Verlag Moritz Schäfer

Verlag Moritz Schäfer is a German specialist publishing house based in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. It traces its origins to 1844, when the bookseller Ernst Schäfer acquired the Heinsius'sche Buchhandlung in Gera and expanded his Leipzig publishing business. In 1864 the firm was renamed after his brother Moritz Schäfer, who had taken over the Leipzig operation. The publishing house is best known for its long-running milling journal, which first appeared as the weekly "Die Mühle" on 3 December 1863 and is regarded as the first milling trade magazine to establish itself permanently. Over the decades the programme broadened from novels and general literature to specialist books and periodicals in milling, grain processing, animal feed, hydropower, water management, electrical engineering and related technical fields. Today Verlag Moritz Schäfer describes itself as a media house for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its current magazine portfolio includes Mühle + Mischfutter, a magazine for sustainable grain processing and animal feed production in Central Europe; Wasserkraft & Energie, an international quarterly on renewable energy with a focus on hydropower; and wassertriebwerk, a trade journal covering hydropower, water management and the electricity industry. The publisher also issues annual reference works such as the Getreidejahrbuch and the Mühle + Mischfutter Jahrbuch, as well as whitepapers and digital editions. Print and online subscriptions are offered, and the company emphasises sustainability through responsible paper sourcing, CO2-neutral printing, plastic-free packaging and digital options. The company has been family- and professionally managed across generations. After the destruction of its Leipzig operations in the Second World War, the publisher rebuilt in West Germany and moved to Detmold in the 1950s. In November 2021 Rainer Miserre, formerly of the dfv Mediengruppe, took over as managing director. The publishing house remains privately held and continues to serve the milling, feed and hydropower industries with specialised trade information.

The publishing house was founded by Ernst Schäfer, a trained bookseller who established a publishing business in Leipzig around 1840. On 12 April 1844 he purchased the Heinsius'sche Buchhandlung in Gera, a date regarded as the founding of the company. In 1848, during the revolutionary years in Germany, Ernst Schäfer emigrated to Philadelphia, where he merged with Rudolph Koradi to form Schäfer & Koradi, a branch of the Leipzig bookshop. His brother Moritz Schäfer took over the Leipzig operation, and in 1864 the firm was renamed Verlag Moritz Schäfer. The company's breakthrough came with the weekly journal "Die Mühle", whose first issue left the press on 3 December 1863. It was the first milling trade magazine to establish itself permanently. Moritz Schäfer made the journal his "favourite child" and used it to promote the organisation of millers; he helped initiate regular millers' meetings and co-founded the Saxon Millers' Association as well as the founding committee of the Verband Deutscher Müller (Association of German Millers), established in Berlin on 27 May 1867. After Moritz Schäfer died in 1888, his widow Bertha Schäfer continued to run the business. In the early 20th century the publishing programme expanded. By 1903, 8,200 copies of Die Mühle were printed, of which 5,700 were distributed free to members of the Verband Deutscher Müller. After the publisher separated from the association in 1910, the association's membership fell to 3,000 by 1913, while the Moritz Schäfer publishing house recorded over 10,000 sold copies of its milling journal. After the Great Depression, weekly sales peaked at 13,000 copies. Alongside milling, the house published specialist literature on numismatics, geography, horology, roofing and, from the 1880s, electrical engineering, as well as thousands of instructional works such as the "Schule des Maschinentechnikers" and Franz Stade's "Schule des Bautechnikers". An air raid on 3 December 1943 largely destroyed the publishing operations, which came to a complete halt in spring 1945. After the Second World War the firm was slowly rebuilt. In 1951 the publisher's owner Hans Kunis, who had worked for the company since 1924, moved with his family to Detmold, where his son Jochen Kunis had already produced the first West German milling journals with the involvement of the Hermann Bösmann printing house. In 1955 the company itself was relocated to Detmold. The Kunis family remained closely associated with the publisher: Kurt Klaus Kunis joined in 1962 and became editor-in-chief in 1968. Reinald Pottebaum, a master miller, joined in 2006 and later became managing director. In November 2021 Rainer Miserre, former head of the dfv Mediengruppe, took over the management of Verlag Moritz Schäfer. Today the publisher operates from Detmold and serves the German-speaking markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its portfolio centres on Mühle + Mischfutter, Wasserkraft & Energie and wassertriebwerk, complemented by annual reference books, whitepapers and digital offerings. The company emphasises sustainable production, including responsible paper sourcing, CO2-neutral printing and plastic-free packaging.

• Ernst Schäfer purchases the Heinsius'sche Buchhandlung in Gera; date regarded as the founding of the publishing house.

• Ernst Schäfer emigrates to Philadelphia and merges with Rudolph Koradi to form Schäfer & Koradi; Moritz Schäfer takes over the Leipzig business.

• First issue of the weekly journal "Die Mühle" is printed.

• The publishing house is renamed Verlag Moritz Schäfer.

• Moritz Schäfer is involved in the founding of the Verband Deutscher Müller in Berlin.

• Moritz Schäfer dies; his widow Bertha Schäfer continues to run the publishing house.

• 8,200 copies of Die Mühle are printed, 5,700 of them distributed free to association members.

• The publisher separates from the Verband Deutscher Müller.

• An air raid largely destroys the publishing operations.

• Owner Hans Kunis moves with his family to Detmold.

• The company is relocated to Detmold.

• Kurt Klaus Kunis becomes editor-in-chief.

• Reinald Pottebaum joins the publishing house; he later becomes managing director.

• Rainer Miserre, former head of dfv Mediengruppe, takes over as managing director.

Specialist trade publisher for the milling, grain processing, animal feed and hydropower industries in German-speaking Europe.

• Mühle + Mischfutter

  Magazine for sustainable grain processing and animal feed production in Central Europe.

• Wasserkraft & Energie

  International quarterly trade magazine for renewable energies, focusing on hydropower.

• wassertriebwerk

  Trade journal for hydropower, water management and the electricity industry.

• Getreidejahrbuch

  Annual reference book on grain.

• Mühle + Mischfutter Jahrbuch

  Annual yearbook for the milling and feed industry.

1. 1Medien für Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz - Verlag Moritz Schäfervms-detmold.de
2. 2Über uns – Seit 178 Jahren Experten für Getreideverarbeitung & Wasserkraft | Verlag Moritz Schäfer GmbH & Co. KGvms-detmold.de
3. 3Unsere Geschichte - Über 178 Jahre Fachwissen in Getreideverarbeitung & Wasserkraft | Verlag Moritz Schäfervms-detmold.de
4. 4Verlag Moritz Schäferde.wikipedia.org
5. 5Verlag Moritz Schäfewikidata.org