Vauen

Vauen traces its roots back to 1848, when Karl Ellenberger and Carl August Ziener founded Germany’s first pipe factory in Nuremberg. In 1901, that operation merged with another local maker, Gebhard Ott, forming what became known as Vereinigte Pfeifenfabriken Nürnberg — eventually shortened to Vauen for the sake of sanity. Since that merger, the company has remained in the hands of the Eckert family and holds the distinction of being Germany’s oldest pipe brand. Vauen is also closely tied to the widespread use of the 9mm charcoal filter, an innovation that helped shape pipe smoking in Germany and beyond. Their higher-grade pipes are traditionally marked with a dot on the stem — white in Germany and Austria, and other colors elsewhere — a small detail that’s become part of Vauen’s identity.