened in downtown Berlin on Friedrichstrasse 82; this complex included a state-of-the-art factory as well as living quarters. The company's heyday was during the monarchy, when it could call itself k.u.k. Kammer- und Hof-Hutfabrikant. P. & C. Habig was also purveyor to German Empress Auguste Viktoria and to Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia. It also supplied King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, King George I of Greece, King Peter I of Serbia and Grand Duke William IV of Luxembourg. Habig was also a prominent sponsor of the magazine Das Andere by Adolf Loos. Thanks to their success, the Habigs had a large Gründerzeit building ensemble erected at the factory by the architects Carl Holzmann and Heinrich Adam; the so-called "Habig-Hof" was a complete work of apartments and retail spaces occupying almost an entire city block, and they probably also furnished the company's comptoir on the ground floor. Further exhibition successes followed in Philadelphia (1876), Paris (1878), Antwerp (1885), Brussels (1888), Chicago (1893) and the "Grand Prix" in Paris in 1900. Peter Habig was one of the founders of the Club of Austrian Hat Manufacturers and was influential in the Vienna Hat Makers' Co-operative and the Austrian Hat Fashion Association. He was socially inclined, establishing loyalty bonuses for particularly long-serving employees, and was a member of the arbitration court of the Lower Austrian Trade Association; he donated a model hat-maker's workshop to the Vienna Technical Museum as an exhibit. For his services he received many awards, including the Golden Cross of Merit with the Crown, the Franz Joseph Order, the Order of the Iron Crown III Class and the Knight's Cross of the French Legion of Honour, and was appointed Kommerzialrat. Peter Habig died in 1916 in the middle of the First World War and was buried at the Zentralfriedhof; his crypt with grave monument was designed by Josef Engelhart. After the First World War the main clientele from the court disappeared, and after the Second World War hats lost their importance completely as fashion changed. The Friedrichstrasse store was destroyed during the Second World War, and the main Wiedner Strasse store had to be given up for cost reasons. The heiress Barbara Habig continues a small manufactory to this day, in which she creates hats as fashion accessories. The old main store itself belongs to the Generali foundation and, together with the former factory, is listed as a heritage building; it could only be adapted for other purposes under strict conditions. After Habig moved out, several cafés successively established themselves there, and in the meantime the premises house a branch of the Aida coffeehouse chain. The architects were probably Holzmann and Adam, who designed the store in 1896/97 in the Habig-Hof at Wiedner Strasse 15. The interior is decorated with white stucco, with small medals showing the prizes and international awards from Paris, Philadelphia, Antwerp, Brussels and Chicago. Imperial double eagles and other state coats of arms show for whom Habig served as court supplier. The display cases are made of faux mahogany and etched milk glass. The store itself is divided by several doors, also decorated with decorated milk glass. The ceiling lamps are no longer original but modern additions. The premises are a total of 320 square metres, of which 150 m² are the heritage-listed hat-making area, 90 m² the hat workshop and 80 m² cellar and storage.
- 1963
Death notice for Kommerzialrat Hubert Habig appears in the Arbeiter-Zeitung.
- 1916
Peter Habig dies during the First World War and is buried at the Zentralfriedhof.
- 1900
The company wins the 'Grand Prix' in Paris.
- 1896
The store in the Habig-Hof at Wiedner Strasse 15 is designed, probably by Holzmann and Adam.
- 1893
Exhibition success in Chicago.
- 1888
An exclusive branch opens on Friedrichstrasse in downtown Berlin; exhibition success in Brussels.
- 1885
Exhibition success in Antwerp.
- 1882
A new modern factory is added on Wiedner Hauptstrasse.
- 1878
Exhibition success in Paris.
- 1876
Exhibition success in Philadelphia.
Products and positioning
Historic Viennese luxury hat manufacturer and former imperial and royal court supplier, now a small family-run millinery creating hats as fashion accessories.
Silk hats
Felt hats
Chemisse Galett hats
Fashion hats and accessories
Sources4 sources
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