Pappée & Büschoff

Date: 1839 [unknown]
Location: Braunschweig, Herzogtum Braunschweig, Deutsches Reich
Surnames/tags: Pappée Büschoff Krefft

Contents 1 Founded 1839 2 Newspaper Report 1930 3 Destruction and Rebuilding 4 Recent Years 5 Research Notes

Founded 1839

Carl Christian Pappée, who had learned the wine trade both as a cellarer (“Weinküfer”) and sommelier (“Servierer”) in the Brunswick company, Rittmeyer and Abeking, was granted a concession on 11 March 1839 to open his own business as wine merchant in Brunswick. Together with his partners Wilhelm Büschoff and Friedrich Krefft the business was officially opened on 28 September 1839 in premises opposite the New Town Hall. In an advertisement in the Braunschweigische Anzeige they offered in addition to a well-stocked assortment of wines that could be enjoyed there or delivered as required warm meals on Tuesdays and Saturdays and billiards for the guests.

Newspaper Report 1930

The above was reported in a supplement to the Braunschweige Landeszeitung in December 1930 to mark the 50th anniversary of that newspaper. It reminded readers that Pappée & Büschoff was an institution in Brunswick and especially popular with visitors to the markets and fairs on the Hagenmarkt nearby. By 1930 the business was run by Erich Klug and had expanded to wine cellars in the Küchenstrasse, the Cellar by the Gewandhause and opposite St Catherine’s where the offices were. The proprietor’s son, Heinrich Klug, ran the Mosel office in Traben-Trabach.
Unfortunately there was no additional information about the history of the company in the ninty years in between. As the company carried the subtitle “Herzoglich Braunschweig-Lüneburgische Hofweinhandel” it may well be assumed Pappée and Büschoff enjoyed the patronage of the Duke’s court of which his brother was a member. Furthermore Carl Christian’s daughter, Wilhelmine Caroline Pappée, married Carl Wilhelm Krefft in 1859 so that the business certainly remained for a longish time in family possession.

Destruction and Rebuilding

Fifteen years after the newspaper report quoted above the buildings round St Catherine’s were destroyed by allied bombs and as another newspaper report stated “the gutters overflowed, full of valuable wines”. After the War the then owner, Heinz Klug, acquired the neighbouring site and rebuilt the company which reopened in 1953. In 1963 the company was taken over by Walter Blankenstein.

Recent Years

Today there is no visible trace of the wine merchants. The building by St Catherine’s was until a few years ago the Katharinenhof Hotel which has now closed. There was a plaque in the hotel lobby recalling that the offices of Pappée & Büschoff had once been there.

Research Notes

The above information was translated and assembled from various newspaper cuttings received from Stadtarchiv Braunschweig in November 2010 / Reference HXV A: DV/4f. The photos are likewise from the town's archives and from the Katharinenhof Hotel.
I have an original Pappée & Büschoff Invoice dated 4 July 1901 in my possession.
Swain-2725 14:37, 4 March 2023 (UTC)