In Austria, Historic Gunmaker Aims To Save Craftsmanship And Wildlife

16.02.2024 - 20:13 / forbes.com

Ferlach, Austria, is a hamlet of some 7,000 souls nestled in the Karawanken mountains to the south. It’s a land rich in forests, beauty, and gun-making traditions. Because of those traditions, Ferlach has become a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage community. Firearm manufacturing here dates to the 16th century when emperor Ferdinand of Austria had a vision to create a firearm production center in the region known as the Valley of Roses.

At its peak, some 300 gunmakers were employed here. After the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th Century, however, production fell significantly as it had moved to larger cities like Vienna and Steyr. To save the town’s historic business and differentiate their productions from those of competitors, gunmakers in Ferlach shifted their focus to producing high-quality premium firearms rather than more utilitarian military weapons.

Starting in 1790, eight generations of the Fanzoj family have been key architects of Ferlach’s premium gun emergence. Since then, the family has been making some of the world’s most coveted and beautifully crafted rifles and shotguns that are as much works of art as they are precision firearms. While the canvas may be wood and steel, the soul of an artisan lives in each of the Fanzoj productions, and that has been the hallmark of their firearms since Johann Fanzoj’s vision set the company’s path more than two centuries ago.

Today, Fanzoj produces some 25 guns annually, each an heirloom masterpiece that will be used and appreciated for generations. Along the way, the company has helped preserve the gun-making craft by supporting a gun-smithing school that is training the next generation of craftsmen.

Bringing a modern vision to an ancient craft is the mission of Daniela and Patrick Fanzoj who, like their father Johann ‘Hans’ Fanzoj, have pioneered new markets for their bespoke firearms. They see yet another mission, however, in the company’s future. It is to blend the story of craftsmanship and artistry at the center of their productions with the role that hunters have played in conservation across the globe. The seed of the idea has grown organically from well-traveled clients who want their firearms to share personal stories of the hunt and the creatures—many of them non-game animals—that are emblematic of the places and the experiences they’ve accumulated over a lifetime of hunting.

While the world’s hunters may know that sportsmen and women have funded the lion’s share of global conservation efforts, Daniela is determined that mainstream audiences should come to understand the vital role they have played in saving scores of species and the habitats that the wildlife depends upon. She’s concerned that few people comprehend that all wildlife