BOARD 14 - THE DAIRY MORITZ

In this building the cross-regional known dairy Moritz was located. It was founded and built in 1891 with the title “Erzgebirgische Molkerei zu Ruppendorf e.G.m.b.H.” In the directory of 1903/04 Herm. Buck is mentioned as the dairy’s custodian. In 1913 Otto Moritz is mentioned as the dairy’s owner in a list of traders and business people. Already before World War I, the dairy had been a family business. After World War II 13.000 liters of milk, cream and butter were produced on a daily basis between 1946 and 1948.

In 1952 the dairy made a new start with the production of ice-cream. Beginning on the first of January in 1959 the company continued to produce ice-cream with the state’s participation. The Moritz’s ice-cream became famous with its products Othello ice-cream and semi-frozen ice-cream. The products had already been launched on the market in 1956. In 1972 the company was nationalized under the title “VEB Backwarenkombinat”. In February 1980 Rainer Ritschel took over the production facility in Ruppendorf and more production facilities which belonged to the “VE Bako Dresden – Betrieb Riesa”. Ice lollies were no longer produced in Ruppendorf, but aluminum foil wrapped ice-cream was launched to the market in small and family packages.

The products range from sorbet, vanilla-/hazelnut ice-cream, cocoa ice-cream to the famous apple ice-cream. On a daily basis 2000 liters of milk and 1000 liters of cream were used for production in addition to butter, sugar, cocoa and other ingredients. After the company had provided the IX SED party conference with ice-cream, it was ordered to deliver 250 tons of ice-cream to the capital every year. Also the cities of Dresden, Görlitz, Karl-Marx-Stadt, Leipzig and Halle received deliveries. Until the fall of the iron curtain in 1989/90, the company had continued to produce the aforementioned products. After that it continued to distribute frozen products by the “Frosta” company for a brief period of time. When the “Treuhand” took over the company it meant the end of the former dairy and ice-cream company.

The Moritz dairy with loading ramp around 1910 [Picture: Chronicle Ruppendorf].