Bakery Krause

Bakery Krause in Sulau

The baking profession has deep roots in the Krause family. Its beginnings were in Sulau, Schlesien, Kreis Militzsch. There my grandfather Richard Krause learned the trade from his uncle. In 1939, he and his wife, also from a baker's family, took over a bakery in Festenberg. A year later when my father Rudi was only 6 months old, grandfather had to go to war. The bakery was closed and grandmother mother Else returned with her child to her father’s baking business in Jagdhausen. The horrors of World War II drove the family from Schlesien into the Rochlitz area and the outcome of the war prevented a return to the old home-place. There was great joy when grandfather returned from the war- a new life had begun, at first in Narsdorf near Rochlitz.  There from 1955 until 1960, my grandparents ran a bakery in a former grocery store.

 

Bakery Krause in Rochlitz 1970

In 1960, the business was moved into the shop of former Rochlitz Master Baker Fritz Lasch, Hauptstraße 9, where it continues to this day. This building has been a bakery since 1912, before that, it housed the workshop of a coppersmith. At the time of the move, the bakery was equipped with a gas fired, steam bake-oven, replacing the old German wood and coal burning one which had been in use until then.

Master Baker Krause making Stollens

The bakery-building also experienced a substantial transformation and enlargement.  The store had remained unchanged until 1991. The counter with its white marble slabs and elegant glass cases, the shop buffet and the typically old-fashion display window set the tone of its appearance. During renovations, the shop was substantially enlarged and brought up to modern standards. In the summer of 1999, the characteristic inner court of the house was enclosed, thus creating an optimal solution for the combination of the retail store and the production area. Further remodeling of the sales room is planned for the future.

 

Clara Luise, the  youngest Krause baker, born on June 1st, 1999 Photos by Sven Krause, family chronicle

Although the roots of my family lay elsewhere and I am the first baker of the family born in Saxony, I feel very strongly connected with my hometown Rochlitz and her history.  Here I was born and raised, and here I will carry on he family tradition.

Sven Krause