The Hannong legend

From Han-Zhong to Hannong: How China arrived in Strasbourg

The legend of China's impact on the ancestors of the famous Hannong family and on Hannong fine chinaware (Strasbourg XVIIIe) is a passionate and intriguing saga.

In 1640, Jacob van Outwater, a young man who had recently lost his fortune, left Amsterdam to earn back his riches in the Dutch colonies of South-East Asia. The powerful V.O.C - "Verenigde Oost-Indische Company" (Unified Oriental Indian Company) had just entrusted captain Jan P. Van Coen, a renowned soldier and seaman, with missions of overtaking the Portuguese in the city of Malacca, and of establishing Dutch rule in the Golf of Bengal, the Chinese Sea as well as in Java and Sumatra. The primary goal of this operation was to assure the company would hold exclusive rights to production and sales of extremely lucrative spices.

Jacob van Outwater knew that, at best, he could be a merchent for the V.O.C. and it is for this reason that he turned his interest towards another great territory known for it's riches: China. After the overtake of Malacca, captain Coen allowed him to lead an expedition that, after crossing India, Nepal and Tibet, would explore China.

During nearly 15 years, young Outwater was one of the first explorers in China. During this era of great change (end of the Ming dynasty) he would learn enough Chinese to communicate, travel and trade in China. He knew how to win over War Lords, local governments and the large Chinese merchants. His simple manner, his clever use of psychology and his teaching to dignitaries of the Empire about Holland and the rest of Europe would open up windows of opportunity. He was able to buy, sell and observe this new world.

Towards 1655, in charge of a lucrative shipment of cargo, Outwater decides to make a name for himself in Holland. Upon his arrival in Amsterdam, he learned of his father passing, nearly five years earlier. With no remaining links to his past, Outwater decided to change his name to Pieter-Hendrick Hannong. He derived Hannong from a slight adaptation on Han-Zhong, a city in central China close to his heart. Pieter-Hendrick Hannong sold a part of his cargo to the V.O.C but kept an large portion of this treasure hidden to provide himself with comfortable future. In 1660, he set up home in Maastricht, founded a family and created a factory fabricating china pipes.

In 1669, his son Charles-Francois was born. In adulthood, Charles-Francois moved to Germany and married Anne Nikhé, the daughter of another pipe maker, in Cologne. The couple lived in Mayence before settling in Strasbourg in 1709. In 1710, Charles-Francois inscribed himself as a "mason", pipe maker. In 1721, he founded (along with Johan-Heinrich Wachenfeld) the first manufacturer of china, which he ran independently until 1722. This would be the beginning of the Hannong saga, china and porcelain manufacturers in Strasbourg, Haguenau and Frankenthal (Alsace).

The Hotel Hannong now sits on the historic site of the one of the china manufacturing plants in Strasbourg. A collection of copies of the chinaware is on permanent exhibit in the hotel reception and sitting areas.

The city of Han-Zhong in Shannxi, central China, known for it's pottery and near the site of the buried mandarin army (enrobed in clay), also gave it's name to a family from Holland and later from Strasbourg as well as to the one of the most remarkable chinaware produced in the XVIII century.

The Hotel Hannong, which welcomes you today, is named after this chinaware and proud of its remarkable heritage.