A house with a rich history

The beginnings

In 1885, Ferdinand North, a businessman who produced pasta, built his new factory in a street that used to be called Roonstraße, then still considered outside the center of the city. On an area of 6400 m², along with several production facilities and storage rooms, a residence was constructed, and named after its creator: Villa North, a representative house built in a late neo-classicist style, which reflected the successful career of its owner.

An exemplary family-run business

Ferdinand North is considered the founder of the first industrial factory for the production of pasta in Germany, after he bought the business from Johann Peter Belling, a citizen from Erfurt, very early on. The monument Villa North and today’s still existing main building of the former production site is the oldest factory for pasta in the country. The pasta from Erfurt was very popular due to the high quality of its raw materials and ingredients; the economic success was the result of the use of modern equipment and fair working conditions. The products from the company North were often awarded on trade fairs, including World Trade Fairs. The company was run by the family over several generations.

After World War II

Things changed in 1948: Thuringia belonged to the Soviet occupation zone, and even before the creation of the DDR (German Democratic Republic), the family North was being expropriated by the military administration. The factory became state owned and was re-named VEB “Koste” and continued its production of pasta.

In new splendour

After the reunification of Germany, the factory evolved into the “Erfurter Teigwaren GmbH”, and the location Stauffenbergallee was abandoned. The Trust privatised the property. In 2007, the current owner bought the Villa and took great care in renovating it.